“Are the Democrats going to dance the mandate Macarena?”

Tonight you might think that Dan Rather's jelly, because chances are he’s gonna be on a roll. Or something.

The venerable newsman, and Wharton, Texas native, will be live on set tonight to analyze election results. But he won’t be working with Bob Schieffer or any other straight news reporters from around the nation, as he has done for the last 44 years. Tonight he saddles up alongside Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert on Comedy Central’s Midterm Midtacular. The show will air from 10pm-11pm CST. You can check out CC’s running blog for a preview and throughout the show.

"It's a risk, I guess, but what the hell," says Rather. "J. Stewart and company offered the chance, and I've taken it. I don't do comedy; I do politics, which sometimes is one and the same.

"Certainly, one can't cover politics and not have a sense of humor about it. Let's face it, politics is often a theater of the absurd."

Sadly, the old lion of CBS News says that viewers should not expect any of the classic Ratherisms we’ve come to love. We doubt that.

"If any occur to me, I may use it, but I intend to be myself, report a bit, and have them take it from there. I'm told I will be expected to 'play it straight,' and then they'll bounce off it. We'll see."

A few of our favorites from over the years:

• "This race is hotter than a Times Square Rolex."
  
• "This race is humming along like Ray Charles."
  
• The election is "closer than Lassie and Timmy"
  
• "One's reminded of that old saying, 'Don't taunt the alligator until after you've crossed the creek.'"
  
• "What Kerry needs at this point is the equivalent of Tom Brady coming off the bench to rescue him. But it's still too close to call."
  
• “It’s a risk, I guess,” Rather told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “J. Stewart and company offered the chance, and I’ve taken it. I don’t do comedy. I do politics, but sometimes that’s one and the same.”
  
• “The Michigan Republican primary apparently is tighter than Willie Nelson's headband.”
  
• “Those market researchers... are playing games with you and me and with this entire country. Their so-called samples of opinion are no more accurate or reliable than my grandmother's big toe was when it came to predicting the weather.”
  
• “I'm proud to say I've never been anybody's lapdog...”
  
• “Performing doesn't turn me on. It's an egomaniac business, filled with prima donnas -- including this one.”