Diane Sawyer slips easily into the anchor chair

It was a good night for Diane Sawyer, though if you don't like Diane Sawyer, that won't much matter.

And that's really what it comes down to in the network evening news race — a race, by the way, that still draws about 23 million viewers a night. With all three broadcasts fundamentally equal in terms of approach, philosophy, budget and talent, the dividing line is the anchor, and the choice is really more a matter of personal preference than anchor ability.

Is there anyone who didn't think Sawyer was capable of anchoring ABC World News With Diane Sawyer? She has been on the air for almost 30 years, interviewing world leaders, playing traffic cop at times of crisis, writing stories, managing a staff and reading a teleprompter. She clearly has the skills; the open questions are whether she has the gravitas and the appeal.

Shown mostly in tight close-up, Sawyer made a strong, if over-animated, debut. (There was more head-bobbing and grimacing than was necessary.) The highlight was an exclusive interview with Iran's President Ahmadinejad, which showed her at her newsmaking best. ("We don't want nuclear bomb," he told her. "We don't accept it. Finished.")

It was a fine performance, but that won't be how everyone sees it; that has never been how everyone sees Sawyer. Where some see glamour and graciousness, others see privilege and condescension. There's a lady-of-the-manor air about her; you either want to breathe it or you don't.

But the same kind of opinion dichotomy applies to her rivals. NBC's Brian Williams loves to appear on Leno and 30 Rock. That either strikes you as proof that he's a witty, down-to-earth multitasker or that he's as desperate for celebrity as any Laguna teen.

Which leaves CBS' Katie Couric. Some say her perkiness is a facade, and she's really smart as a whip and tough as nails — to which I say "probably" and "thank goodness." She's the most controversial, most discussed, and, in the lingering wake of her Sarah Palin interviews, most influential of the anchors.

That makes Couric a great choice — unless you don't like her. In which case, Sawyer will do just fine.