What better day for Sam Donaldson to announce his retirement than on Presidents' Day.

Donaldson, who covered presidents from Kennedy to Obama, is retiring next week from full time work at ABC News. The 41-year ABC News vet will continue to appear occasionally on This Week with George Stephanopoulos as well as on ABC Radio. Howard Kurtz talked with Donaldson and his colleagues: "Some people leave the business bitter, feeling they've been cast out, or they hang on too long," Donaldson tells Kurtz. "And I don't ever want to get in that position."

World News anchor Charles Gibson says Donaldson's retirement "really is a loss of the bedrock" for ABC. "I just love the guy."

In addition to stints co-anchoring "This Week" and "Primetime Live," Donaldson is the author of "Hold On, Mr. President" about his days covering President Reagan. "I guess it'll be on my tombstone: 'He yelled at Ronald Reagan,'" Donaldson says.