Mediaite » Bob Schieffer

Schieffer To Giuliani: ‘Are There Moderate Republicans Out There Anymore?’

Josh Feldman — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 19:44:25 +0000

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani appeared on Face the Nation today to talk about the Republican presidential race and something about the Super Bowl. Giuliani didn’t endorse any particular candidate in the race, and while he admitted he personally admires all of the candidates in the field (though I’m guessing that doesn’t include Ron Paul), he’s concerned with how much they have been attacking each other during this primary season. But it’s not just the attacks themselves, it’s that they sound like they’re coming from the left.

Giuliani cited Newt Gingrich‘s attack on Mitt Romney over his time at Bain Capital, and Romney going after Gingrich on how he’s raised money as two prime examples of this. There could not be a starker contrast, Giuliani argued, between two candidates in a Republican race. He credited Gingrich with having a better tax plan than Romney, and admitted “it would be a much more interesting race” if it was just the moderate Romney against one conservative instead of both Gingrich and Rick Santorum splitting that constituency.

Bob Schieffer brought up statements Giuliani made in the past about both candidates, including his bewilderment at how much Romney has changed his positions over the years. Giuliani stuck by that argument, calling Romney a “traditional moderate Republican” and while normally the socially moderate Giuliani would get behind the more moderate candidate in the race, he’s not sure if he can support a candidate who’s made as many flip-flops as Romney.

When Schieffer asked if Giuliani had any regrets about not entering the race this time around, he just laughed and admitted his social views would not get him far in a current Republican contest. Then Schieffer went back to Giuliani’s self-description as a moderate and asked him a question about the state of the Republican party.

“Are there moderate Republicans out there anymore? Is there such a thing as what we used to see as the Republican establishment?”

Giuliani admitted he does not really care for the “moderate” self-description, but in order to distinguish himself from the rest of the party on social issues, he has to adopt that label.

Watch the video below, courtesy of CBS:

RNC Chairman: Obama Is ‘Abandoning The Ship’ Like Italian Cruise Ship Captain

Josh Feldman — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 18:25:15 +0000

Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus appeared on Face the Nation today, and dismissed concerns that the fighting in the GOP was overblown by the media and drew parallels to the 2008 Democratic primary race, but in speaking candidly about President Obama, Priebus compared his leadership to the infamous captain of the Italian cruise ship whose actions proved to be somewhat cowardly when faced with disaster.

Bob Schieffer started out the interview by bringing up the Newsweek cover depicting Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich as Roman warriors, and uncomfortably asked Priebus if he’s ever seen Gingrich shirtless. Priebus vehemently denied it, but more seriously, he doubted the race was tearing up the Republican party as much as the media has been making it out to be. After all, he pointed out, current DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz was a strong supporter of Hillary Clinton in the 2008 Florida primary, and accused Obama of being a hypocrite at one point.

But Schieffer pointed to remarks made earlier on the show by Donald Trump that there is an unprecedented level of “hatred” in the Republican party right now, and asked Priebus if he thought any of the intra-party fighting going on could damage the GOP. He dismissed such concerns, reassuring everyone that in a few months, all the squabbling will be over and the party will mobilize behind a nominee.

“In a few months, this is all going to be ancient history, and we’re going to talk about our own little Captain Schettino, which is President Obama, who’s abandoning the ship here in the United States and is more interested in campaigning than doing his job as president.”

When Schieffer asked him to clarify that statement, Priebus doubled down, and joked that the boats behind Schieffer on camera made him think of it. But Priebus continued to insist that the fighting going on the GOP this time around is no worse than what the Democrats did four years ago, and even disagreed with Sarah Palin‘s assessment that the race was down to the Republican establishment vs. conservative activists.

Watch the video below, courtesy of CBS:

Trump On The GOP Race: ‘The Level Of Hatred… Is Unbelievable’

Josh Feldman — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 17:25:16 +0000

The famously media-shy Donald Trump took time from his busy schedule of not being on TV to sit down for an interview with Face the Nation‘s Bob Schieffer. And in the interview, Trump admitted he is still considering running for president because he is still very discouraged by the Republican field. In fact, when Schieffer asked him whether he would run as a Republican or an independent, Trump chose the latter.

Of course, Trump would very much love to be part of the race now, but alas, a new season of The Apprentice is beginning this spring and someone needs to make sure Arsenio Hall and George Takei don’t spontaneously engage in fisticuffs! But still, as an American citizen, Trump is not happy with the tone the Republican candidates are taking.

“It’s a very nasty race. I’ve never seen anything like this. It’s Republican against Republican. And yet, the level of hatred, I guess you could say, there’s no other word for it, is unbelievable. And the question is, are they hurting themselves? Are they hurting the party? Are they hurting the Republicans? And are they hurting their chances of winning an election against Barack Obama? And probably the answer is yes.”

However, he did suggest the possibility that by getting all the negative stuff out there now, whoever wins the GOP nomination will be stronger for it because of this contentious battle.

Watch the clip below, courtesy of CBS:

Roasturbation: Politico Posts Own Roast For 5th Anniversary

Tommy Christopher — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 19:41:32 +0000

They grow up so fast, don’t they? Online political media giant Politico turns five years old today, and to celebrate, the site posted a video roast by some quotable notables in the political media world. While the site has arguably earned the right to toot its own horn at least once every half-decade, did they really have to overshadow the birthday of Saved By The Bell actress Tiffani-Amber Thiessen?

January 23 is also the birthday of Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, who, it should be noted, only won that one morning, and perhaps most fittingly, late Battleship Potemkin director Sergei Eisenstein. Most DC media types will tell you that they’ve never met a Politico reporter who wouldn’t push a baby down the stairs to get a story.

The nearly six minute video includes roastimonials from the likes of David Gregory, Bob Schieffer, Donald Trump, Katie Couric, Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski, Willie Geist, Diane Sawyer, Tom Brokaw, Candy Crowley, Luke Russert, Greta Van Susteren, Chris Matthews, Jonathan Karl, Andrea Mitchell, Steve Scully, Jamal Simmons, Norah O’Donnell, Erin Burnett, Alex Wagner, Dan Rather, Al Sharpton, Mark Halperin, Dylan Ratigan and Arianna Huffington. FishbowlDC‘s Betsy Rothstein collects some of the funnier quotes:

Politico is “truly a news organization that acts its age: a petulant five-year-old concerned with only trivial matters,” host of “MTP” David Gregory says with a smile.

With a few repeats and some intensive listening, Arianna Huffington can be understood as saying, “Just as I was sitting down to write this, I saw that Mike Allen had already broken what I was going to say.”

MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” host Willie Geist remarks, “I’ve gotta recuse myself because I don’t care for Politico, inside the Beltway gossipy garbage. And CBS “Face the Nation” host Bob Schieffer cracks, “The next thing you know, you’ll be getting your driver’s license.”

I don’t know that I can top any of them, but I will add this: Why did the Politico reporter cross the road? I don’t know, but give it 5 minutes, and FishbowlDC will have a plog post about it. Probably without a photo.

Even though we don’t go for this kind of self-promotion, the video is fun, and Politico has earned every second of it. Happy Birthday, Politico.

Bob Schieffer Confronts Gingrich: Some Say You Are Doing Obama’s Work For Him

Josh Feldman — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 20:38:49 +0000

Newt Gingrich has pursued an aggressive strategy against Mitt Romney in the past week or so of the presidential campaign. And between the anti-Romney advertisement released by a pro-Gingrich Super PAC and Rick Perry saying Romney is a “vulture capitalist,” some Republican strategists are concerned the candidates are providing President Obama with enough ammo to use against the eventual nominee in the general election.

On Face the Nation today, Bob Schieffer asked Gingrich if he thought this was a fair assessment. Gingrich insisted all the pushback from his negative ads was coming from Romney supporters who are worried about support being chipped away at by a primary opponent. He explained just exactly what a GOP presidential nominee would have to weather after surviving the primaries.

“Whoever we nominate has to be prepared to take on Barack Obama. And the president already has 240 million dollars in the bank, he plans a billion-dollar campaign that will overwhelmingly be negative. And our nominee had better be capable of standing there, telling the truth, withstanding the negative ads, and winning the debate this fall.”

When Schieffer asked Gingrich if Romney would be the weakest candidate the Republicans could nominate in the general, Gingrich pointed to a whole host of moderate-to-liberal positions Romney has taken over the years. However, he made sure that his number one priority, no matter what happens in the next ten months, is to get Obama to lose reelection. Gingrich hinted that he might end up giving some support to Romney were he to become the nominee, but insisted that a strong conservative stands a better chance against Obama than a “Massachusetts moderate.”

Gingrich predicted he would win the South Carolina primary because his views are more aligned with voters than Romney’s. Doubling down on his accusation that Romney is a “liar,” Gingrich suggested Romney is unwilling or unable to run on his record because it would not exactly play well with the voters he is trying to attract. He also admitted that he doesn’t “like Super PACs,” and would rather see some election reform taking place so the money goes directly through the candidates.

But getting back to the charge that his attacks on Romney are really just helping Obama, Gingrich compared the primary process to football playoffs and the general election to the Super Bowl. All Gingrich said he wants to do is just have every Republican candidate vetted now so that Obama cannot use the same line of attacks in the fall.

Watch the video below, courtesy of CBS:

Bob Schieffer To Rand Paul: I Don’t Know A Single Impartial Observer Who Thinks Your Father Can Win

James Crugnale — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 20:31:10 +0000

On CBS’s Face The Nation, Bob Schieffer asked Kentucky Senator Rand Paul if he thought his father could win, despite the pessimism of his chances on the part of political observers. “Your father is a very polite and decent man,” Schieffer said. “He’s very nice to deal with. Everybody seems to like him, but I don’t know a single impartial observer who thinks that he could wind up getting the nomination, let alone winning in a general election. Does he think he could win?”

Paul defended his dad’s chances at the nomination and explained why he would be a formidable candidate to run against President Obama.

“Ron Paul is the only one getting significant independent vote and Democrat vote and people say you need independent vote to win the election,” the younger Paul told CBS’ “Face the Nation. “You can’t win with just Republicans.”

“Ron Paul is having these big huge crowds in Iowa and really exciting a lot of young people and new people,” Paul added. “I think there is a lot of momentum. i think he could win by bringing in the independents.”

Watch Rand defend his father’s electability below via CBS:

CBS’ Bob Schieffer Blasts Congress, Proposes ‘Second Congress’ That Would Take On Important Issues

Josh Feldman — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 21:20:41 +0000

In the commentary portion of Face the Nation today, Bob Schieffer put forth a modest proposal for a new American government which ensures responsibility and accountability: a second Congress. Yes, it’s Congress 2: Electric Boogaloo, and unlike most sequels, this one shows more promise than the original. Schieffer’s desire to reform government comes from watching how divisive Congress has become in the last year.

Congress 2.0 would be elected for a single-year term, and after that they would not be allowed to run for office again. And since this Congress would not have to deal with winning reelection, it could do all the heavy lifting like taking on entitlement reform, the tax code, infrastructure, and everything else Congress 1.0 is too divided to address in a responsible manner.

Schieffer noted that in the earliest years of the original Congress, elected representatives were not concerned with reelection, and that’s why his model of a new Congress has some basis in American political thought. But what would the original Congress do?

“Well, they’d still be there, we’d just strip them of all power and no longer pay them. With nothing to do, they could devote themselves full-time to what they do best: plotting against one another, dunning people for money, cranking out press releases, issuing declarations, dreaming up excuses, threatening to shut down the government every month or so, and otherwise finding ways to avoid doing anything that actually mattered to anyone but them.”

What do you think? Does Schieffer have a point about Congress, and if so, does his blueprint for a second Congress sound appealing?

Watch the video below, courtesy of CBS:

Gingrich Doubles Down On Ignoring Judicial Decisions: ‘Are Judges Above The Rest Of The Constitution?’

Josh Feldman — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 17:50:06 +0000

Newt Gingrich has now put his crusade against judicial activism at the forefront of his presidential campaign. Over the past week, he has argued that if elected president, he would opt to ignore certain judicial rulings if he determines the decision is not within the authority of the court. He has been attacked by Constitutional scholars and lawyers over his position, and on Face The Nation today, Gingrich defended his position to Bob Schieffer.

Gingrich cited a ruling several months ago where a judge did not fall on the side of public prayer in schools, branding it as a sign of “anti-American dictatorship.” He suggested impeachment as one course of action for judges who are not in line with American values as Gingrich sees it. He went after the modern court system for “a fundamental assault on our liberties,” and claimed the intention of the Federalists who drew up the blueprints for American government wanted the judiciary to be the weakest branch. Gingrich cited past presidents like Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln who asserted their executive authority over Supreme Court decisions. In the case of the latter, Gingrich cited Lincoln’s opposition to the Dred Scott decision.

Schieffer questioned the natural extension of Gingrich’s position, and how a president could decide which Supreme Court decisions he could follow and which he could not, because at some point the law of the land has to be firmly established. He cited Brown v. Board of Education as a Supreme Court decision that, while coming down on the side of school integration, was not necessarily a popular one. Gingrich shot back by referencing Dred Scott once again, and also cited another contemporary example of a court that ruled the phrase “one nation under God” in the pledge of allegiance was unconstitutional.

Then, of course, the conversation made its way to a hypothetical regarding President Obama. The Supreme Court is taking up the health care law in its docket next year, and if they throw it out, Schieffer wanted to know if it would be appropriate for Obama to reject the court’s decision and keep it as a law anyway. Gingrich doubted it, because Congress would not let him, and made an interesting comment about how he believes checks and balances works.

“It’s always two out of three. If the president and the Congress say the court’s wrong, in the end the court would lose. If the Congress and the court say the president’s wrong, in the end the president would lose. And if the president and the court agreed, Congress would lose. The Founding Fathers designed the Constitution… to have a balance of power, not to have a dictatorship by any one of the three branches.”

Schieffer cited two attorneys general from the Bush administration who disagreed with Gingrich’s view and believed it would reduce the judicial system to a “spectacle.” Gingrich conceded that many lawyers would find his view “frightening,” but he would hold judges accountable if they made decisions he believed were not in concert with American values.

Watch the video below, courtesy of CBS:

CBS’ Bob Schieffer Blasts The Influence Of Money In Politics

Josh Feldman — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 20:52:55 +0000

During his Commentary segment on Face the Nation today, Bob Schieffer bemoaned the influence of money in politics and how members of Congress and lobbyists are gaming the system in order to make personal profit in sometimes questionable ways.

Schieffer revealed that he is often asked why anyone would want to subject themselves to being part of a “mean” system when they run for political office. He argued that getting into a race means you automatically get lots of money, and even someone with little experience can amass a fortune in just a few shorts months on the campaign trail.

But it wasn’t just political races where dirty money is found in politics, Schieffer pointed to a recent 60 Minutes report that many members of Congress are legally engaging in insider trading in order to make a profit on their investments. He cited Sarah Palin‘s “multimillion dollar industry” as evidence that someone can gather lots of money without even running for president.

Watch the video below, courtesy of CBS:

Robert Gibbs Pushes Back Against ‘Bystander Obama’ Meme On Face The Nation

Tommy Christopher — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 18:41:20 +0000

On CBS News’ Face The Nation Sunday morning, host Bob Schieffer indulged in a popular Supercommittee media narrative, asking former White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs why President Obama holds himself “above the battle,” and “how could he just sit there and let this Supercommittee fail?”

Gibbs handled the question ably, explaining “what the President did for the Supercommittee,” with one glaring omission.

After pointing out that the Supercommittee was a creation of Congress, Gibbs asked Schieffer to “understand what Barack Obama did for the Supercommittee. He laid out a plan that would have easily restructured our long-term fiscal picture and gotten our debt under control.”

“He got members his own party to support that, and he rallied the country around his plan, and they supported it. That’s what a president has to do.”

Schieffer then compared the President’s actions to those of Lyndon Johnson, and Gibbs responded, “If Barack Obama had the Republican party that Lyndon Johnson dealt with, I have no doubt we would make progress.”

That’s really the key here, because there’s one thing that President Obama did for the Supercommittee that Gibbs didn’t list. To use a metaphor the administration employed during the debt ceiling negotiations that resulted in the Supercommittee, President Obama put a gun to their heads (and now refuses to pull out the clip). As Gibbs points out, though, this GOP Congress is so hell-bent in its opposition of President Obama that they would rather pull the trigger than work with him.

Here’s the clip, from CBS News:

Bob Schieffer To RNC Chairman: Why Does Mitt Romney Generate So Little Excitement?

Josh Feldman — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 17:46:10 +0000

In the game that is the Republican presidential primary process, there can be only one winner. And more and more each day it begins to look like Mitt Romney will be the last man standing after all the other candidates have faded. Of course, there’s still the obvious problem that a strong percentage of Republican voters just don’t like Romney. On Face the Nation today, Bob Schieffer asked RNC Chairman Reince Priebus why this is the case and if Romney can be more appealing to the conservative base.

Priebus took issue with the question posed by Time Magazine in Mitt Romney’s voice (“Why Don’t They Like Me?”), and argued the primary process has its way of producing strong candidates and not necessarily the ones people were expecting. He brought up Republican governors serving in traditionally blue states who emerged victorious from contentious primaries and went on to win general elections, as well as the divisive contest in 2008 between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Despite a contentious fight between the two nominees in the last legs of the campaign, Obama emerged relatively victorious.

He insisted that the Republican voters are currently focusing on making Obama a one-term president and he would not be making any official endorsements while so many candidates still remain in the race. Priebus argues that if the president was “an employee at any other office in America, he would have been fired by now.”

Watch the video below, courtesy of CBS:

Bill O’Reilly: Rep. Ron Paul’s Foreign Policy Is ‘Dangerous Stuff If You Have Power’

Frances Martel — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 01:54:49 +0000

With Rep. Ron Paul consistently near the top of Republican polls since the presidential campaigns started at full speed, the Congressman’s libertarian policies are receiving increased scrutiny. On tonight’s O’Reilly Factor, host Bill O’Reilly and Brit Hume discussed Rep. Paul’s appearance on Face the Nation, where host Bob Schieffer took him to task on his position on a nuclear Iran. Rep. Paul’s answers, O’Reilly contended, were “dangerous stuff,” for someone who would want to be President.

“What is it about his message that has captured their loyalty?” O’Reilly asked Hume, who responded that his popularity was a result of his consistently libertarian policies. “He is the heir to a certain core of loyal supporters,” Hume argued, because of his persistence politically as “pure a libertarian as you’ll find in American politics today.” O’Reilly responded that he did not understand the appeal of his foreign policy. “There is no way on this earth that Iran responds to somebody being nicer to them if that somebody is an American,” he noted about Rep. Paul’s demands for more diplomacy rather than sanctions on the potentially nuclear nation. “It’s dangerous stuff if you have power to think that way,” he argued, with the caveat that he did not think Rep. Paul would ever have the power to be dangerous.

“Libertarians are deeply distrustful of government action in many measures,” Hume responded, arguing that this sort of talk had an appeal for those who did not want America to be a military superpower. O’Reilly wasn’t convinced. “You believe a slice of the American electorate would be not concerned if a country like Iran had a nuclear arsenal?” he asked, while Hume tried to defend the libertarian position while noting that he did not agree with it. “It snaps my head back that anybody would buy it,” O’Reilly concluded.

The segment via Fox News below:

Bob Schieffer Confronts Rep. Ron Paul: Do You Think Americans Caused 9/11?

Frances Martel — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 18:46:29 +0000

Rep. Ron Paul was on the receiving end of some of the hardest questions he has taken since the 2012 campaign for president began, perhaps not in small part due to his recurring appearance at the top of Republican polls. On today’s Face the Nation, Bob Schieffer pressed Rep. Paul to explain how his attitude towards American foreign policy did not amount to “saying Americans caused 9/11,” and how he would deal with Iran in a way that would guarantee safety.

Schieffer began by asking whether Rep. Paul thought “9/11 happened because of actions that the United States took.” “I think there’s an influence, and that’s exactly what the 9/11 commission said,” Rep. Paul replied, “there is a connection.” That said, Rep. Paul opposed the attitude that terrorists “want to do us harm because we’re free and prosperous.” That, he said, was a “very dangerous notion, because it isn’t true.”

Schieffer then asked directly: “What you are saying is that it was America’s fault… you’re saying Americans caused 9/11?” Rep. Paul clarified that that wording made it sound like all Americans were responsible, and that “the average American didn’t cause it,” “but if you have a flawed policy, it may influence it.” With that he added somewhat defensively that “you’re supposed to be able to criticize your own government” without being accused of being on the terrorists’ side. Schieffer continued asking whether he thought it was “the government’s fault,” which Rep. Paul corrected to “the policymakers.”

The conversation became more tense as they discussed the Iranian nuclear threat, which Rep. Paul thought could be resolved with diplomacy. “Iran doesn’t have a bomb, there’s no proof… and for us to overreact and talk about having a bomb,” he argued, was faulty. He used Libya as an example for that argument. Schieffer corrected Rep. Paul on the claim that anyone was contemplating the bombing of Iran, thought Rep. Paul noted he meant Republican candidates, not White House officials. The conversation turning more general, Schieffer asked Rep. Paul whether there was a single place on earth he thought the United States should have a military base. Rep. Paul responded that “a submarine is a very worthwhile weapon,” and that “this whole idea that we have to be in 130 countries” was outdated compared to the technology.

The segment via CBS below:

Haley Barbour & Martin O’Malley Argue Rick Perry’s ‘Zero-Based’ Foreign Aid Proposal

Josh Feldman — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 17:11:15 +0000

Rick Perry‘s comment during last night’s debate about starting foreign aid to all nations at zero certainly raised some eyebrows, but particularly when he included Israel, a country with a special relationship to the United States, in that list. Governors Haley Barbour and Martin O’Malley reacted to Perry’s position on Face the Nation today; one arguing Perry’s proposal has historical bipartisan precedent, the other arguing it was an attempt to pander to right-wing extremists.

Bob Schieffer suggested to Barbour that in the United States, cutting aid to Israel is just as big a political vice as cutting Social Security or Medicare. Barbour defended Perry by noting that under the Texas governor’s plan, every country would have to make their case for foreign aid, and given Perry’s understanding of the special relationship between the two nations, it is unlikely he would withhold foreign aid from Israel for long anyway. Barbour also noted that the concept of “zero-based budgeting” was not just a Republican idea, it was proposed by Jimmy Carter during his presidency.

O’Malley took a different view, arguing Perry’s position was merely part of a larger pander on the part of Republicans to the “Tea Party extremes” and suggested the more right-wing positions the party has taken do not fit in with the Republican party platform as it was years ago.

Watch the video below, courtesy of CBS:

GOP Panel Debates If Rick Perry Can Survive His Not Drunk/On Drugs NH Speech

Josh Feldman — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 20:05:11 +0000

Look, we can all pretty much forgive Rick Perry at this point for his bizarre speech in New Hampshire over a week ago, if for no other reason than it was the first bit of comic relief we’ve seen on the campaign trail in quite a while. Bob Schieffer described Perry’s speech as “bizarre,” which is now in the running for Understatement of the Year™.

Perry supporter Ken Blackwell tried to defend Perry by arguing that the YouTube clip of Perry’s ramblings was heavily edited and in the full speech he offered more substantive explanations for his proposed economic solutions and his governing record. Schieffer brought up Howard Dean‘s ill-fated scream during the 2004 election, which GOP strategist Ed Rollins described as “the end of his candidacy.”

However, Rollins doubted this bizarre moment of Perry’s would spell the end of his campaign, and pointed out that candidates are mostly always mindful of the fact that cameras are recording everything they say, and attempts at making a joke might not go over so well.

Liz Cheney thought talking about this in the first place was completely pointless, which Schieffer tried to justify by saying “we’re talking about the election,” but Cheney noted that more important to the campaign are the issues. Issues are important, but it’s not every day you get a political candidate speak in public while on a drug of some kind. And damn it, the American people have a right to know what Rick Perry ingested into his body before giving that speech!

Ed Gillespie agreed with Blackwell that the YouTube clip was edited, but honestly, why are they trying to run from this? Why not just embrace it? If this is the Rick Perry that wants to be the President of the United States, he should just forget conventional wisdom and bring this new energy to the American people! I can see the campaign now… “Perry 2012: Let’s All Get Wasted!”

Watch the video below, courtesy of CBS:

Video: Herman Cain Asks Politico’s Jonathan Martin ‘Have You Ever Been Accused Of Sexual Harassment?’

Tommy Christopher — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 19:48:07 +0000

One of the more compelling parts of Politico‘s bombshell story about allegations of sexual harassment by GOP frontrunner Herman Cain (allegations he calls “false”) was the online paper’s account of a confrontation with Cain outside the studio of CBS’ Face The Nation on Sunday. Although not included in Politico’s initial story, they have now made available some video clips of that encounter.

Here’s how Politico described the encounter with Cain on Sunday, following his interview with Face The Nation‘s Bob Schieffer:

Cain said he has “had thousands of people working for me” at different businesses over the years and could not comment “until I see some facts or some concrete evidence.” His campaign staff was given the name of one woman who complained last week, and it was repeated to Cain on Sunday. He responded, “I am not going to comment on that.”

He was then asked, “Have you ever been accused, sir, in your life of harassment by a woman?”

He breathed audibly, glared at the reporter and stayed silent for several seconds. After the question was repeated three times, he responded by asking the reporter, “Have you ever been accused of sexual harassment?”

While the video doesn’t play quite as dramatically, perhaps because of the edits, it certainly is quite a contrast to Cain’s smooth handling of the issue today. Given the ten days his campaign had to prepare for the publication of Politico‘s article, you’d think he would have been better prepared yesterday.

Here’s the clip, from Politico:

Cancer Survivor Bob Schieffer Confronts Herman Cain About Smoking In His Viral Campaign Ad

Josh Feldman — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 17:52:58 +0000

Herman Cain did his best to explain the message behind his bizzare, confusing, did-Salvador-Dalí-direct-this campaign ad released last week, but Bob Schieffer was most concerned about the depiction of smoking in the ad, and told Cain he thought it was an inappropriate message to send out to the American people.

Schieffer first decided to ask the question we were all asking when we saw the ad. Aside from “what the hell did I just watch?” No, Schieffer asked Cain how exactly the smoking fit into the message of the ad. Cain responded with what I can only describe as Level 4 Jedi mind jujitsu.

“One of the themes of this campaign is ‘Let Herman be Herman.’ Mark Block is a smoker, and we say ‘Let Mark be Mark.’ That’s all we’re trying to say, because we believe ‘let people be people.’”

But when Cain argued that the ad “wasn’t intended to send any subliminal signal whatsoever,” Schieffer disagreed, suggesting the ad made smoking look “cool.” Because nothing says cool like a middle-aged man with a slightly disturbing mustache blowing smoke while the camera is super-zoomed-in on his face. Cain made it clear that he’s not defending smoking as a lifestyle choice, but acknowledged his chief of staff is courteous enough to never smoke in his presence.

Schieffer still couldn’t discern what the point was, and asked if the smoking was meant to be funny. Cain insisted it was an “informative” ad, because it conveyed the information that “there’s no one like Herman Cain.” Schieffer wasn’t buying any of this, and let Cain know what he thought of the ad.

“It wasn’t funny to me… I am a cancer survivor, like you. I had cancer that’s smoking related. I don’t think it serves the country well, and this is an editorial opinion here, to be showing someone smoking a cigarette. And you’re the frontrunner now, and it seems to me that as frontrunner, you have a responsibility not to take that kind of a tone with this. I would suggest that perhaps as the frontrunner you would want to raise the level of the campaign.”

Schieffer wanted to know if the Cain campaign would take the ad down, but as Cain rightly pointed out, once you put something on the internet, it’s out of your hands. And then, Schieffer basically goaded Cain into an impromptu PSA about the dangers of smoking, and the candidate insisted “it is not a cool thing to do.”

However, leaving aside the message of it all, it’s probably not a good idea for a candidate to be associated with the term “blowing smoke.”

Watch the video below, courtesy of CBS:

Rep. Issa Asked If He Is ‘Showboating’ With Fast And Furious On Face The Nation

Josh Feldman — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 19:21:33 +0000

On Face the Nation today, Congressman Darrell Issa updated the public on his latest attempts to investigate the Justice Department for its possible involvement in the ATF “Fast & Furious” gun sting, but was careful not to accuse any of the involved parties of criminal conduct.

Bob Schieffer asked Issa to respond to charges that he’s merely “showboating” by issuing subpoenas. Issa responded by holding up one of the many pages in the official report given to him by the Justice Department that was completely redacted, and insisting it was important to be “thorough” in investigating the case. Issa said he was requesting other documents and e-mails from the Justice Department, but they have not been as open to cooperating as one might expect. Issa’s conclusion? “They know they made a horrible mistake.”

Schieffer pointed out Issa had issued subpoenas for documents he has already been issued, suggesting he believes the copies may have been tampered with. And Issa said as much, while being careful not to directly accuse anyone involved of any wrongdoing. As for the question of whether Attorney General Eric Holder should be forced to resign, Issa deferred to President Obama‘s judgment on that issue. For the time being, Issa stated that he still wants the Attorney General to return to testify to expand upon his earlier testimony to clarify whether he was misleading Congress in saying he had no knowledge of the ATF plan up until a few weeks ago.

Watch the video below, courtesy of CBS News:

Herman Cain: Occupy Wall Street Was Organized To Distract From Obama’s Failed Policies

Josh Feldman — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 17:12:40 +0000

On Face the Nation today, presidential candidate Herman Cain questioned the legitimacy of the Occupy Wall Street protests and whether they were, as many people believe, a grassroots movement to stand up against the financial sector, or a way of distracting from President Obama’s economic policies.

Bob Schieffer played a clip of Cain saying that harboring anger at fellow Americans for being unsuccessful is anti-American. Cain also alleged in the video that the protestors were distracting Americans by focusing on those who create jobs as opposed to those who create job policy. Schieffer asked Cain if he still stood by those remarks. Cain argued that the protestors did not have a strong sense of priorities.

“The bankers and the people on Wall Street didn’t write these failed policies of the Obama administration. They didn’t spend a trillion dollars that didn’t work. The administration and the Democrats spent a trillion dollars. They’re not proposing another 450 billion dollars, the administration is proposing another 450 billion dollars wrapped in different rhetoric. So it’s a distraction so many people won’t focus on the failed policies of this administration.”

Schieffer asked if Cain really believed there was a massive conspiracy by the protestors to get together and say, “Hey, everyone, look over there!” to draw attention away from the president. Cain argued that the unions were instrumental in setting up the protests. And as for his earlier charge that the protestors are anti-American, Cain framed anti-Americanism as being one and the same with anti-capitalism, which he believed is a belief many of the protestors are advocating.

Watch the video below, courtesy of CBS:

Haley Barbour & Martin O’Malley Duke It Out Over Presidential Race, Obama’s Economic Record

Josh Feldman — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 20:28:58 +0000

On Face the Nation today, Governors Haley Barbour and Martin O’Malley got into a heated discussion over the Republican presidential candidates and whether the upcoming election would be a referendum on the economic policies of President Obama or not.

Bob Schieffer asked Barbour why Republicans are so dissatisfied with the current Republican field of candidates. Barbour explained that the party wants to make sure they nominate someone who is going to be able to definitively win the presidency over Obama next year.

O’Malley retorted by suggesting that Barbour hadn’t personally endorsed anyone yet because none of them have “inspired confidence” in the voters yet, and argued the race is now over who is going to be the nominee of the Tea Party instead of the Republican party. He cited steady job growth in the past few months as a sign of a slow but certain economic improvement.

Barbour encouraged the Democrats to make the election a referendum on the president’s economic record, because it would ensure a Republican victory. O’Malley insisted the Republican economic plan was a “failed” one, and the voters would have to choose between it and the president’s economic plan, which he argues has been much more successful. The Republican governor wondered if O’Malley had amnesia and didn’t remember that the president had big Democratic majorities right out of the 2008 election and could have pushed forward an ambitious legislative agenda if he wanted to.

Watch the video below, courtesy of CBS:

DNC & RNC Heads Clash Over President Obama’s Economic Record On Face The Nation

Josh Feldman — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 17:59:55 +0000

On Face the Nation today, the heads of the Democratic and Republican National Committees faced off on President Obama’s record on the economy and the current race to replace him in the White House.

Bob Schieffer played a soundbite of President Obama’s speech at the Congressional Black Caucus dinner last night, and asked DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz if his fiery speech was good politics and if it would attract more independents who want the president to be more aggressive.

Wasserman-Schultz insisted the audience at the event believed President Obama is dealing with problems grandfathered in from the Bush administration, and made an appeal for Republicans to get behind the American Jobs Act. RNC Chairman Reince Priebus responded by highlighting that all-important question voters ask themselves every presidential election: “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?”

Priebus highlighted rising unemployment and the size of the national debt, and challenged Wasserman-Schultz to name “one economic statistic in this country that Barack Obama has made better.” Wasserman-Schultz shot back by continuing along the “Bush’s fault” refrain, and argued that in the past few years of Obama’s presidency, “we’ve turned a corner” and cycled through a list of economic achievements that have been made despite the grim reality the United States faces.

Priebus saw this as a decidedly different tactic for Democrats in this election cycle.

“It sounds like the new slogan is no longer ‘Hope and Change,’ it’s ‘Hey, It Could Have Been Worse.’ A great bumper sticker, Debbie, I hope it works for you, but the reality is that Americans are hurting in this country… The president is upside down in your home state of Florida, he’s upside down in battleground states, and guess what? He’s upside down in California, and he’s losing Massachusetts because Americans understand that this president hasn’t cut it and he’s promised the world and he’s delivered nothing.”

Schieffer shifted the conversation to the current Republican primary race, specifically Herman Cain‘s victory in the Florida straw poll over frontrunners Mitt Romney and Rick Perry. Priebus did not express his support for everyone, but insisted the Republicans would eventually settle on an “articulate, intelligent alternative” to President Obama.

Unlike many Republicans, Priebus is content with the current field of candidates, and there is a lot of excitement on the GOP’s side in this race. Wasserman-Schultz suggested that it doesn’t matter which Republican gets the nomination because “they’re all the same” and “they can’t move too the right far enough.” And as for President Obama’s lagging poll numbers in Florida, she argued that ultimately, the president could win the state because of his positions on Social Security and other issues important to voters there.

Watch the video below, courtesy of CBS News:

Bill Clinton On Dick Cheney’s Comments Praising Hillary: He ‘Knew That It Might Cause A Little Trouble’

Josh Feldman — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 18:01:14 +0000

The two headline guests on Face the Nation today were Bill Clinton and Dick Cheney, and while the two men did not appear together on screen, Clinton was given the chance to respond to recent compliments the former vice president gave to his wife Hillary Clinton, suggesting the comments were politically motivated.

Clinton’s first impulse was to laugh at how complimentary Cheney’s words were, especially when Bob Schieffer read Cheney’s statement about the secretary of state being a stronger candidate than President Obama. Clinton agreed that his wife has done a good job and he always welcomes praise for her, but suspected Cheney might be playing a political game with his remarks.

“I… have a high regard for Vice President Cheney’s political skills, and I think one of those great skills is sewing dischord among the opposition. So I think he’s right that she’s done a heck of a good job, but she is a member of this administration and committed to doing it and I think he, by saying something nice about her in the way he did it, knew that it might cause a little trouble.”

Watch the video below, courtesy of CBS:

Bill Clinton: ‘Right Now [Obama's] Just Out There Running Against Himself And People’s Misery’

Josh Feldman — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 16:39:35 +0000

Former president Bill Clinton argued on Face the Nation today that President Obama has, in essence, made himself his primary opponent leading up to the 2012 presidential election, and emphasized the role of compromise in contemporary politics.

Host Bob Schieffer asked Clinton if he agreed with James Carville (a former Clinton advisor) in saying that now is the time for President Obama’s team to panic and shake up their entire reelection strategy. Clinton did not take this view, but rather gave Obama credit for his jobs speech last week, which the former president thought was a good first step in taking care of the debt problem.

Clinton looked at President Obama’s struggle right now as a powerful political one.

“Right now he’s just out there running against himself and people’s misery. It’s tough out there. You’ve got not only 9 percent unemployment, you’ve got who knows how many million people aren’t in the numbers ’cause they quit looking for work, and a lot of voters who have part-time jobs who want full-time jobs.”

He called for Republicans and Democrats to work together to speed up the recovery process, and pointed out that looking back at the last few decades at U.S. elections, “conflict makes good politics, but it doesn’t make very good policy.” Clinton understood where Carville was coming from, but disagreed on the particulars of Obama’s strategy heading into the next presidential election.

“When you’re out there running against yourself and people feel miserable, it’s hard to see your numbers go up; when he’s got a real opponent and people get to evaluate real alternatives and they get to see other Republicans respond to his speech and his plan, including a lot of ideas they have supported in the past. Then, I think, we’ll be in a different world politically.”

Watch the video below, courtesy of CBS:

Bob Schieffer Asks If Americans Would Be Able To Come Together As They Did After 9/11

Josh Feldman — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 18:08:40 +0000

In a personal note on his show today, Bob Schieffer recounted his personal memories of 9/11 and wondered if Americans would ever be able to come together again as they did in the wake of that fateful day.

Schieffer told viewers “how helpless” many in New York felt as the devastation happened around them. He added that because he is a grandfather of twins, he had a strong emotional reaction to hearing that eleven twins had lost siblings on 9/11. However, Schieffer also remembered one of the more positive moments from that day: members of Congress on both sides coming together to sing “God Bless America.”

This led Schieffer to wonder ask if the same sense of national unity we felt after the terrorist attacks ten years ago would ever return in our lifetimes.

The unity would not last long, but I was there. I saw it happen. Ten years later, I sometimes wonder if we could still come together as we did then. To be honest, sometimes I’m not sure. But I want to believe with all my heart that we could.

Watch the video below, courtesy of CBS News:

Bob Schieffer To Rep. Bachmann: Does God Use The Weather To Send People Messages?

Josh Feldman — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 16:12:28 +0000

Congresswoman Michele Bachmann appeared on CBS’ Face the Nation today, and was asked by moderator Bob Schieffer about her recent comments about God and Hurricane Irene and if she truly believes that God sends messages through the weather.

Bachmann did not immediately address the issue, first discussing the destruction all along the East Coast, before claiming she was “speaking metaphorically” and explaining her personal religious views.

I believe in God. I’m not ashamed to say that I believe in God, I’m a woman of faith and a woman of prayer. But the comment I made right then was a metaphor. That was very simply what I was doing.

A metaphor? I can’t wait to see which pundit will be the first to bring on a grammar expert to respond.

Schieffer also asked the tea party congresswoman to explain the political differences between herself and Republican presidential frontrunner Rick Perry. Bachmann argued that since 2006, when she was first elected to Congress, she has been heavily involved in fighting against major issues like the health care bill and increased government spending.

Watch the video below, courtesy of CBS:

Bob Schieffer To David Axelrod On Downgrade: ‘Are You Saying The President Bears No Responsibility?’

Matt Schneider — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 20:51:40 +0000

Don’t count on President Obama’s campaign advisor David Axelrod being eager to return to Face the Nation anytime soon. First Bob Schieffer persistently wondered why Obama should be re-elected when the economic situation is “worse” today than it was when Obama first took office. And later in the same interview, Schieffer refuses to let Axelrod blame Republicans for being the sole cause of the S&P downgrade.

After Axelrod attempted to argue that it was Republican brinkmanship and a refusal to compromise that resulted in the S&P decision, Schieffer asked in a state of a shock, “are you saying that the President bears no responsibility for this, that this was all the fault of the other side?” Axelrod, getting visibly frustrated replied:

“Listen Bob what I’m saying is review the history of what happened here . . . this is essentially a Tea Party downgrade. The Tea Party brought us to the brink of a default.”

Yet Schieffer was not impressed with Axelrod’s attempt to label it a “Tea Party Downgrade” and to switch topics to how all the potential Republican presidential candidates failed to endorse any type of debt compromise. Instead Schieffer corrected Axelrod, reminding him that actually Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman did publicly support a compromise.

Watch the clip from CBS below:

CBS’ Bob Schieffer To David Axelrod On Obama: ‘Is This A One Term Presidency?’

Matt Schneider — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 18:55:11 +0000

Bob Schieffer was enjoyably prickly today as he interviewed President Obama’s campaign advisor David Axelrod. After playing a clip of Obama from the beginning of his presidency telling Matt Lauer that three years later Americans will be able to determine whether he deserves a second term, Schieffer posed the question rather bluntly to Axelrod. “Is this going to be a one-term presidency?”

The question prompted this exchange, which seemed to leave Axelrod a bit shaken:

Axelord: “We are in a different place than we were the day he did that interview.”
Schieffer: “We are, things are worse than they were.”

And after Axelrod elaborated with a meandering answer, Schieffer interrupted his “extended response” and respectfully suggested he “stop talking about what the election is going to be about.” Instead Schieffer focused on what could be done now, and wondered whether he was wrong to think that nothing would get accomplished before the election. Axelrod politely informed him that yes, he was wrong, and that big things can still be accomplished. However, Schieffer’s visible skepticism and agitation with some of Axelrod’s long-winded responses suggest that Schieffer, like many Americans, may be eager for results.

Watch the clip from CBS below:

CBS’ Bob Schieffer To Sen. McConnell: Is The Tea Party Holding The Republicans Hostage?

Matt Schneider — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 19:15:57 +0000

Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell took some time away from the ongoing debt negotiations in order to speak with Bob Schieffer. Although McConnell was sounding optimistic about the prospect of a deal being reached, Schieffer was still intrigued by the growing influence of the Tea Party and whether or not the entire Republican party was being held hostage by them?

In the first part of the video, Schieffer asked if McConnell worried about Republicans getting blamed for the ongoing debt crisis? McConnell wasn’t worried and disputed the idea that the Tea Party has done any harm to the image of the Republican party. Instead, he argued “the American people wanted us to do something about out of control spending” and now finally they’re beginning to get spending under control. Yet Schieffer didn’t understand why it seems like the Tea Party is calling the shots, using an analogy suggested by a viewer, that it’s like the teenager in charge of the family budget.

Yet acting like the wise grandfather of a large family, McConnell dismissed the idea of any internal conflict and replied “one thing that Republicans all have in common, they want a smaller government, and they don’t want to raise taxes.” In other words, blood is thicker than water, and a distaste for large government is thickest of all.

Watch the clip from CBS below:

CBS’ Bob Schieffer To Imus: Republican’s ‘Cut, Cap And Balance’ Bill Is A ‘Total Waste Of Time’

Matt Schneider — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 17:29:36 +0000

CBS’ Bob Schieffer joked that he was “Mr. Sunshine” in his conversation with Don Imus this morning. Schieffer was pessimistic about the ongoing debt negotiations, and particularly disappointed that Republicans were wasting time while President Obama wasn’t really demonstrating much progress either.

Schieffer warned:

“What really bothers me is, and I’m sincere when I say this, I’m afraid we might stumble into some kind of a default situation despite the intentions of the leaders on both sides. And to me that’s kind of the scary part and the part where I think we never have been before.”

Imus hadn’t been paying much attention to the talks, assuming that everything would work out in the end. However, now that he heard Schieffer seriously worry, Imus was a bit unsettled. With the House today voting on the “Cut, Cap, and Balance Act of 2011,” Schieffer didn’t hold back with his opinion of the Republican bill:

“It’s a total waste of time, the votes aren’t there to get the thing passed. Whether you think it’s a good thing or a bad thing, and so it’s part of this little kabuki dance that we go through.”

Schieffer wasn’t all frowns though, admitting that he enjoyed his “lively interview” on Sunday with Republican Senator Marco Rubio, who Schieffer thought was a very “attractive candidate.”

Watch the clip from Fox Business below:

O’Reilly And Bernie Goldberg Spend Segment Gushing Over Sen. Rubio: ‘He Is The Future’

Frances Martel — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 02:06:48 +0000

Though it’s detractors say otherwise, The O’Reilly Factor is not typically a place in which a politician escapes a full segment without receiving at least a jab or two, but tonight, Sen. Marco Rubio achieved just that. In analyzing his performance in a debate with CBS’ Bob Schieffer, both Bill O’Reilly and guest Bernie Goldberg were very impressed with how he “destroyed” Schieffer– so much so they both mused he was practically a shoo-in for the 2012 Republican ticket.

The clip of Sen. Rubio shooting down Schieffer’s claim that the debt was a Bush administration relic proved to Goldberg that a narrative has arisen on the left: “Barack Obama is the reasonable one– he is the one who is responsible fiscally… the GOP, on the other hand, are not responsible and the only two words they know are ‘no taxes.’” Goldberg argued that, while it had just hit the media, it wasn’t originally created there– “Barack Obama painted that picture of himself.” Not all was rosy from Goldberg about the Republicans, however– he argued that “they are coming across as intransigent” and had “hurt themselves in this” with their public rhetoric, concluding that Republicans were likely to “lose the PR war.”

O’Reilly agreed, but made one exception: Sen. Rubio. “Rubio was able to– and he was the only Republican I’ve seen lately– he was about to take the leading questions the media was formulating… and destroy them.” He noted that Sen. Rubio was among he few to make the point that “the President waiting until the last moment, and now we’re facing Armageddon.” He then concluded that the exchange with Schieffer was precisely why “he will be the Vice Presidential nominee”– that, and of course, “because he is Hispanic– he’s Cuban.” Goldberg put up not resistance: “I would put him on the ticket if he were from Guam!” Goldberg exclaimed that “he is the future,” and Republicans should take note, ending the segment with no conflict between guest and host.

The segment via Fox News below: