Bob Schieffer: Time to Ship out?

I have not been a frequent viewer of the evening news with Katie Couric. I did approve of her straightforward questioning when she interviewed Sarah Palin. After that extended conversation, it was clear to me that Governor Palin was simply not Presidential material. Couric may not have the gravitas of Walker Cronkite, but her work is acceptable

I bring up Couric's work as a news anchor in contrast to Bob Schieffer, who served as interim news anchor for CBS after Dan Rather resigned in the wake of the "Bushgate" smear. Schieffer was an affable man, one who made his viewers feel as if he was right there in the living room with them, sharing the news like a close friend or relative talking about the events of the day.

His homespun charm, however, is starting to wear away, and his political leanings are fraying the welcoming tone of his commentaries. I refer, for the most part, to his role as news mediate on "Face the Nation".

In his commentaries, he has betrayed an attention to facts and foibles which are both irrelevant and inappropriate. He decried the lack of bipartisan civility which the country had enjoyed shortly after 9-11, when both parties in the Senate voted 98-0 to set up extensive funding for the Department of Homeland Security. What Schieffer ignores is that this bipartisanship is the biggest reason why this country is facing massive deficits, crippling national debt, and growing insolvency in unsustainable entitlement programs. This bipartisanship which Schieffer longs to restore in this country is the very dysfunction which is undermining not just our current financial well-being, but the economic opportunities for generations to come.

In another final word, in the midst of Congressional arguments to defund the wasteful Medical Mandate "Obamacare" and the intense wrangling over this nation's budgetary woes, Schieffer chided newly elected House Speaker John Boehner on his smoking habits! In contrast to the Speaker's private vice, the news anchor praised President Obama for the variable private virtue of having kicked his own nicotine habit. Obama's personal health problems, and Boehner's for that matter, are of little concern to the American people. Besides, Boehner's private vice is nothing like the very public irresponsibility of this current administration, which is bankrupting the United States while thwarting effective free market principles and an aggressive foreign policy to protect national interests.

As if these short-sighted comments were not enough, just this past Sunday Schieffer brought up New Jersey governor Chris Christie's weight as a segue to First Lady Michelle Obama's program to tackle childhood obesity. I was offended that Schieffer would waste air time touting a weight and nutrition program on national television, while needlessly pointing out the weight "problem" of a governor whose bold achievements have slashed the government largesse impoverishing his state. That's the fat-trimming which Scheiffer should have been focusing on.

In addition to these three segments which I have pointed out, I am sure there are more incidents where Bob Schieffer has betrayed either a heedless attention to irrelevant facts or leaked out a liberal bias. In the middle of his interview with Governor Christie last Sunday, the camera even caught him nodding right after the program came back on air. I even heard the camera crew behind him whisper, "Bob, we're back." Schieffer simply does not seem to be alert anymore. Sunday morning news deserves more diligent newscasters than what CBS is currently providing.

Perhaps Katie Couric could make an effective transition into the News Anchor chair on"Face the Nation". . . .