Face The Nation: Schieffer Wakes Up To Life Under The Bush Administration
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I don't know where Bob Schieffer's been these last seven years, but he thinks that the White House might have an credibility problem:
I saw a story in the Washington Post the other day, where a reporter granted a government official anonymity in order as the newspaper put it, 'for the government official to speak more candidly.' Well, that made me wonder. Do we no longer expect government officials to tell the whole story if they must take responsibility for what they say? Even worse, do we believe that is acceptable?
For sure, the White House won no prize for candor last week; it gave the outgoing head of the General Services Administration, Lurita Doan, a big send off by thanking her for making government buildings more energy-efficient or some such, when in truth, she was forced out. She was the object of multiple investigations, suspicious dealings on government contracts, and asking government employees what they could do to help political candidates, which is, of course, against the law. Even the government’s watchdog agency recommended she be disciplined to the fullest extent. Yet the White House spokesman declined to say if her resignation had anything to do with any of that. From the White House came only thanks and confirmation she was gone. The government saw no obligation to say why, which leads me to this: have decades of secrecy, spin and stonewalling conditioned us to accept less than the whole story from the government? Is telling the whole truth no longer a given? Frankly, I’m not sure. What I do know is more and more people seem skeptical everything the government says and does. What we saw last week may be one reason why.
Oh Jiminy Christmas. The Lurita Doan scandal is such a minor one relative to all the other lies, spin, incompetence and outright negligence of the Bush administration that it's tragically laughable that this is the one that Schieffer thinks exemplifies why the American people are skeptical to what comes out of the White House.
But the $64,000 question that Schieffer refuses to address is how much responsibility should the establishment media take upon itself for unconditionally and unquestioningly putting out White House talking points with no context or independent fact finding. Where is the onus on the Fourth Estate?
the spoiler 08
There the f*** has he been?
Abetting liars makes you a liar, Schieffer. Among other things your mother wouldn't be proud of.
Where is the obligation of the MSM , which you are a sorry part of Bobby , to be the watchdogs over our government for us ?
You are simply a part of a money-making enterprise and the hell with everyone and everything else ; your hypocrisy and willful ignorance are appalling...........
Bob Schieffer Finally Sees the Light, Calls for Nixon’s Resignation
Same with the FOX video link. Seems to happen more and more lately.
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Same error as #6
Link Chequer @ 6:
We're under a hack attack. Give us a second to stabilize.
Wow Bob! You're really smart!
...and thanks for helping create this problem you speak of.
Now go fuck yourself!
Would y'all be happier if Schieffer was busy singing Katie Couric's praises?
The problem of not calling out government Bush-shit doesn't begin and end at Bob Schieffer's desk. It includes seven years of worthless, spineless Democratic enabling. It includes a public that expects to go to the magic box or teh Internets to be told what to think. (We're all selling shit, even when you come here to C&L or DailyKos. It's up to you to be the intelligent consumer.)
What needs to happen to reform the media, among other things (and feel free to add to the list):
- Get rid of 'expert-driven' commentary. "Here to explain What It Really Means is ..." gave us the Pentagon Propaganda Patrol. At some point, executives decided that 'give the audience the facts' became 'the audience couldn't blow their nose with a truck of dynamite and a team of helpers,' so we'll spoon-feed it to them.
- Start paying attention to language. Even after getting burned by the 'we never said imminent' game, the media kept lining up for more helpings of Bubba Bush's Bullshit BBQ & Beans. Now, we're hiring Karl Rove and Tony Snow as 'expert commentators' ...
- Choose between truth and ideology. They're not the same. The moment people start equivocating about 'well, it's more complex than that,' and nauseating lines like 'we need moral clarity' or 'we need good science' - it means we're shaving off facts to fit a square peg in a round hole.
- Dependence on the corporate bottom line. Yes, news is a business. Costs money, and lots of it. But it seems we've crossed the line, and now we're so dependent on the money teat that we'll say or do just about anything to keep our place in line.
Media? Fourth Estate? That is just a fable created by the media for themselves. They have always been run by the rich, for the rich.
sayyyyyyyy does obams know about this?
DannyEastVillage @ 2:
Who?
Nearly every story on Schieffer on C&L has been positive. example But, for some reason, today he gets a negative review.
Whatever.
tyree @ 12:
Obama is getting tossed under the bus by Repubs and Dems right now, because he doesn't sound exactly like he should. Clinton does. He doesn't understand, you are supposed to lie, cheat and steal an election. And if that doesn't work, get the media to do it for you.
For most of these Washington DC based "journalists" it's about getting a ticket to the next hot social event. Ask real questions of the powerful and fear banishment from the inner circle. It's now about glamour and prestige. America is lost. Get used to it.
JTM @ 13:
Everyone is deserving of criticism ; there isn't 1 individual who is beyond reproach (unless of course , you're a GOP/Chimpy leg humping twit ; they believe their moronic heroes do no wrong)
Schieffer is as good as we've got now folks, and he's the last of the breed.
His replacement will undoubtedly be a corporate c*ck-sucker who'll be lucky to interrupt the fellating of a sponsor's CEO long enough to breathe, let alone report anything significant.
To all of the msm media that went along with the bullshit that this administration was selling, you will have to live with your decision to go along with the it for the rest of your lives. Though you were'nt totally responsible for this debacle, you played a very important part in it. You've all been played by a handful of evil people. The public was dependent on you to ask the right questions and you didn't. Seems to me though that you're still carrying the water because you either hire or choose to be silent on all of the neocons who get jobs at the so called liberal media.
Bob Schieffer is simply another neocon right wing republican. He is dangerous to humanity. A totally worthless piece of shit. The sooner people of goodwill realize it, the sooner his type of insanity will stop.
The question is where is Paula Zahn? You know the nazi camp guard wannabe?
Well she has taken to abusing the elderly on PBS with her series on retirement.
Can America ever rid itself of these immoral sacks of shit?
Bob has discovered what I have been saying for years. You may now move up 1 row in the class Bob.
Maybe before Bob retires, he is going to deliver honest reporting and today was his
practice run.
Imagine, on his last day, Bob letting loose with the truth! Wouldn't it be grand
and oh, so patriotic? He could shame all others and begin a trend back to
journalistic integrity.
All he's doing is setting the table for the great introspection of the media for their behavior of the past seven years. After much discussion, they'll reform on January 20, 2009, and face the new Democratic President with the proper skeptical attitude. And then some.
In authoritarian governments bad news is concealed. In authoritarian governments, the concealment eventually blows up in da Gubbmint's face. Bush is unquestionably stupid. I'm becoming convinced of his authoritarianism. Why was there no impeachment 2 years ago, when it actually would have done some good?
Fourth Estate?! Just as Justice scalia said that The Constitution is not a living document( "It is dead" )so the Fourth Estate appears to be dead.
Keep speaking the truth Bob...
Bob should also expand the guests....
...to talk about the chaos that the Bush Admin has created.
A former federal investigator explains...
.. worked for NASA and the U.S. Treasury Department
Extraordinary Times, Intentional Collapse, and Takedown of the U.S.A.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/PrintArticle.php?articleId=8854
On the hack attack...
Keep track of all the IP addresses for evidence!
There is very little sunlight or illumination when you continue to walk around with your head up your ass.
Bob seems to be a little behind the curve on this one.
One must realize that this is the goal of the Neocons. Destroy any vestige of trust in our govt, drown it in the bathtub. They don't care about this country (while they rob us blind), why, if govt did it's job people might actually expect something in return for their tax dollars and be happier with the outcome.
JTM @ 13:
Wow, this guy is so out of touch there is no reason to value anything he has to say in the past.
Hell, he's just part of the journo mob who's trying to sweep a bit of their dried sh*t under the rug so that the possible new incoming Democratic President and Congress won't completely blow them off.
By pretending to give a sh*t now about what they've given hardly a sh*t about for the past 7 years, they're trying to smooth out the possibility that the incoming President won't cut them out of the loop.
Gee. Bet he feels real bad about that sloppy bj of a debate moderater performance he handed Bush four years ago, right?
"I don’t know where Bob Schieffer’s been these last seven years ..."
And, Bob's as good as it gets in today's MSM. Sad but true!
"Is telling the whole truth no longer a given? Frankly, I’m not sure".
I wouldn't be sure, either, if it meant cashing a paycheck worth millions each year.
Shadowgm Hussein @ 10:
Yes it is easy to blame the press rather than looking in your own closet. Democraric enablers is absoutly correct. And it goes on to this day. Ried and Pelosie can't be bothered to even consider a gas tax holiday regardless of its merits or lack there of. They are too busy preparing to cave in to Bush's demand for another hundred billion for the war in Iraq,
just like they have caved in on every other legislative item that might possibly have shortened this war or called this administration into account.
If the unthinkable happens and McCain wins this election it won't be because people think he is the better choice but rather because they are afraid of the "Quisling" wing of the
Democratic party. They have shown us what they can do, and they haven't shown us much.
"Small wonder that confidence languishes, for it thrives only on honesty, on honor, on the sacredness of obligations, on faithful protection, on unselfish performance. With out them it can not live." (FDR 1933)
Ol' Bob must have gotten permission from the WH to say what he said.
Nicole is dead right when she indicates that the doan incidents are miniscule compared to the absolute shit that this administration pulls on a daily basis. This "new" candor by one in the MSM may simply be a sign that the WH realizes that bush's legacy is "less than zero", and therefore has given permission for the MSM to try to help mccain distance himself somewhat from the criminals currently in the WH - to help his presidential run.
You do realize that the whole 'MSM as Villain' meme has been consistently promoted by the folks on the conservative side, including FOX News Channel and Rush Limbaugh.
They're winning because we're adopting their framing.
Wouldn't it be refreshing if one day soon we woke up with the MSM exposing the Republican party as the Constitution-shredding, flag-burning, vet-hating, anti-American party it really is? I must be dreaming or else I've had too much sun today. Get out and enjoy the sun. Not much time left. "Nuke 'em Hillary" is on the rise.
Its not journalism, it never has been - its television.
They're just a bunch of salesmen.
Maureen Dowd has given me the reason I have been looking for to vote for Obama:
"...he is very well liked by his Secret Service agents, and shoots hoops with them."
What a guy.
The uncomfortable truth Bob Schieffer is telling is that we as a people accept to be bullshitted on a daily basis by politicians, pundits .... and bloggers.
Did you listen to what he said?
Did anyone of you bloggers organize a million march on Washington to pressure both the White House and Congress like the civil rights movement did in the 1960s?
I guess what I am saying is that you are barking up the wrong tree. First, because few if any of the MSM or the "alternative" media actually reported the event he mentioned (as well as all the other investigations under way in Congress). Second, because he reminded us that we all, as citizens, are responsible if we let ourselves be duped.
And where were you three or four years ago, Bob?!?!? It's not as if any of this is some sort of news flash...
Oh, yeah...that's right! That's where you were...hiding your head in the sand, collecting a fat paycheck, and telling yourself that everything was steady as she goes. The only reason why you're finally taking your head out of the sand now and ruffling your feathers over this is because now it's safe for you to do that -- with the Bush administration's approval rating at an all-time low, the bloom is by now most definitely off the rose as far as the American people are concerned and the patriotism of people who criticize the Bush administration is no longer automatically subject to dispute. You're not truly reporting the news, Bob...for the most part, all you're doing is jumping on the bandwagon and saying "Me, too!" because now it's safe to do that whereas it wasn't before.
Cut Bob Schieffer some slack, he does a good job.
Shadowgm Hussein @ 36:
Rubbish. Did you even read Schieffer's commentary? ("Is telling the whole truth no longer a given? Frankly, I’m not sure”).
Are you familiar with the ongoing network censorship of the collusion between the Pentagon ex-military talking heads and themselves? Schieffer spoke just this morning, and the ongoing censorship is, what? two weeks old?
But the rank corruption of the people's airwaves by corporate owned newsrooms has been decades in the making. It's preposterous to suggest that anyone is playing into the hands of the GOP by acknowledging that rude truth. You seem to think that the feeble stirrings of the democratic party in challenging the status quo is a dangerous turn of events. Why you're so timid?
Nicole In the OP-
I'm seeing this slightly differently, Nicole.
IMO, back in '04 CBS/Viacom had the last of the three network news organizations that did buckle under. CBS went toe-to-toe with Bushco over what CBS (wrongly, imo) admitted to be forged papers showing that Stupor Mundi was AWOL. But the GOP had won the spin war ("none of those military typewriters could have typed those documents"), though not convincingly, imo- again- and forced a harsh settlement on CBS' news division. Rather- out, Couric- in.
So, yeah, CBS folded. But it doesn't mean that they were out of chips. I think that Schieffer's comments today have been coming for a while now. I've seen many Sunday posts at this thread thanking Schieffer foir his fairness, for his willingness to ask real, hard questions. I think these comments might be construed as a warning to Bushco that CBS has at least been following the news if not necessarily divulging it, and is ready to ask questions and report the news instead of the spin.
Hey , Couric seems to be on the way out. I might just be on to something.
Andy K Jong Il @ 44:
Fixed
The last time I watched this rat, he had someone on who told the truth about something and ol bob at the end said " And thats your version of the facts", what the hell does that mean? facts are facts. I have not watched the msm for a couple years, don't miss them, don't miss the bullshit they dish out. If they can't serve you a dish, you can't eat it. The most urgent thing we need to do, and I mean asap, is to get back our control of the airways. Untill we do that nothing will change. Why do we let these war mongering crooks make a shitload of money off of our airways, while they use those airways to control and abuse us? CEO
sad. this is what it looks like when a dinosaur smells the ice age. after its been buried for a thousand years.
and its not just "Life Under the Bush Administration," re the title. i mean, as if the clinton administration told no lies? if we're going to get back (back?) to good government, we have to admit the truth now. and the truth is that its not just a Left-Right divide when it comes to snowing the public and using them to your ends. never has been. let's not get too cozy in our teams righteousness. not if actual righteousness is the eventual goal.
Right out of the Republican playbook.
Pick a small scandal. Feign outrage. Build a small fire under the viewers. If the Dems win in November, stoke that fire and use it to burn anything the Dems do.
Do you really think he is fucking seriously going to take on the Bushies and the rest of the Republicans. No way. He knows everything they have done. He just is laying the groundwork for any potential Democrat.
They're teeing it up, folks. Just wait until a Democratic administration is up and running. It will be just like the days of Nixon. Constant pressure from the press, questions of substance and a dogged regard for the truth.
Am I the only one that sees this?
.
Because its not the truth if it's not interjected with "FIXED FACTS".
.
poor bob, reminiscing about the days when journalism was actually practiced. he never mentions his pandering to chainey against edwards in the 'debate' bob never mentions his own lies that made this possible.
As I said before: "Fuck bob schieffer"
joeyess @ 49:
fixed it!
what a way to go out you old fool.....your whole life comes down to what people will remember you for....as a shill for the most corrupt and dishonest administration this country has ever experienced. Oh yeah... and go f yourself a-hole....
Andy K Jong Il @ 45:
I think nicole nailed it. cbs has rarely backed rather in anything he did and they threw him under the bus. shieffer is a piece of shit. people are thanking him for making plenty of money regularly lying to them. then we get our weekly platitudinous excerpt.
please give me a break.
fuck bob's lying tongue.
Jay Severin Has A Small Pen1s @ 48:
well put.
CoIntelPro against DIVISIVE DEMS. @ 51:
Uhm, yeah, uhm....It was the moderator Vice Presidential debates that dealt the death blow to Kerry/Edwards '04? Really? Really?!?
CoIntelPro against DIVISIVE DEMS. @ 55:
Yes, well put!
Andy K Jong Il @ 56:
the death blow was OHIO/DIEBOLD + FLORIDA/SEC-OF-STATE. but that's not what anyone types about.
CoIntelPro against DIVISIVE DEMS. @ 54:
Okay, I understand that everyone may perceive Schieffer differently, but as far as C&L's perspective- the Face the Nation/Bob Schieffer archive at C&L- it's Nicole whose tone has changed. Nearly everything in that archive, including blogs by Nicole, are nothing short of appreciative of Schieffer.
And that's my point- Schieffer has been opening it up over the last 6 months in the small forum- a little watched but influential Sunday morning talking heads program- to do what he can to promote a more honest journalism. Maybe I'm wrong that we should take it as a signal for CBS News as a whole- maybe it's just Schieffer. But someone at CBS must be giving Schieffer some wiggle room. We'll know soon enough, when Schieffer gets "retired".
I gotta say that some of the comments here against Bob are really too much. He has opined for us for quite a while, but to read some of the profanity against him in here is really beyond a joke. There's always big talk here at C&L about the right, and its lack of tolerance for dissent or difference of opinion, but for some reason, this ineffectual ed. by Schieffer has really shown some for what they're worth. Comments like:
"piece of shit"
and
"Bob's lying tongue"
and this one was totally ridiculous:
"Bob Schieffer is simply another neocon right wing republican. He is dangerous to humanity."
What the hell is happening here?
This post is completely unfair. How many times has C&L posted Schieffer's moderate but incisive commentaries that criticize the Bush Administration? I've seen lots of them here. Okay, so his rhetoric doesn't match yours, Nicole (or mine), stop stabbing a clear-headed friend of America in the back. Bob Schieffer is not Keith Olbermann; millions listen to Schieffer who won't listen to Olbermann, whose rat-a-tat sounds shrill to them.
They both should be on television, and I'm glad they are. You are completely off base. Why must liberals continually devour their own?
From Wiki
"Schieffer is the older brother of Tom Schieffer, a friend and former business partner of President George W. Bush, who was appointed U.S. Ambassador to Australia 2001-2005 by President Bush and as of November, 2005 is currently the U.S. Ambassador to Japan."
And you wonder why it's only now, with his source on his way out of office that he notices that there might be something wrong.
To paraphrase Casablanca, "I'm shocked, shocked that there may be prevarications going on around here."
Screw you, Bob Schieffer. Go "duck!" hunting with Dirty Dick Cheney.
Jeez. Maybe our forefathers were on to something when they wrote the first flipping amendment, Mr. Scheiffer. What a maroon!
Anybody who thinks Schieffer just woke up to Bush's B.S. hasn't been paying attention. With all the REAL media slugs (such as BillO, Hannity, Matthews, Russert), why attack one of the GOOD guys? Just because he is pointing out the administration's lack of credibility doesn't mean he's just now discovering it.
C&L knows better than to say he is just waking up. Looks more like C&L quality control has fallen asleep, since this current post's headline doesn't have any validity. Look at previous C&L stories on Bob Schieffer. Here are a few choice headlines that show that Schieffer is wide awake and Nicole has fallen asleep at the keyboard:
- October 7, 2007: Schieffer Blasts Bush Admin Over Lack Of Contractor Oversight
- October 28, 2007: Bob Schieffer Commentary Slams FEMA For Phony Press Conference
- November 18, 2007: Face The Nation: Congressional Gridlock
- November 25, 2007: Bob Schieffer’s Commentary: Politicians Think We’re Stupid
- December 2, 2007: Bob Schieffer Commentary: “Iraq Is Still The Place Where Americans Are Dying”
- December 9, 2007: Bob Schieffer Commentary: CIA Torture Tapes & The Message Of Edward R. Murrow
- January 20, 2008: Face The Nation: Bob Schieffer Scolds Gen Tommy Franks
- January 28, 2008: Bob Schieffer: By The Way, Candidates, There’s A War On
- April 20, 2008: Face The Nation: Schieffer Reminds Us That It’s The Patriotism, Not The Lapel Pin
I hope C&L will have the integrity to stand by more than a year of praise for Bob by removing this current unfounded attack, or at least rewriting the headline to accurately reflect the content. Otherwise, C&L is following the same bad journalistic practices that you so often criticize. Hypocrisy is hypocrisy, no matter which side does it.
Paul B. @ 65:
Thanks for the reminder, and the references. I certainly hope C&L pays heed, because it's one of the few places I visit daily and I'd like to continue to trust them.
The deal for Bob Schaefer is this: this is one of the best documented boners that the Bush administration pulled. Bob's going for the easy shot. Yes, it's the easiest shot, but at least he went for it. When have any of the rest of them gone for any shot, besided Abrams and Olbermann? Just about never.
We finially have enough people on our side to work in shifts, good going guys and girls,it has been 7 long hard fought years, I see light at the end of tunnel.
Given what I said above, it's not enough for Schaeffer to find the occasional low-hanging fruit. These guys implicitly said that they were going to go out and dig up and report the news. They implicitly re-promise this every time they call their shows "news" programs. It's bullshit that they very occasionally put on their good-guy white hats, climb on their little ponies, ride out and poke a tiny pin in these sacks of shit, coming out with this weak copy when the Bush administration has taken an elephant-sized and -smelling shit on us and the world at large, and they say, "Well, this smells kind of like poop." C & L has it right. This pointlessly polite shit has to stop.
I'll believe Schieffer has woke up when he starts saying that this administration and all its cronies should be tried for war crimes, crimes against humanity and treason. Till then Schieffer means nothing to me.
Where is the onus on the Fourth Estate?
I don't know about the onus, but their anus sits on top of their necks.
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