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| Bob Schieffer: CBS veteran in the chair for crucial Boca Raton debate | Bob Schieffer: CBS veteran in the chair for crucial Boca Raton debate |
| (6 months later) | |
| It's the crucial final debate of the 2012 presidential campaign, and one man may have every right to be anxious about how his performance goes down on Monday night. Not the candidates, but Bob Schieffer, the moderator. | It's the crucial final debate of the 2012 presidential campaign, and one man may have every right to be anxious about how his performance goes down on Monday night. Not the candidates, but Bob Schieffer, the moderator. |
| A common theme of the three debates so far has been the criticism moderators have faced for their performance – being variously accused of not interrupting enough, interrupting too much, and having invited the wrong people to their wedding. | A common theme of the three debates so far has been the criticism moderators have faced for their performance – being variously accused of not interrupting enough, interrupting too much, and having invited the wrong people to their wedding. |
| When Schieffer becomes the latest high-profile journalist to enter the lion's den on Monday night, he will open himself up to similar vitriol from Republicans and Democrats scrutinizing every second of the debate for signs of bias. | When Schieffer becomes the latest high-profile journalist to enter the lion's den on Monday night, he will open himself up to similar vitriol from Republicans and Democrats scrutinizing every second of the debate for signs of bias. |
| The good news is, Schieffer has been here before. The veteran host of CBS's Face the Nation has been in journalism for half a century, and moderated presidential debates in 2004 and 2008. But even he might be surprised by some of the venom directed at contemporaries Jim Lehrer and Candy Crowley. | The good news is, Schieffer has been here before. The veteran host of CBS's Face the Nation has been in journalism for half a century, and moderated presidential debates in 2004 and 2008. But even he might be surprised by some of the venom directed at contemporaries Jim Lehrer and Candy Crowley. |
| Crowley, the chief political correspondent at CNN, was variously accused of having "committed an act of journalistic terror" (Rush Limbaugh) to having committed an act similar to John Wilkes Booth assassinating Abraham Lincoln (the Daily Caller's Tucker Carlson) when she fact-checked Romney in Tuesday's debate. | Crowley, the chief political correspondent at CNN, was variously accused of having "committed an act of journalistic terror" (Rush Limbaugh) to having committed an act similar to John Wilkes Booth assassinating Abraham Lincoln (the Daily Caller's Tucker Carlson) when she fact-checked Romney in Tuesday's debate. |
| ABC's Martha Raddatz, moderating the vice-presidential debate, faced inquiries into her wedding in 1991, where a certain Barack Obama was among the guests as a friend of her husband, Julius Genachowski. (Raddatz and Genachowski divorced in 1997). | ABC's Martha Raddatz, moderating the vice-presidential debate, faced inquiries into her wedding in 1991, where a certain Barack Obama was among the guests as a friend of her husband, Julius Genachowski. (Raddatz and Genachowski divorced in 1997). |
| Lehrer, who arguably did not put in his best performance as he hosted his twelfth presidential debate, faced widespread criticism, descriptions of his performance ranging from "practically useless" to "a bit overwhelmed". | Lehrer, who arguably did not put in his best performance as he hosted his twelfth presidential debate, faced widespread criticism, descriptions of his performance ranging from "practically useless" to "a bit overwhelmed". |
| But Schieffer's huge experience reporting on Washington means he should certainly be well placed to chair Tuesday's debate in Boca Raton, Florida, and his easygoing demeanour should mean he is able to handle any criticism that comes thereafter. | But Schieffer's huge experience reporting on Washington means he should certainly be well placed to chair Tuesday's debate in Boca Raton, Florida, and his easygoing demeanour should mean he is able to handle any criticism that comes thereafter. |
| Schieffer, 75, grew up in Fort Worth, Texas, and attending Texas Christian University before serving in the US air force. He joined the Fort Worth-Star Telegram upon leaving the military, with one of his first big scoops coming in 1963, when John F Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. | Schieffer, 75, grew up in Fort Worth, Texas, and attending Texas Christian University before serving in the US air force. He joined the Fort Worth-Star Telegram upon leaving the military, with one of his first big scoops coming in 1963, when John F Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. |
| Schieffer was the night police reporter that evening, and described in an article for Poynter how, amid the newsroom bedlam in the wake of Kennedy's shooting, he grabbed a ringing phone to find a woman ask: "Is there anyone there who can give me a ride to Dallas?" | Schieffer was the night police reporter that evening, and described in an article for Poynter how, amid the newsroom bedlam in the wake of Kennedy's shooting, he grabbed a ringing phone to find a woman ask: "Is there anyone there who can give me a ride to Dallas?" |
| It was Lee Harvey Oswald's mother. Schieffer obliged, collecting Marguerite Oswald and driving her to the police station, where police took him to be a "young detective" and agreed to allow Schieffer to speak to the suspect. After waiting for six hours, an FBI agent finally asked Schieffer why he was there, only to be "not amused to discover I was a reporter". | It was Lee Harvey Oswald's mother. Schieffer obliged, collecting Marguerite Oswald and driving her to the police station, where police took him to be a "young detective" and agreed to allow Schieffer to speak to the suspect. After waiting for six hours, an FBI agent finally asked Schieffer why he was there, only to be "not amused to discover I was a reporter". |
| "I never got that scoop but over the years there would be more stories to write about the Kennedys," Schieffer said. He moved from the Star-Telegram into local television and was later hired by CBS, first as a general reporter, then moving into national politics. | "I never got that scoop but over the years there would be more stories to write about the Kennedys," Schieffer said. He moved from the Star-Telegram into local television and was later hired by CBS, first as a general reporter, then moving into national politics. |
| In an interview with his former newspaper on Friday Schieffer lamented the fact that "people pay too much attention to moderators" in the current environment. | In an interview with his former newspaper on Friday Schieffer lamented the fact that "people pay too much attention to moderators" in the current environment. |
| "We're like the umpires. You only hear criticism from the losing team," Schieffer said. | "We're like the umpires. You only hear criticism from the losing team," Schieffer said. |
| "These debates are not about what the candidates say. People are watching to judge character. | "These debates are not about what the candidates say. People are watching to judge character. |
| "I don't think it matters what the questions are about – what matters is how candidates answer. Do they seem in control? … I'm just there to help the viewers get a better understanding of who these people are." | "I don't think it matters what the questions are about – what matters is how candidates answer. Do they seem in control? … I'm just there to help the viewers get a better understanding of who these people are." |
| Schieffer has stayed with the political beat for over 40 years, first serving as White House correspondent, then chief Washington correspondent before becoming the anchor of Face the Nation in 1991. | Schieffer has stayed with the political beat for over 40 years, first serving as White House correspondent, then chief Washington correspondent before becoming the anchor of Face the Nation in 1991. |
| While it is "an honour to be asked" to moderate the debate, Schieffer lamented the partisanship in American politics in an interview with Florida's Palm Beach Post over the weekend. | While it is "an honour to be asked" to moderate the debate, Schieffer lamented the partisanship in American politics in an interview with Florida's Palm Beach Post over the weekend. |
| "Now we have people who want news from a conservative slant or a liberal slant, and they go to different places. It's a rare thing when we get our information from the same place," Schieffer said, adding that was why it was so important that both sides can use the debates to see the opposing candidates on the same stage. | "Now we have people who want news from a conservative slant or a liberal slant, and they go to different places. It's a rare thing when we get our information from the same place," Schieffer said, adding that was why it was so important that both sides can use the debates to see the opposing candidates on the same stage. |
| "Because the partisan divide is deeper than I ever remember it," Schieffer said. "A deep, deep divide, and I've been in Washington 43 years." | "Because the partisan divide is deeper than I ever remember it," Schieffer said. "A deep, deep divide, and I've been in Washington 43 years." |
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