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Bob Schieffer is sitting on a scoop he needs to share with the world, unless his rules for ‘off-the-record’ are the same as the late Tim Russert: everything is always off-the-record unless the newsmaker specifically grants ‘permission to use.’
Nico Pitney gets the ball rolling:
"Not long ago," Schieffer added, "a staffer for a congressional leader actually asked if we could provide a private waiting room for his boss who was appearing on Face the Nation because the boss didn’t want to share a waiting room with someone from the other party."
So — who is it, Bob? And why can’t you say?
Pitney started the research at the Face the Nation guest list website:
So which congressional leader was he talking about? A review of recent Face the Nation guests shows the most recent program with guests that fit the description took place on March 21, when three congressional leaders were featured on the show:
- Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C. Majority Whip;
- Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Minority Leader
- Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., Assistant Majority Leader
Except I think that’s an incomplete list. First of all, ‘not long ago’ is a general phrase and Schieffer could use it to apply to visits in the recent past. Personally, I wouldn’t use that phrase to apply to the most recent guest list it applies to, as Nico Pitney does. Secondly, these three congressional leaders all appeared on the same show, which would be noteworthy and perhaps mentioned by Schieffer. He didn’t say the congressional leader refused to share the green room with another leader — it was a member of the opposite party. Doesn’t that imply it wasn’t another leader, since that would be even more newsworthy?
Which opens up the possibilities, as follows:
March 14, 2010
Guests: White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs; Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.; Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla.; and Karen Ignagni, President, America’s Health Insurance Plans
Both Alexander and Wasserman-Schultz are ‘congressional leaders,’ and certainly March 14 was ‘not long ago.’
But also:
March 7, 2010
Guests: Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind.; Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; Dan Balz, The Washington Post; and Jim VandeHei, Executive Editor of Politico
Lindsey Graham is a congressional leader, and Evan Bayh’s relentless centrism and Blue-Dogginess may have convinced Bob Schieffer that he is too.
Also:
February 28, 2010
Guests: House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md.; Sen Tom Coburn, R-Okla.; Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D.; and Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.
Could you stand to be in a room with Coburn and Blackburn? My sympathies to Hoyer here. I too would make the demand for my own green room, if only to preserve my IQ.
Back a ways, but still this year:
January 24, 2010
Guests: Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.; Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill.; CBS News Congressional correspondent Nancy Cordes; and CBS News chief legal correspondent Jan Crawford
The Blackburn/Coburn IQ rule applies here, too.
And, finally:
January 10, 2010
Guests: Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.; Rep. Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich.; Peter Baker, New York Times White House Correspondent; and CBS News chief legal correspondent Jan Crawford
Given Hoekstra’s unpatriotic leakage of intelligence matters and grandstanding every time terror is in the news, if I were Dianne Feinstein, I would ask for my own room too. Plus it’s the kind of story Schieffer would tell, in his charmingly old-school way. Additionally, there is a suspicious lack of pronoun use in Schieffer’s statement:
a staffer for a congressional leader actually asked if we could provide a private waiting room for his boss who was appearing on Face the Nation because the boss didn’t want to share a waiting room with someone from the other party
So, I will repeat Nico Pitney’s question, but with a deeper pool from which you can choose: who do you think it was?
44 Comments
Schieffer is operating in a pre-Libby world. He should be ashamed.
And he should tell. The story has no resonance without a central player.
It is irresponsible not to speculate, right?
So I speculate that it was WassermanSchultz not wanting to share space with Lamah Alexandah.
But as always, I might be …
Oh, I thought it might be the other-way-round: Lamar not wanting to catch the cancer or Jewy-ness, you know…
I was assuming that Lamah just might have a case of roamin’ hands
Oh, my, probably. But roaming hands on a lady is certainly odd for a GOP, no?
I’ll go with the Hoyer group. I wouldn’t want to be in the same room with any of those.
I suppose if you consider Jim VandeHei a member of the opposing party (the fourth estate) it might be too stimulating for Senator Graham. Jim is a cutey-pie.
I pick Mitch McConnell.
A number of reasons for this pick.
1. The only thing that’s more fun for these hosts than having a
newsworthy storysecret and keeping it from the viewers(insert your examples here) is toleaktalk about thefact(they don’t know WTF a fact is anymore so can’t use that word…) that they know a secret but are keeping it ( ala “tune in to our show next week and maybe I’ll tell my secret”…).2. This leak must occur at the FIRST opportunity. Thus instead of:
What really might have been said was (but also not said for reason 3 below):
3. Never report facts when you can make it seem like intrigue at the palace:
That’s why the viewers become participants in the mystery: Who?, What?, When?, Where?, Why?, How? How much more fun it is.
4. There is also the quid pro quo of not revealing the dirty secrets in exchange for continued access to the esteemed ‘congressional leaders’.
Reporting the name of the ‘congressional leader’ would inhibit access in the future and lead to more churlish behavior from this so called ‘congressional leader’. It might also expose that this ‘congressional leader’ is in fact one of the bipartisan obstructionists, who- if they can’t be in the same room – then all the ‘negotiating’ was also a lie too.
In summary Mitch Mcconnell is: ‘the man’. I’m sure he’ll explain all this controversy on Faux News tomorrow.
All excellent points.
I do wonder, though, if Schieffer wouldn’t have done better vis a vis access if he’d kept his secret from us, while letting McConnell know he knew it.
Extreme courtier behavior is difficult to explicate far from court, no?
Then he would fail to remind us how important he is. If we didn’t think him important, we wouldn’t watch his show, ratings and revenues- thus Schieffer’s pay and power would decline. There is no better secret for these folks than a secret leaked- and preferably leaked bit by bit to stretch the reveal. ( Bad news- watched this on the internet!!)
The unnamed ‘congressional leader’ also knows how all this works.
Said leader expects silence from Schieffer, and will get it.
If Schieffer reveals the name, that will violate the code of silence and also be a ‘partisan attack’.
It seems improbable that this is the first mention of this by Schieffer.
Not going to bother to search this, but would be very surprised that he hasn’t mentioned on the record this on prior occasion(s).
And after thinking about it a little more it is still my best guess that it was Mitch McConnell complaining to his staffer that caused the request for a private dressing room to be made.
But I stand ready to be corrected- Mitch, Bob????
EDIT ADD: I’ll be glad to send the WAAAAAmbulance if I knew who was in need…
I’d be happy to send the waambulance for all members of congress, taking them straight to the looney bin. Until they are certified sane by European docs.
Seconded unless there is a GOPer less likely to cooperate with Dems? Unless there is another GOPer who does not like arguing face to face more against a real opponent?
Unless there is another GOPer more likely to get in a snit?
It is different than a snit.
Forget all the previous analysis.
Look over that list.
Think about it like this: these pols are all in third grade and it is recess time on the playground. When the dispute breaks out who starts swinging (not condoning violence- but it was before zero tolerance), who stands up for themselves, and who is the first to run to the teacher and report a dispute. That’s who probably wanted a private room.
Look this list over both dems and rs and make a pick if you can.
so very well put bravo
I wouldn’t share a green room with any member of congress. So there.
I remember being in the green room of cnbc with some CEO gofers. I was to be on next, so the three of us watched their boss perform. My recommendation to them for him: get a transcript and circle the “Well”s that he started every A with. I was mortified when I got my first such transcript. After that, tried hard to leave a pause if I needed time to consider my A, rather than filling the dead air with an annoying “well”. Not sure how ‘well’ I succeeded.
I can tell the talking heads who’ve been coached by media mavens to be agreeable — they always start an answer with “Yes….” in order not to appear disagreeable. Which often yields the very amusing, “Yes, no, well….” construction.
I hadn’t picked that up, probably because I rarely watch pols on TV.
I have noticed on Wash Journal, the coached have a tendency to say: That’s a great Q. (Leading me to wonder what they would consider to be a stupid Q.)
FYI, Scheiffer is 73 years old. I forgive him any transgressions at that age. Although retirement might be a good idea.
he looks much older to me
Happy BeeMothers Day!
Not only my bees, but my actual, real life, son came thru, thanks very much. The summary of the 2-hour phone call is: This was the kind of conversation we used to have before we stopped having these kinds of conversations. It’s the best MD gift you could have given me. He seemed to appreciate my appreciation.
As for the bees, my beekeeper is convinced they’re gonna swarm any day now & advises me to keep a close eye on them (but not close enough to get stung) so he can capture them for a second hive for me. Keeping my eye on them & my fingers crossed.
So nice to hear about your convo with your son.
Great to break through those many years of non-conversating.
Best of days to you, ma’m.
Yes, Russert was much worse at a much younger age.
It’s not age — it’s how long and how deeply they’ve been steeped, I think.
And here we have just one more reason why I have nothing to do with any of the Sunday Morning Gasbags. If I want news I go elsewhere, with McClatchy probably at the head of the line. Network shit? You’ve gotta be kidding me, right?
They happen too early in my timezone and I don’t know where to find the re-runs. The only thing I saw a week ago was Mika and Joe with their pet Willie after WHCA Prom — Mika looked coked to the gills and ready to vomit as she ended their little segment by saying, “This was NOT a good idea, let’s NOT do this next year.” Very revealing.
agreed total waste of my few remaining neurons,though few would be challenged on the teebee
It’s important to remember that Bob Schieffer’s brother was W’s ambassador to Australia and *iirc* Japan. You don’t get those plums without being a major Ranger-bundler. So Bob’s a made man. The brother was planning to run for governor of Texas as a Democrat, not sure what happened to that scheme.
Didn’t know that about his bro. Very revealing.
Just what does the Press call a conflict of interests?
>>>Just what does the Press call a conflict of interests?
Reporting actual news, rather than doing stenography for Corporatists?
That’s why I get my news from Comedy Central and blogs like this one ;)
He got zero attention, as I recall. Zip.
Well I suppose campaign contributions might be get you in the door..but there is more.
From Tom Schieffer wiki:
Also that wiki:
Not to mention this:
Hepin
JethroDubya become a bidness tycoon- and get his political mojo goin- thats a political contribution.Does anyone doubt Bob was never going to say anything to wreck his brother’s meal ticket?
I’m sure Bob and his brother got kids and grand kids who also want to ride that train.
he is just another extremely overpaid…ELDERLY gassbag,with zero ethics or smarts…A-mazing!
He is part of the reason less and less people watch the news.
and how are you on this fine evening?
guess everyone repared to the drawing room
I thought it was rude for Bob to give the tease. Reminded me of high school when someone had some gossip they weren’t prepared to share. Yet.
Clever analogy. Talking heads are certainly HS level, or lower.
Probably more attention paid to the tease than if he’d simply told the story straight. Just as he planned, and we fell right into his trap! Silly bloggers, wily Bob.
Right. Everyone wondered who he was talking about, and it’s interesting to see the possibilities you highlighted. I’ll go with Miss McConnell too.
Isn’t this a very minor matter to devote so much space (and writing to)? Who cares about this tempest in a teapot when you have bigger issues before you:
1) the oil spill and the role the Obama administration and BP played in it;
2) the escalation of the wars;
3) the continuing economic crisis and high unemployment/underemployment;
4) the coming assault on entitlements (social security);
5) the Obama administration’s continuation of some of the worst features of the Bush administration like forced renditions and increased unitary power;
6) the continued assault on individual freedoms and loss of constitutional rights faced by our citizenry;
7) an unfair, biased and incomprehensible tax code;
8) budget failures at the local and state levels forcing many such governments to cut essential services;
9) the need for more money to be spent on education and less on wars and bombs.
So in the greater scheme of things, why spend time on this non issue?
No. It’s not a minor matter that the media has consistently refused to report what the public needs to know. We ended up in an illegal war in no small part because of it.
It most certainly is the business of the people to know whether a representative paid by the public is so partisan that they cannot be civil; it goes to their inability to be other than obstructionist in their work.
And we do one helluva a lot of heavy lifting on the topics you listed, with a smallish team, community volunteers, and a flyspeck of money compared to mainstream media. You got a beef with what’s being covered? You have the option to cover it yourself.
Are we assuming that the justificaiton for a ‘private room’ was based on partisan political purposes?
Maybe they were just being a Diva or possibly there was a sociopoliticaleconomic ‘class’ thing going on. Maybe they were just being a Dik.
Bob Schieffer like his brother is far right – if it was a Dem he would spit it out in a NY minute
So it has to be the minority leader of the House or Senate.
Hey Teddy your diary was picked up by HuffPro!!
Way to go Teddy!!
I think it was Miss McConnell.. It sure fits his public persona as an Unmitigated Ass with no manners at all.