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Bob Schieffer Quotes

Powerful Bob Schieffer for Daily Growth

About Bob Schieffer

Robert Gerald "Bob" Schieffer is an esteemed American journalist, television host, and political commentator. Born on April 4, 1938, in Austin, Texas, he spent his formative years in Fort Worth where he developed a keen interest in politics and current events. Schieffer's journalism career began at Fort Worth's CBS affiliate station WBAP-TV in 1959, where he worked as a reporter and anchor. In 1969, Schieffer joined the CBS News team, covering significant events such as the Watergate scandal, the Iran hostage crisis, and the fall of the Berlin Wall. He gained further prominence as the White House correspondent during the administrations of four U.S. Presidents: Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Reagan. From 1982 to 2014, Schieffer served as the chief Washington correspondent for CBS News. During this time, he anchored CBS's Sunday public affairs program "Face the Nation" from 1991 until his retirement in 2015. His interviews with notable figures such as Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, and numerous U.S. Presidents, showcased his ability to ask tough questions and foster insightful conversations. Throughout his career, Schieffer has won numerous awards, including 12 Emmy Awards, the Peabody Award, and three duPont-Columbia Awards. In 2003, he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame. Post-retirement, Schieffer continues to write opinion columns for the Texas Tribune and has published several books, including "This Just In: Stories from a Life in the News" and "The Overheated Court: How Politics Has Corrupted the Federal Judiciary." His life and work reflect an enduring commitment to journalistic integrity, a deep understanding of American politics, and a unique ability to connect with audiences.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"Freedom of speech is the foundation of a free society."

This quote by Bob Schieffer underscores the crucial role that freedom of speech plays in upholding a free and democratic society. In essence, the liberty to express thoughts, ideas, or opinions without fear of retribution fosters a vibrant, open, and truthful dialogue among citizens. Such discourse facilitates progress, promotes understanding, and encourages the continuous evolution of our societies, making them more inclusive and just. Consequently, freedom of speech is not only a fundamental human right but also serves as the bedrock upon which a free society is built.

"Journalism's job is to afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted."

The quote by Bob Schieffer, "Journalism's job is to afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted," emphasizes the role of journalism as a watchdog that exposes injustice and challenges those in power (the comfortable), while providing support and advocacy for the marginalized or oppressed (the afflicted). This statement suggests that quality journalism serves not only to inform but also to promote accountability, equality, and social justice.

"The best way to cover politics is to let the politicians speak for themselves."

This quote by Bob Schieffer emphasizes the importance of allowing politicians to express their views directly, rather than interpreting or filtering those views through a journalist's perspective. By letting the politicians speak for themselves, news coverage maintains authenticity and objectivity, allowing audiences to make informed decisions based on the raw words and intentions of the political figures. This approach fosters transparency and empowers voters in their understanding of the political landscape.

"If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything."

This quote implies that having a clear set of beliefs or values, and standing firm on them, helps one maintain integrity, consistency, and resilience in the face of challenges or temptations to compromise. If one lacks such principles, they may easily succumb to external pressures, opinions, or transient trends, thereby losing their identity and purpose. In essence, having a strong personal stance prevents one from being swayed by everything that comes along, helping them make meaningful and impactful choices in life.

"Politics is not a game, it's about people's lives."

This quote underscores the profound importance and impact that politics has on individuals. Rather than viewing political processes as a mere game or competition, it serves as a reminder that the decisions made by politicians significantly affect the lives of real people. It emphasizes the necessity for empathy, thoughtfulness, and responsibility in political decision-making, as the outcomes can have tangible consequences for the wellbeing, opportunities, and futures of countless individuals.

I think journalism is a great way to do public service, to have an impact on your community.

- Bob Schieffer

Think, I Think, Great Way, Impact

Once we get them in the studio, you interview a person the same way you would interview another. You ask them a question. You let them answer. You try to listen closely and then ask a follow-up.

- Bob Schieffer

Question, Studio, Closely, Answer

Well, you know, in any political campaign, you're gonna have people on one side that are gonna slip a reporter something because they think it'll hurt the guy on the other side.

- Bob Schieffer

Think, Other, Side, Hurt

And after about two years, I realized that creative writing was not going to help you ace those biological tests. So I switched over to journalism. I didn't graduate with honors, but I did graduate on time and with some doing.

- Bob Schieffer

Doing, Some, Ace, Honors

But here's the deal: If I were smart, I could figure out curling. If I were even smarter, I could figure out why people would actually watch other people doing it. I have tried. I can't. I can't even figure out the object of the game. Is it like darts? I just don't get it.

- Bob Schieffer

Here, Deal, Other, Smarter

It's no longer just reporting the headlines of the day, but trying to put the headlines into some context and to add some perspective into what they mean.

- Bob Schieffer

Some, Add, Put, Context

They've asked me to do this temporarily. I don't know what temporarily means. Life is temporary.

- Bob Schieffer

Temporary, Asked, Means, Temporarily

Obviously, if the commander makes certain decisions that the reporter thinks is inhibiting his right to report a legitimate story, he has to appeal to the commander's boss to get that changed.

- Bob Schieffer

Boss, Makes, Obviously, Report

The government's view is that the best time to announce bad news, news that it doesn't want the public to dwell on is late on a Friday, when it will wind up in the Saturday papers, which if you were readers, then the week day editions. A holiday weekend is even better.

- Bob Schieffer

Week, Bad, Saturday, Friday

The truth is the Super Bowl long ago became more than just a football game. It's part of our culture like turkey at Thanksgiving and lights at Christmas, and like those holidays beyond their meaning, a factor in our economy.

- Bob Schieffer

Game, Became, Football Game, Factor

Any time you get into a presidential campaign and the stakes are so high, all candidates - they want to be in complete control whenever they can. And you can't blame them for that.

- Bob Schieffer

Control, Want, Them, Presidential

The Iraq war was fought by one-half of one percent of us. And unless we were part of that small group or had a relative who was, we went about our lives as usual most of the time: no draft, no new taxes, no changes. Not so for the small group who fought the war and their families.

- Bob Schieffer

Small, Part, Fought, New Taxes

In so many of the other beats these days, there are these layers of public relations people that you have to go through to get to the newsmakers themselves.

- Bob Schieffer

Through, Public Relations, Relations

I've had a lot of fun, and when I talk to kids in journalism schools, I say, look, I know what the journalism teachers tell you that this is a great way to perform public service and all that, but I say the main reason, if you decide what you want to do is be a reporter, the main reason you want to do it is because it's just so much fun.

- Bob Schieffer

Reason, Tell, Great Way, Journalism

But the reporter has the responsibility to determine, number one, whether that is true, and number two, to make a judgment as to whether it's in the public interest and whether or not it should be part of the debate.

- Bob Schieffer

Reporter, Part, Determine, Public Interest

The best thing about the Congress is that it is the last place where you can have face-to-face interviews and interaction with the newsmakers themselves.

- Bob Schieffer

Congress, Last, About, Face-To-Face

I can't think of any other job in journalism where the newsmakers come to you.

- Bob Schieffer

Think, Other, Where, Journalism

I always thought writing was the foundation and the basis for journalism in the same way being able to draw is the foundation for art.

- Bob Schieffer

Art, Thought, Always, Journalism

At the White House, everybody works for the same person. They're all part of the same company. But on Capitol Hill, they're all independent contractors. They all work for themselves. That's a formula for getting news.

- Bob Schieffer

News, Everybody, Works, Contractors

With Vietman, we found ourselves involved there before we really understood what was going on.

- Bob Schieffer

Found, Before, Involved, Understood

We now assume that when people turn on the evening news, they basically already know what the news is. They've heard it on the radio. They've seen it on the Internet. They've seen it on one of the cable companies. So that makes our job a bit different.

- Bob Schieffer

Turn, Bit, Our, Assume

I had an idea in the beginning to do a book about some of the events that I had covered, just various stories that I've covered. Reporters spend a lot of time telling each other tales about how they covered stories, and that's what this book started out to be.

- Bob Schieffer

Some, Telling, Reporters, Tales

I want to try to talk like normal people talk, not just stand there and bark at the camera.

- Bob Schieffer

Normal, Like, Bark, Camera

There's fierce competition between all the networks to get the guest who can bring the most pertinent information about whatever the story of the moment happens to be.

- Bob Schieffer

Competition, Bring, About, Pertinent

I had - all my life, everybody who knew me thought that I would probably grow up to be a reporter, a newspaper reporter because we didn't have much television in those days.

- Bob Schieffer

My Life, Thought, Newspaper, All My Life

I mean, you know, God knows everything, but I'm not quite that good. Every once in a while, something will slip by me.

- Bob Schieffer

Good, Will, While, Slip

Nowadays I'm not even sure if newspapers take into account whether a person is a good writer.

- Bob Schieffer

Sure, Good Writer, Nowadays, Account

People are more sophisticated in the way they go about dealing with the press.

- Bob Schieffer

More, Dealing, Sophisticated, Press

My bladder cancer was related to smoking, and I think smoking kills people.

- Bob Schieffer

Think, I Think, Related, Bladder

But with 9/11, we found that people tended to come back to the networks and the people who had been our core viewers in the past came back and they have stayed with us.

- Bob Schieffer

Past, In The Past, Been, Viewers

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