[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 58 (Wednesday, May 2, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S4156]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        BOB SCHIEFFER'S TENTH ANNIVERSARY AT ``FACE THE NATION''

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, this evening, politicians, celebrities, and 
newscasters alike will gather to honor one of the most trusted 
reporters in Washington; namely, Bob Schieffer of CBS News. Bob 
Schieffer has gained a reputation as a man of integrity, an honest man, 
a man who holds fairness and the truth in the highest regard.
  Nothing better can be said about a politician, and certainly nothing 
better can be said about a news reporter. I will say that again about 
Bob Schieffer. Mr. Schieffer has gained the reputation as a man of 
integrity, an honest man, a man who holds fairness and the truth in the 
highest regard. We will remember that Plato, while visiting with Hiero, 
was asked, ``Why have you come here?'' Plato said, ``I am looking for 
an honest man.'' So we have one here--a man of integrity, an honest 
man, a man who holds fairness and the truth in the highest regard. Now 
that is saying something in today's world. That is saying something 
about a news man.
  Bob Schieffer is a Texan who started in journalism as a reporter for 
the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He moved on to a local television station 
and then to CBS. For 20 years, Bob was the network's Saturday evening 
news anchor. For the past decade, he has hosted ``Face The Nation'' on 
Sunday mornings. He has called Sunday mornings the smartest time period 
on television, saying, ``It is the last place on television where 
people can lay out their ideas about things and discuss them at 
length.''

  Well, if Sunday morning is the smartest time period on television--
that is what Bob Schieffer says it is--I say another reason for that 
would be that it is Bob Schieffer's time when he is reporting to the 
Nation. He decries--as do I--the 30-second sound bite that has replaced 
the true interaction between voters and public officials. One reason I 
decry it, of course, is I am not very good at it. A 30-second sound 
bite--it takes me about that long to say hello or good morning.
  Sitting in the anchor chair at CBS is a high responsibility, a high 
responsibility, an important responsibility. It was the chair from 
which Roger Mudd and Walter Cronkite would report every night. It was 
the chair in which Edward R. Murrow--perhaps the grandfather of in-
depth, thorough television reporting--hosted ``CBS Reports'' and 
``Person to Person'' and ``See It Now.'' Edward R. Murrow set the 
standard. Bob Schieffer excels at meeting that standard.
  There is no obstacle that cannot be overcome by the vigorous mind 
determined to follow truth. That seems to be the philosophy that guides 
the work of Bob Schieffer. He follows the truth. He has a vigorous 
mind, and he follows the truth, he keeps after it. He does not invent 
the truth. There is a difference in following and pursuing the truth 
and attempting to invent it. Bob Schieffer does not invent the truth, 
he asks the questions. He asks the questions, but he does not assume 
the answers. He listens and, from the answers he receives, we all then 
learn.
  Bob Schieffer once told an audience, ``Your trust is the greatest 
honor I can receive.'' Now that says it all. I am not a news man, but 
if I were a news reporter, it would seem to me that that would be the 
pith, the crux, the milk in the coconut. ``Your trust is the greatest 
honor I can receive.'' We know that, as a general rule, the people of 
America do not trust news people. They do not trust news reporters. 
They do not trust the news media. They do not trust politicians. So Bob 
Schieffer said it well when he said, ``Your trust is the greatest honor 
I can receive.'' He can speak for me as a politician on that line also. 
The trust of the people, he says, is the greatest honor he can 
receive. That trust is well earned.

  I congratulate Mr. Schieffer on his decade of service at ``Face the 
Nation,'' and I look forward to watching him for many years to come. He 
is a man I trust.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor. I, again, thank the Senator from 
Texas.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from West 
Virginia. I so appreciate the remarks he made about my friend, Bob 
Schieffer, and ``Face the Nation.'' I, too, have known Bob Schieffer 
for a long time. He grew up in Fort Worth, TX. His brother and I served 
together in the Texas Legislature. I have known him and his family for 
a long time.
  There is not a more principled, fair person in the entire news media 
than Bob Schieffer. I certainly appreciate the kind remarks made by the 
Senator from West Virginia. I know Bob Schieffer is very happy tonight, 
celebrating the anniversary of ``Face the Nation.'' He has taken it to 
new heights just by being a person who is trusted and respected by the 
American people. Both Presidential candidates choosing Bob Schieffer to 
be the moderator of a debate shows he is well regarded by Republicans, 
Democrats, and Independents throughout our country.

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