As he bid farewell to his career as CBS News’ host of Face the Nation, Bob Schieffer admitted that he and his fellow journalists may have been too easy on Barack Obama when he entered the limelight as a 2008 presidential candidate.
“I think the whole political world was struck by this fellow who sort of came out of nowhere with this very unusual name,” Schieffer told Fox News’ Howard Kurtz in an interview that aired Sunday. “And, when he won out in Iowa, I think people sat up and took notice.”
When Kurtz wondered whether it was the journalists’ job to express skepticism even of the “young phenom” that was then-Sen. Obama, Schieffer confessed, “Maybe we were not skeptical enough.”
“My feeling is, it is the role of the opponents to make a campaign,” the CBS News anchor added. “I think, as journalists, basically what we do is watch the campaign and we report what the two sides are doing. I think it is the politicians who make the campaign.”
He insisted that, while journalists are motivated by the goal of getting at the “truth,” reporters don’t necessarily have to assume an “adversarial” role when questioning politicians and presidential candidates in particular.
“What you’re trying to do is find out who this person is and what he’s about,” explained Schieffer. “I don’t think that always has to be adversarial.”
