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CBS’s Cancer Survivor Bob Schieffer Confronts Cain About Smoking Ad
I’ve often said that CBS truly blew it with Bob Schieffer. He was the natural replacement for Walter Cronkite but CBS sorely wanted Dan Rather. So Cronkite was encouraged to retire early and CBS chose Rather, sacrificing Roger Mudd in the process. The real Walter In Waiting who went to the same stylistic school of journalism was Bob Schieffer. But Schieffer was, above all, a good company man and he continued to serve CBS well.
Schieffer has been fascinating for journalists to watch since he filled in for Rather and Rather’s ratings zoomed up. His permanent replacement was the under rated and unfairly criticized Katie Couric. But CBS realized, finally, what a gem they had in Schieffer and he has been given his due in other ways. He has also become more assertive as time has gone on, aging journalistically like fine wine.
I have not been outraged over the Cain’s smoking man ad like some have been, even though my father and several relatives and acquaintance of mine died of things where cancer and smoking played a role — and even though I do think its a bad influence on young people. I’ve seen much of the furor over this ad as media political hype.
But the blunt question is out there about Cain and smoking.
Watch Schieffer ask Cain head on — acting like that proxy for the public asking the question many people want asked, just like they teach you in journalism school. Too many personalities on cable and broadcast shows today sound like people asking the questions their favorite partisan hack talk show host would like asked or the head of their clearly favored political party.
Here’s the segment. Also note that Cain — again — handles himself exceedingly well. Which is why his poll number continue to climb.
13 Responses to “CBS’s Cancer Survivor Bob Schieffer Confronts Cain About Smoking Ad”
I really like Bob Schieffer and watched this live this AM. For the most part I agree he was asking the questions the public wanted asked but at one point he clearly was speaking for himself as a cancer survivor, something I was a little surprised by since Schieefer is always such a pro. He also seemed more aggressive than usual, asking Cain to denounce smoking “right now”.
To Cain’s credit he did respond to Schieffer’s question directly, although his explanation of the ad itself was weak. Usually Schieffer’s guests just continue to dodge questions, Michelle Bachmann being a prime example.
I totally agree with you on Bob Schieffer, Joe.
As to Mr. Cain,handling himself “exceedingly well,” I’ll agree to the extent that he did warn about the dangers of smoking, but he totally failed to adequately explain why that smoking bit was included in his ad.
A person who certainly did not do exceedingly well — actually miserably bad -in a similar interview with Bob Schieffer was Mr. Gingrich:
I like Bob Schieffer and hope he’s around interviewing people for a long time to come. Yes, Cain is likable and handles himself well, but there was no possible reason for the smoking segment in his ad beyond provocation and cheap publicity. Needless to say, Schieffer did a good job taking Cain to task and showing where the high ground is. As for Newt… well, how anyone with a clear mind could possibly take him seriously as a candidate is baffling.
Schieffer’s moralizing was repugnant to me. Regardless of one’s opinion on smoking or one’s status as a cancer survivor, tobacco remains a legal product for adults to use. As such, I could care less whether images of it appear in ads or movies, and am more offended by overbearing nannies trying to censor the media.
I thought it was a pointless distraction that reflected poorly on Schieffer’s professionalism. I neither need nor want newsjockeys using their own PC opinions to filter. It was merely a straw argument to berate Cain, else the media would be in a greater uproar over Obama’s continued smoking, which I also found to be irrelevant.
It ill-befits a country of free and independent adults to be lectured at in this manner by mediocre news staff.
I can see Schieffer’s anger at the ad but it is interesting he seems to have forgotten that Obama smokes. Don’t recall him attacking Obama for it.
That said the ad is weird to me and I do see the smoking part as questionable taste.
Obama wasn’t smoking in an ad and possible influencing others with his bad habit.
Since only Republicans attack people for what they do in private, behind closed doors… Can we can safely assume that Schieffer is either a democrat or an independent?
Ah Steve, it’s been a while since you’ve jibed me.
A fair point on Obama and not doing it public, I concede your point there.
As to the idea *only Republicans* do something bad, I’ll save that for the next time you deny that level of bias. (hey one good tweak deserves another).
Happy Halloween my friend
Happy Halloween to you too Patrick, I enjoy our back-and-forth ‘conversations’.
I do miss the “Bay Area Halloween Spirit” of yore… Though if I think about it for a while it will probably by my ‘yore’ that I miss more than the BA Halloween Spirit.
I’m sure one of my cohorts has found a white “majorette” uniform jacket to complete their Michele Bachmann costume. If that doesn’t scare the bejesus out of the W.C. / Alamo adults… Nothing will!
FWIW: I didn’t say “… *only Republicans* do something bad” but I do stand by the idea that it’s the republicans that want to control what others do in private and behind closed doors… Everyone except for themselves that is.
I have nowhere to go tonight but if I did I was going to steal from Big Bang Theory and go as the Doppler Effect.. Cheap costume and fun to test people.
I do miss the Halloweens of my youth, I joke that I grew up in Mayberry but it was true. Haunted house at the school, homemade popcorn balls and so on.
As to the rest, we’ll save that for later
And now back to the actual thread, sorry for the slight derail..
Cain, “Let Herman be Herman, Mark be Mark and… we believe let people be people.” And also… “No, I’m not a smoker, but I don’t have a problem if that’s his choice.”
Hmmm… now remind me where Cain stands on gay marriage. Doesn’t he think gay marriage is wrong and being gay is a choice… So let me get this straight. Cain believes it’s OK to make a choice which harms you and others (smoking and second hand smoke) but does not believe it’s ok for two people who love each other to marry (and would not harm anyone in doing so) just because he doesn’t like it.
So… does Herman really believe, “Let people be people”?
I don’t care for the ad and I think it’s gotten too much attention. I believe Cain when he says there is no subliminal message. However the ad should be about Cain and not about Mark so the ad is just bad. I can’t believe that Cain supports that ad and letting Mark do what he wants. Ultimately the ad is Cain’s message to the world. Furthermore I don’t know how anyone can think the smoking in the ad is portrayed as “cool”. The way Mark looks at the camera, directly at us, and blows smoke directly at us leads me to feel the message is quite the opposite. He blows smoke in my face as if challenging me and saying, “F*%k you”.
As far as Obama smoking…. he knows he shouldn’t. His actions around smoking are sending the right message about smoking- he knows it’s bad to even start and is struggling to stop. the fact that he hides it from his wife just underscores how bad he feels smoking is.
I agree with stockboys observations, which are spot on.