Travis Church / SPPSNews Anchor Bob Schieffer speaks last night at Burruss about his experience as a journalist.
After a brief introduction from President Charles Steger and Richard Sorensen, the Dean of the Pamplin College of Business, Schieffer began the evening with a positive commendation of the way Virginia Tech handled the shootings last April.
"I am very proud of you," he said. "We are now at a better place and let's hope that such a thing never happens again."
Shieffer then segued into an insightful discussion about his favorite politicians and elections in addition to his analysis of the current primary elections. Lyndon Johnson was the most influential politician to Schieffer because he was the first he had ever seen. Johnson came to Shieffer's community after being elected as Texas senator. Schieffer explained that this visit was so monumental to him because Johnson came in on a helicopter speaking to his constituents, which was behavior he had never seen from a political candidate before.
"For the first time, we understood how Moses felt about God speaking to him in the burning bush," Schieffer said of seeing Johnson.
He then went on to discuss how politics has changed over time, and not necessarily for the best. Schieffer said that campaigns have transformed from an amateur sport to a professional sport because of the ways by which new potential candidates understand the people they are representing.
As he read from a recent New York Times article about Senator Hillary Clinton's campaign, he said that campaigns are no longer personal due to the hiring of consultants and polltakers.
"It has turned into an industry," he said. "It's making our system worse."
However, Schieffer did mention that this year's debates have been an immensely helpful way for candidates to inform voters about their platforms.
He ended the segment by saying that his knowledge in politics can't predict the future of the battle for the Democratic nomination, and that this campaign year will surely go down in history.
"I have no idea what's going to happen with this Democratic campaign," he said. "I would put this one up against any (election)."
Schieffer continued discussing the future of this election and his own predictions for it. He predicts that Obama will continue his lead over Clinton unless Clinton's super-delegates assist her. He stated that in order to win a Democratic nomination the candidate must win the votes of the black population.
"We still have a lot of campaigning ahead of us, and anything can happen," Schieffer said. "One of the candidates could fall back. That's what the super-delegates are for."
In terms of the Republican elections, Schieffer said that McCain will clearly win the nomination, leaving this election with the first black candidate, first woman candidate, and oldest candidate in history.
"I'm the same age as McCain, but I think age is an asset," he said.
Schieffer ended his speech on a serious note, praising journalism as a career path and listing he has learned that democracy must thrive from within, and that America does best when it works with allies. "It's the greatest job, and I've lived a great life," he said. "I'm more uncertain of things now than when I was younger."
Schieffer is an award-winning journalist, broadcaster and author who has worked with CBS News for more than 30 years. He is one of the only journalists to have reported for all four beats in Washington D.C. including the White House, Capitol Hill, the State Department, and the Pentagon. In 2003 he was awarded the Paul White Award, recognizing an individual's lifetime contributions to electronic journalism, a distinction that has also been awarded to Tom Brokaw and Ted Koppel in the past, and has announced that he will retire after the presidential inauguration in January.
Last night's event was part of the Cutchins Distinguished Lecture Series sponsored by the Corps of Cadets' Rice Center for Leader Development and the Pamplin College of Business. It is held in honor of Founders Day, or the anniversary of the founding of Tech.
- Column: Celebrate victories of summer grads
- Tech Department of Recreational Sports
- Blacksburg police make narcotics arrest
