Bob Schieffer Loves Graduations, And Making Imus Feel Bad

A man with great affection for graduations, CBS News's Bob Schieffer, has never proposed doing Face The Nation from his home on Sunday mornings.

"But I have often proposed the idea that I be given a raise," he joked.

On yesterday's program Schieffer conferred with National Security Advisor Janet Napolitano, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and Acting Director for the Centers for Disease Control Dr. Richard Besser about the swine flu.

"They make a good set of briefers," Schiefer observed. "They all said we're probably going to see more deaths recorded before this thing is over, but the big thing right now is to make sure they can identify this virus."

Identification is key, he said, because it will accelerate development of a swine flu vaccine. "Flu is one of those things we tend to forget how serious it is, and how many lives it takes," Schieffer added.

As for whether the United States should have sealed its border with Mexico, where the virus is believed to have originated, Napolitano argued that it would not have helped.

"She said that...[the virus] is already here," Schieffer said. "It's already across the border, and when you start closing the border it's really more trouble than it's worth."

On a different Sunday morning talk show on FOX, Chris Wallace had employed the analogy that if just one mosquito gets inside a house, people tend to close the door so more cannot enter. Napolitano's reply was, "We're not talking about mosquitoes."

Imus told Schieffer, "Maybe she didn't leave your program to go to a MENSA meeting."

This trio of health officials made the rounds on all five Sunday shows, which Schieffer likened to action taken by Monica Lewinsky's attorney more than a decade ago. Asked whether he would have otherwise used yesterday's show to "proselytize" his point of view, Schieffer was glib.

"Generally I use Face The Nation to promote my books," he joked.

The concluding monologue at the end of yesterday's program focused on graduations, which Schieffer called "my favorite holiday."

"It just makes you feel good to go to a graduation," said Shieffer, who gave the commencement address at Maryville University in St. Louis, Mo. "We celebrate achievements, and what people have done, and parents can be proud of their kids and kids can be proud of themselves."

His advice: "I think graduations are good for what ails you. If you're feeling out of sorts, find out where there's a graduation and go!"

Said Imus, sadly, "I've never been to one, including my own."

But thanks for bringing it up, Bob.

-Julie Kanfer