Bob Schieffer Laughs at Royals, Not at Debt Limits

In case there were any doubts that Bob Schieffer is a bona fide Texan, he cast them all aside today when he selected the Brad Paisley song “Ticks” as one of his five favorites; then referenced a country music venue called Billy Bob’s in Ft. Worth; and finally, told Imus he had just purchased a new Resistol hat.
 
“Now, you’re a cowboy,” Imus told Schieffer, the host of Face the Nation on CBS.
 
But in practically the same breath, Imus wondered if his honky-tonk guest was “espousing that liberal point of view again” this past Sunday, when he asked Rep. Paul Ryan, a Republican, what was wrong with raising taxes on rich people.
 
“It was just amazing,” Schieffer marveled of his interview with Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee. “All the Liberals went after me in their emails for going too easy on him, and a bunch of the Conservatives lit into me for being too tough!”
 
In his opinion, there is nothing controversial, or especially partisan, about the tax question. “There are some folk out there who think that if you ask a question, then that means you’re against whoever you’re asking the question of,” Schieffer said. “How do you get somebody to tell you what their point of view is, or to defend their position, if you don’t ask them questions about it? I kind of think that’s my job.”
 
Picking up on Schieffer’s theme, Imus wondered how it was possible that General Electric made $5.1 billion in its U.S. operation in 2010, but paid no taxes on that revenue. “Well, there you go, Imus,” Schieffer joked. “You see, now you’re espousing a liberal point of view there.”
 
Moving on to an equally exciting topic, Imus noted the lack of interest or understanding on the part of Americans surrounding the vital issue of whether to raise the debt limit.
 
“The government has to borrow money so it can buy treasury bills to finance our debt,” Schieffer said, the second person in as many days to attempt explaining this notion to Imus. “If it can’t borrow that money, and the Congress has put a limit on how much it can borrow, then they’ll have to start defaulting on T-bills.”
 
The impact of a government shutdown would have been nothing, in Schieffer’s view, “compared to if the United States has to start defaulting on its T-bills, because it will throw the whole world into a sort of recession.”
 
In an effort to distract himself from the dire straits of the U.S. economy, Imus is focused on the upcoming royal wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton in England. To say the least, Schieffer did not reciprocate these amorous feelings.
 
“Thomas Jefferson and I are pretty much on the same page when it comes to royalty: I never understood it; I don’t get it; I’m glad it’s their price and princess and not ours,” Schieffer said.
 
Showing no signs of halting this tirade, Schieffer recalled an incident that occurred years ago when he was anchoring the Saturday news for CBS. “Prince Phillip was in some kind of stagecoach race, they went around the corner and turned over,” he said. “It could have been just awful, and people could have been hurt.”
 
So what did Schieffer do, in reporting this tragic news? “I actually laughed on camera. I’m ashamed of myself, but I did.”
 
And with that admission, Schieffer reaffirmed why Imus loves him so darn much.
 
-Julie Kanfer