Bob Schieffer - a dyed-in-the-wool journalist

I've only recently become a fan of Bob Schieffer, but I'm glad I did. I love Face the Nation, but it's my least favorite of the three network Sunday morning political shows. The only reason I dislike it is because it's 30 minutes instead of the hour-long This Week and Meet the Press.

Schieffer is the most qualified to host one of the Sunday morning shows. He is one of the very few journalists to have covered The White House, The Pentagon, The State Department and Congress. He routinely does a very, very good job; he's not afraid to take some shots at people and institutions he's unhappy with.

Last weekend, he more than called out the Bush Administration on the U.S. Prosecutor firings, complete with video tape. (That's always my favorite, because video doesn't lie.)

At the end of the footage, take a look at the shifty-eyed performance of White House Counselor Dan Bartlett, as he lamely tries to impugn the integrity of Matthew Dowd, a former Bush staffer who played key roles in Bush's "victories" in 2000 and 2004. Last weekend, Dowd came out quite strongly against the Bush Administration, and the Sunday morning talk shows were the first opportunity to respond, and respond they did.

Like this was unpredictable - character assassination by a Bush mouthpiece in the face of dissent. I'll have more on Bartlett later today, including some footage from his appearance on last Sunday's MTP appearance.

Pretty impressive that Bartlett managed to get on MTP & FTN on the same day. I guess This Week declined the ménage à trois.