What Elections Tell Us About Us
Weekly commentary by CBS Evening News chief Washington correspondent and Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer.
If I learned one thing during this campaign season it was this: campaigns are about more than just who gets elected. They tell us all about us - where we've been and where we're going.
When I saw those black kids and white kids working together at Old Miss to make sure everything was perfect for the first presidential debate, it just reminded me just how far we've come since I had last set foot on that campus back in 1962.
Back then, a riot broke out and two people were killed, as a mob tried to prevent one black student from enrolling.
Way to go, Old Miss.
How many times can you call a campaign historic? But this one was, and is.
All those reports that America had lost interest in politics turned out to be dead wrong - just check the TV ratings and the crowds.
Public rallies are back. John McCain drew record crowds in Virginia yesterday; 100,000 turned out to see Obama in St. Louis.
We're not only still serious about politics, it remains our favorite contact sport.
Way to go, America!
For sure, we learned more than we needed to know this time about plumbers. As a young guy I belonged to the carpenters' union, so I wanted equal time for the guys with the hammers, but what can you do? We'll just have to live with that one.
And here is one other thing I learned: Until Chris Parnell started imitating me on "Saturday Night Live," I never realized how much I sound like Tom Brokaw.
I've got to work on that.