freeSpeech: Bob Schieffer

(CBS)  At his news conference today, the President put it in the starkest terms.

He said the stakes in Iraq couldn't be higher. He said if "we leave before the job is done, the enemy's coming after us."

That's about the hardest sell he could make. But whether he is right or wrong, it is going to take a hard sell because most Americans simply do not agree. More than anything, today's news conference underlines the serious political problem that Iraq has become for Republicans as they go into the fall elections.

The CBS News poll out this week showed a majority of Americans believe we should not have gone to Iraq, that we should reduce troop levels or pull our troops out and that if we pulled all our troops out, the terrorist threat would not be affected one way or the other.

When President Johnson became bogged down in Vietnam and the military urged him to send in more troops, he turned to outside advisers — the wise men of the foreign policy establishment — trusted friends who were not afraid to tell him the truth.

It's time for this president to do the same thing. His advisers are good people, but the policy just isn't working. For sure, that is what a majority of Americans has concluded.

The President needs new eyes to look at all this and some new ideas. He knows what the people who work for him think. He needs to talk to some people who don't work for him.

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Bob Schieffer is broadcast journalism's most experienced Washington reporter. He is CBS News' Chief Washington Correspondent and also serves as anchor and moderator of Face The Nation, CBS News' Sunday public affairs broadcast.

Schieffer served as interim anchor of The CBS Evening News from March 10, 2005 until Aug. 31, 2006. He will be a regular contributor to The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric.

[one_american]

Bob,

You are repeating the same stupid rhetoric from the 60's.

Liberals just don't have a clue about anything, including foreign policy, so just keep your lunacy to yourself!

[borntwice-2009]

All who welcome Jesus Christ as Lord of their lives are reborn spiritually, receiving new life from God. Through faith in Christ this new birth changes us from the inside out. Rearranging our attidudes, desires, and motives. Being born makes you physically alive and places you in your parents' family. Being born of God makes you spiritually alive and puts you in God's family. Have you asked Christ to make you a new person? This fresh start in life is available to all who believe in Christ.

[borntwice-2009]

John - 1:13. They are reborn-not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.

[mh4cbs1]

Stay the Course! The stock market is doing great, massive tax cuts for the us wealthy folks, war profits are Up Up Up. As soon as we get rid of Social Security we can have even more tax cuts!

So whats the problem, you liberal whinners! Don't have the stomach for War! 655,000 dead Iraqis bother you? Didn't have the money for college and had to join the Army? Wah Wah Wah

Thank you Bush for all you've done to help me get even more rich. We can laugh all the way to the bank, just like Ralph Reed, Tom Delay and our good buddy Jack Abramoff, till they got caught (so stupid to keep those emails).

No Way are we leaving Iraq without that Oil! If people start voting for the liberal cut-and-run Democrats, we'll just have to scare the American Sheeple some more so they vote GOP again, and we can spend even more on war and my stocks will go up even more. Love it! And now we can toss the loud mouths into some Gitmo somewhere and throw away the key. No lawyers, courts, nothing can save them Ha Ha Ha Poor middle class that voted for you, sniff, sniff -- What chumps!!

[michaelz06]

First a suggestion for "darylslove".....if it isn't on topic, don't post it. Second, although I personally agree with Bob's commentary, I find myself also ageeing with those who question, why Bob? Surely there must be plenty of ordinary citizens with opinions and willing to share them in "free speech". To Davros69, reporters, journalists, even "liberal media", call them what you will....they didn't defeat us in Vietnam. Micromanaging politicians did that. Bob used it to make a point, beyond his point Vietnam has little relevance. In comparision to what our military faces in Iraq, the Viet Cong could be considered a completely uniformed military organization in plain view.

[darylslove]

Personally, this thing about indecent exposure out of young women is getting way, out of hand. I say it is sickening to see any of trhem exposing themselves by undoing their collars when they need to button their upper necks in long sleeves without ties, broaches, etc. We need modesty restored for The Bible says for them to in I Timothy 2:9-10. Collars need to be worn like turtlenecks so they'll look glamorous and presentable. When they don't, they abuse their rights to pro-choice. They don't need to be basshed. They just need to protect themselves from being harassed at work for it is their own faults they complain all the time. All I'm saying is for them to protect themselves. If they think look funny or retarded, they need to guess again. Rights aren't meant to be abused. They must be used properly. I've already sent legislation to Congress to declare any indecency illegal. And that is how I put it.



Darryl Rutherford

[hamiltongrad]

Repeat for Bob ?
Why not have Rush on every week ?

[joeshields56]

New eyes and new ideas should most definitely include some from the Muslim world. Even if President Bush doesn't want to talk directly with them, some of his Secretaries or Under-Secretaries should do so.

Remember that the Cuban Missle crisis was mainly defused through back channels to the Kremlin. "Through a Soviet intelligence officer and member of the KGB, Georgi Bolshakov, Robert Kennedy attempted to shape and relay messages and negotiations between the two superpowers in question. [Later], Robert Kennedy would play the role of messenger and negotiator with the Soviet ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Dobrynin."
--from "The Role Of Bobby Kennedy Throughout The Cuban Missile Crisis"
http://www.freeessays.cc/db/38/pbk200.shtml

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad recently said that the "Iranian nation is in favor of logic and dialogue". Could opening up a dialogue with Iran be a source of new ideas about Iraq? You don't have to agree 100% with someone before you can talk with them.

[ech0e]

ooops. my previous post was directed to 'dwstanley102'. my apologies to 'kpdkpd1'

[frankly6]

Here we go again with another example of the liberal media! I say stay the course! Support our troops! 9/11! Don't cut-n-run! Family values! United we stand!

Uhhh.......I'm out of slogans here. Now what? Well actually what Bob sad makes sense. No! I must resist...how can this be? This doesn't fit my world view. I always get in trouble when I stray from FOX news where Bush is a genius and the GOP are doing a heck of a job.