CBS News To Debut Series On The Candidates

Katie Couric Talks One-On-One With Each Leading Candidate To Pose 10 Questions That Reveal Some Unexpected Answers

(CBS)  This week the CBS Evening News With Katie Couric will begin a new political series that poses the same 10 questions to each of the leading candidates in a series of one-on-one, in-depth interviews.

A preview for the "Primary Questions: Character, Leadership & the Candidates," will be on Tuesday, Dec. 4, on the CBS Evening News With Katie Couric. The series begins on Wednesday, Dec. 5.

Couric speaks to Sen. Barack Obama, D- Ill., Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., former Sen. John Edwards, D- N.C., Gov. Bill Richardson, D-N.M., Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., former Gov. Mitt Romney, R-Mass., former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, R-N.Y., former Gov. Mike Huckabee, R-Ark., and former Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn.

In addition to policy and issue questions, the candidates are asked questions intended to give some insight into their character-something polls have frequently shown as being more important to voters than agreeing with the candidate on issues.

Some questions include:

When was the last time you lost your temper - and what came of it?

What's the biggest mistake you've ever made - how did you recognize it-and what did you do to change course?

What's the worst piece of advice you've ever given another person?

Harry Truman said, "A man not honorable in his marital relations is not usually honorable in any other" and many people say they don't feel comfortable supporting someone who has not remained faithful to his or her spouse-can you understand their position?

Click here to read the answer to the fist question: What is the biggest mistake you've ever made?"

Click here to see a video library of the candidate's answers to all questions so far.

Click here to watch a preview of some of the answers to the questions.

Click here to watch a video sneak peek of the series.

© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Candidate Profiles & RSS Feeds

• John McCain
• Sarah Palin

• Barack Obama
• Joe Biden

Share:

• Share
• Yahoo! Buzz
• Twitter
• Mixx

More From CBS Evening News

• "Twilight" Attracts Unexpected Audience
• "Free Credit Report" Ads Mislead Consumers
• Big Hurdles Remain for Health Care Reform
• Ten-Year-Old Prodigy Plays Carnegie Hall
• Pope Meets Head of Anglican Church
• UC Students Erupt Over Tuition Hikes
• Is China Cooking the Books on H1N1 Cases?

• 

  VideoEvening News Online, 11.11.09

• 

  VideoWounded Soldier's New Chapter

Add a Comment

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
...
• 22
• next

See all 440 Comments

by sabucher December 8, 2007 2:03 PM EST

The people demand Kucinich and Ron Paul!

Reply to this comment

by greenstj December 7, 2007 9:14 PM EST

Where are the rest of the candidates? Is Ron Paul not running for the Presidency? No wonder Ron Paul is not considered a "Leading Candidate" by main stream media, no one will interview him. When he is allowed to speak ...say at a debate, everyone mocks him and laughs at him before he gets a chance to speak. Or, my favorite is when the interviewer begins their question with "Now we all now you are not going to win,"...

What a surprise, the corporations that own CBS don''t want someone in office they can''t buy.

CBS you are a disgrace.

Reply to this comment

by xenya_x December 7, 2007 7:56 PM EST

By excluding Kucinich and Paul from this debate, you are not serving the interests of the American people. Not only is this shameful act all over the internet, it is also being told to the older generation who do not log onto the internet. Your station has sunk to a new low. These "debates" are a joke.

Reply to this comment

by sharilynkay December 7, 2007 7:48 PM EST

This is truly pathetic as it is so obvious that MSM/CBS is trying to ignore the only Pro America/We The People candidate out there ... RON PAUL! I will be boycotting CBS if you don''t get your act together. I am sure you are aware that he has more on the ground supporters at all the polls, on the streets, you tube videos, etc than ANY OTHER CANDIDATE CURRENTLY RUNNING, BAR NONE!! So your exclusion of him is very very obvious.

Reply to this comment

by xgringo December 7, 2007 7:26 PM EST

Where is Ron Paul? I don''t understand why he can not get media attention!

Reply to this comment

by ltbjorgaard December 7, 2007 7:24 PM EST

This is unacceptable behavior. The exclusion of Ron Paul is a travesty and frankly un-American.

The massive support for Ron Paul is not unknown to you. Your exclusion of him is an obvious attempt to suppress his views and to promote the pro-corporate views of the media selected candidates.

Air time given to candidates should be fair and balanced. Let Americans have the freedom to hear all the candidates and the FREEDOM to make their choice unaffected by your bias.

Reply to this comment

by shiggityx2-2009 December 7, 2007 3:12 PM EST

Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul are the only candidates worth listening to. CBS, you have sunk to a new low.

Reply to this comment

by csliberty December 7, 2007 2:58 PM EST

When Ron Paul raises more money than any other Republican in the 3rd quarter he deserves the air time. When he has won more Republican straw polls across America than any other Republican he deserves air time. When he had won debate polls on ABC, FOX, MSNBC, C-SPAN, CNN and others he deserves air time. When he''s the most mentioned person in blogs for the last 6 months according to Technorati, he has earned his spot to be interview. In fact, he''s a front runner ahead of Tancredo, McCain, Hunter, and Huckabee in all of these areas. Shame on CBS.

Reply to this comment

by concerned220 December 7, 2007 1:55 PM EST

I''ve lost faith in CBS and the rest of mainstream media. You''ve shown your lack of journalistic integrity by excluding Ron Paul.

Reply to this comment

by concerned220 December 7, 2007 1:54 PM EST

McCain but no RON PAUL? What an absolute disgrace!

Reply to this comment

by concerned220 December 7, 2007 1:53 PM EST

The "Ron Paul Revolution" is real. Stop ignoring it. Stop marginalizing it. Do your job and report on the real issues.

Reply to this comment

by rog_rabbit December 7, 2007 1:10 PM EST

How pathetic both CBS and Katie truly are. To call this anything resembling journalism, or even viable commentary, is an insult. 45 pages worth of comments attest to that, but, being the propagandists you obviously are, you will pretend that your pre-selection of candidates is "objective". When the voice of the huge mass of supporters that Ron Paul enjoys is truly heard, I hope you know where to find KGB headquarters (PS. its no longer in Moscow; even the Russians are less "soviet socialist" than you clowns.)

Reply to this comment

by rog_rabbit December 7, 2007 1:09 PM EST

How pathetic both CBS and Katie truly are. To call this anything resembling journalism, or even viable commentary, is an insult. 45 pages worth of comments attest to that, but, being the propagandists you obviously are, you will pretend that your pre-selection of candidates is "objective". When the voice of the huge mass of supporters that Ron Paul enjoys is truly heard, I hope you know where to find KGB headquarters (PS. its no longer in Moscow; even the Russians are less "soviet socialist" than you clowns.)

Reply to this comment

by squid1985 December 7, 2007 9:52 AM EST

How many corporations do have to have in your pocket to get on the Television? When did the US media get so scewed the candidate with the most individual contributions is not considered a "real" candidate. Ron Paul is the only "real" candidate. The Ron Paul campaign, mostly run by individual supporters, has woken up the public to the serious issues that face this country. Why is everyone afraid of letting him talk? If he isn''t a "real" candidate then why is he raising so much money? Why are so many people taking time out of there lives to volunteer for his campaign? Why are so many people, that have never been involved in politics, involved in Ron Paul''s campaign? Give the man a chance and he will fix our country.

Reply to this comment

by frisketdog December 7, 2007 3:51 AM EST

I''ve lost faith in CBS and the rest of mainstream media. You''ve shown your lack of journalistic integrity by excluding Ron Paul.

Reply to this comment

by nursebetsy December 7, 2007 3:08 AM EST

It seems that CBS needs a shot in the arm
and some repair in their paperwork...Let me
try...Okey, there now, maybe they will do a
story on ALL the candidates instead of making
the DECISIONS FOR US?!!!

Oh, but then again they must be part of the
"elite" club. Too bad everybody doesn''t just
BOYCOTT their news channel or perhaps ALL
their programming and boycott the advertisers
as well...

Doesn''t matter WHO I wish to vote for...I don''t
need CBS making my choice. I thought this was
still the United States...or am I just dreaming???

Pass the penicillin please...

Reply to this comment

by stewbumer December 7, 2007 2:07 AM EST

You''re not even going to interview the real Republican frontrunner.
i.e. The guy that wins every post debate poll, the guy that''s rasining more money than anyone. The guy that''s won more straw polls than anyone else.
Oh, I forgot, you''re still trying to pretend Ron Paul isn''t a first tier candidate.
It''s so sad that the so-called "main-stream" media continues to make itself more irrelevant with each passing day.
And you wonder where all your readers have gone.

Reply to this comment

by hedge-fund December 7, 2007 1:25 AM EST

It''s a shame, that you are not covering Ron Paul or Kucinich. Here are 2 of the most respectable candidates out there that actually strike a chord with the general public and you ignore them. Are you scared of what they stand for?

20 years ago you could get away with this, but now with the internet most people get their news from a variety of sources. It''s just a matter of time when large media houses like yourselves will become obsolete the more you push biased views.

We just want an unbiased view, is that too much to ask for?

Reply to this comment

by hedge-fund December 7, 2007 1:23 AM EST

It''s a shame, that you are not covering Ron Paul or Kucinich. Here are 2 of the most respectable candidates out there that actually strike a chord with the general public and you ignore them. Are you scared of what they stand for?

20 years ago you could get away with this, but now with the internet most people get their news from a variety of sources. It''s just a matter of time when large media houses like yourselves will become obsolete the more you push biased views.

We just want an unbiased view, is that too much to ask for?

Reply to this comment

by davissean December 7, 2007 1:04 AM EST

I have been a viewer of 60 Minutes nearly all my life. I am ashamed that CBS would cut out Ron Paul from their candidate series. I have lost a lot of respect for this network today.

Reply to this comment

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
...
• 22
• next

See all 440 Comments

Add a comment

Comment SUBMIT

Click here to add another comment.

The posting of advertisements, profanity, or personal attacks is prohibited. By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

Comment reply

Submit Cancel

The posting of advertisements, profanity, or personal attacks is prohibited. By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

Report offensive content:

If you believe this comment is offensive or violates the CBSNews.com Terms of Use, you can report it below (this will not automatically remove the comment). Once reported, our staff will be notified and the comment will be reviewed.

Select type of offense:

Offensive: Sexually explicit or offensive language

Spam: Advertisements, commercial links, or repetitive posts

Disruptive posting: Flaming or offending other users

Illegal activities: Promote cracked software, or other illegal content

Off-topic: Commentary unrelated to the storyline

Comments (optional):

Report Cancel

E-mail this comment to a friend.

E-mail this to: (Separate multiple e-mail addresses with commas. Limited to 10 addresses.)

Your e-mail address:

Send me a copy of this message

Note: Your e-mail address is used only to let the recipient know who sent the e-mail and in case of transmission error. Neither your address nor the recipients's address will be used for any other purpose.

Add your own personal message: (Optional)

Hi, I found this user's comment on CBSNews.com and thought you might be interested in reading it. Send e-mail Cancel

[sabucher]

The people demand Kucinich and Ron Paul!

[greenstj]

Where are the rest of the candidates? Is Ron Paul not running for the Presidency? No wonder Ron Paul is not considered a "Leading Candidate" by main stream media, no one will interview him. When he is allowed to speak ...say at a debate, everyone mocks him and laughs at him before he gets a chance to speak. Or, my favorite is when the interviewer begins their question with "Now we all now you are not going to win,"...

What a surprise, the corporations that own CBS don''t want someone in office they can''t buy.

CBS you are a disgrace.

[xenya_x]

By excluding Kucinich and Paul from this debate, you are not serving the interests of the American people. Not only is this shameful act all over the internet, it is also being told to the older generation who do not log onto the internet. Your station has sunk to a new low. These "debates" are a joke.

[sharilynkay]

This is truly pathetic as it is so obvious that MSM/CBS is trying to ignore the only Pro America/We The People candidate out there ... RON PAUL! I will be boycotting CBS if you don''t get your act together. I am sure you are aware that he has more on the ground supporters at all the polls, on the streets, you tube videos, etc than ANY OTHER CANDIDATE CURRENTLY RUNNING, BAR NONE!! So your exclusion of him is very very obvious.

[xgringo]

Where is Ron Paul? I don''t understand why he can not get media attention!

[ltbjorgaard]

This is unacceptable behavior. The exclusion of Ron Paul is a travesty and frankly un-American.

The massive support for Ron Paul is not unknown to you. Your exclusion of him is an obvious attempt to suppress his views and to promote the pro-corporate views of the media selected candidates.

Air time given to candidates should be fair and balanced. Let Americans have the freedom to hear all the candidates and the FREEDOM to make their choice unaffected by your bias.

[shiggityx2-2009]

Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul are the only candidates worth listening to. CBS, you have sunk to a new low.

[csliberty]

When Ron Paul raises more money than any other Republican in the 3rd quarter he deserves the air time. When he has won more Republican straw polls across America than any other Republican he deserves air time. When he had won debate polls on ABC, FOX, MSNBC, C-SPAN, CNN and others he deserves air time. When he''s the most mentioned person in blogs for the last 6 months according to Technorati, he has earned his spot to be interview. In fact, he''s a front runner ahead of Tancredo, McCain, Hunter, and Huckabee in all of these areas. Shame on CBS.

[concerned220]

I''ve lost faith in CBS and the rest of mainstream media. You''ve shown your lack of journalistic integrity by excluding Ron Paul.

[concerned220]

McCain but no RON PAUL? What an absolute disgrace!

[concerned220]

The "Ron Paul Revolution" is real. Stop ignoring it. Stop marginalizing it. Do your job and report on the real issues.

[rog_rabbit]

How pathetic both CBS and Katie truly are. To call this anything resembling journalism, or even viable commentary, is an insult. 45 pages worth of comments attest to that, but, being the propagandists you obviously are, you will pretend that your pre-selection of candidates is "objective". When the voice of the huge mass of supporters that Ron Paul enjoys is truly heard, I hope you know where to find KGB headquarters (PS. its no longer in Moscow; even the Russians are less "soviet socialist" than you clowns.)

[rog_rabbit]

How pathetic both CBS and Katie truly are. To call this anything resembling journalism, or even viable commentary, is an insult. 45 pages worth of comments attest to that, but, being the propagandists you obviously are, you will pretend that your pre-selection of candidates is "objective". When the voice of the huge mass of supporters that Ron Paul enjoys is truly heard, I hope you know where to find KGB headquarters (PS. its no longer in Moscow; even the Russians are less "soviet socialist" than you clowns.)

[squid1985]

How many corporations do have to have in your pocket to get on the Television? When did the US media get so scewed the candidate with the most individual contributions is not considered a "real" candidate. Ron Paul is the only "real" candidate. The Ron Paul campaign, mostly run by individual supporters, has woken up the public to the serious issues that face this country. Why is everyone afraid of letting him talk? If he isn''t a "real" candidate then why is he raising so much money? Why are so many people taking time out of there lives to volunteer for his campaign? Why are so many people, that have never been involved in politics, involved in Ron Paul''s campaign? Give the man a chance and he will fix our country.

[frisketdog]

I''ve lost faith in CBS and the rest of mainstream media. You''ve shown your lack of journalistic integrity by excluding Ron Paul.

[nursebetsy]

It seems that CBS needs a shot in the arm
and some repair in their paperwork...Let me
try...Okey, there now, maybe they will do a
story on ALL the candidates instead of making
the DECISIONS FOR US?!!!

Oh, but then again they must be part of the
"elite" club. Too bad everybody doesn''t just
BOYCOTT their news channel or perhaps ALL
their programming and boycott the advertisers
as well...

Doesn''t matter WHO I wish to vote for...I don''t
need CBS making my choice. I thought this was
still the United States...or am I just dreaming???

Pass the penicillin please...

[stewbumer]

You''re not even going to interview the real Republican frontrunner.
i.e. The guy that wins every post debate poll, the guy that''s rasining more money than anyone. The guy that''s won more straw polls than anyone else.
Oh, I forgot, you''re still trying to pretend Ron Paul isn''t a first tier candidate.
It''s so sad that the so-called "main-stream" media continues to make itself more irrelevant with each passing day.
And you wonder where all your readers have gone.

[hedge-fund]

It''s a shame, that you are not covering Ron Paul or Kucinich. Here are 2 of the most respectable candidates out there that actually strike a chord with the general public and you ignore them. Are you scared of what they stand for?

20 years ago you could get away with this, but now with the internet most people get their news from a variety of sources. It''s just a matter of time when large media houses like yourselves will become obsolete the more you push biased views.

We just want an unbiased view, is that too much to ask for?

[hedge-fund]

It''s a shame, that you are not covering Ron Paul or Kucinich. Here are 2 of the most respectable candidates out there that actually strike a chord with the general public and you ignore them. Are you scared of what they stand for?

20 years ago you could get away with this, but now with the internet most people get their news from a variety of sources. It''s just a matter of time when large media houses like yourselves will become obsolete the more you push biased views.

We just want an unbiased view, is that too much to ask for?

[davissean]

I have been a viewer of 60 Minutes nearly all my life. I am ashamed that CBS would cut out Ron Paul from their candidate series. I have lost a lot of respect for this network today.