High And Unusual Praise
Weekly commentary by CBS Evening News anchor and Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer.
There is an old rule in Washington: Never get between a politician and an open microphone unless you want to be run over. During the Clinton impeachment hearings, one member of Congress actually roamed the halls looking for microphones set up outside hearing rooms at the Capitol, and upon seeing one would just walk up and start talking even when there no reporter there to conduct an interview. Trust me, I saw it.
Which is why I call your attention to Maryland Senator Paul Sarbanes, who appeared only once on Face the Nation over the years, but he was one of the most unusual men ever to walk the halls of Congress, because he never even seemed to notice the microphones in the halls of Congress. He said last week he's gonna retire when his current term is up, and the reason was as understated as his career: If he ran again, he'd be 80 if he served out his term, he said, and that's just hanging around too long.
Sarbanes is a professional politician in a time when that is a pejorative term, but during 38 years in elected office, what set him apart was that he never said much. The rare politician who let others take the credit to get things done, things like cracking down on corporate corruption. Yesterday, one of his constituents praised him for just doing his work, and told "The Washington Post," 'He never came close to embarrassing us.' High and unusual praise in today's politics.
That's it for us. We'll see you right here next wee -- well, actually we'll see you tomorrow on the Evening News from New York. I've got to get used to saying that. Thank you.
By Bob Schieffer