A Modest Proposal: Stop The Campaigns!
Weekly commentary by CBS Evening News chief Washington correspondent and Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer.
So here's where we are in the campaign for the most powerful office in the world:
McCain's man Phil Gramm said America is a nation of whiners and that the economic recession is just in peoples' minds.
McCain said Gramm didn't speak for him. Really? They why was he speaking? I thought they were old friends, and Gramm was a trusted advisor.
And there was Obama man John Kerry saying McCain hadn't learned the lessons of 9/11. Yes, the same John Kerry who seriously thought of asking McCain to be his running mate when he ran for President himself in 2004.
And then along came Jesse Jackson with an observation about Obama that sounded like something out of the Ken Starr report.
Which reminds me, what's the deal with Bill Clinton? Are his feelings still hurt? Will he campaign for Obama if Obama helps the Clintons pay their bills?
And will McCain get better at reading the teleprompter?
We've been treated to endless conversation, speculation and analyses of all these pertinent topics, to the point that a friend of mine said the other day that he thought Obama and McCain would be better served if both of them just suspended all campaigning until Fall, after the nominating conventions.
Just shut it all down - the surrogates, the press conferences, the talking points, the conference calls, all of it. Give all of us a rest.
It's not my idea, but I wish it were! What we've been hearing from both sides lately isn't helping them, or us.
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By Bob Schieffer
