In so many of the other beats these days, there are these layers of public relations people that you have to go through to get to the newsmakers themselves. Bob Schieffer More Quotes by Bob Schieffer More Quotes From Bob Schieffer I had the chance to make every possible mistake and figure out a way to recover from it. Once you realize there is life after mistakes, you gain a self-confidence that never goes away. Bob Schieffer self-confidence mistake way I think journalism is a great way to do public service, to have an impact on your community. Bob Schieffer impact community thinking I always thought writing was the foundation and the basis for journalism in the same way being able to draw is the foundation for art. Bob Schieffer foundation writing art Mitt Romney is betting big on himself and left no doubt about it. Bob Schieffer betting doubt And after about two years, I realized that creative writing was not going to help you ace those biological tests. So I switched over to journalism. I didn't graduate with honors, but I did graduate on time and with some doing. Bob Schieffer writing two years The truth is the Super Bowl long ago became more than just a football game. It's part of our culture, like turkey at Thanksgiving and lights at Christmas, and like those holidays - beyond their meaning - a factor in our economy. Bob Schieffer thanksgiving christmas football American politics used to be an amateur sport. But somewhere along the way, we handed over to professionals all the things people used to do for free. Bob Schieffer politics sports people There's fierce competition between all the networks to get the guest who can bring the most pertinent information about whatever the story of the moment happens to be. Bob Schieffer competition guests stories And I came away from that experience, and it was a very difficult experience - I came to understand that you have to practice at being a good father and practice at being a good husband, just as you have to practice at being a good journalist. Bob Schieffer husband practice father At the White House, everybody works for the same person. They're all part of the same company. But on Capitol Hill, they're all independent contractors. They all work for themselves. That's a formula for getting news. Bob Schieffer independent white house The truth is the Super Bowl long ago became more than just a football game. Bob Schieffer long-ago games football Well, you know, in any political campaign, you're gonna have people on one side that are gonna slip a reporter something because they think it'll hurt the guy on the other side. Bob Schieffer hurt people thinking But if you don't enjoy doing something, you'll be miserable no matter how much money you make. Bob Schieffer miserable literature matter I can't think of any other job in journalism where the newsmakers come to you. Bob Schieffer literature jobs thinking Had there been a reporter along with Lieutenant Calley when he massacred those people in Vietnam, I think that probably wouldn't have happened. Bob Schieffer vietnam people thinking The Iraq war was fought by one-half of one percent of us. And unless we were part of that small group or had a relative who was, we went about our lives as usual most of the time: no draft, no new taxes, no changes. Not so for the small group who fought the war and their families. Bob Schieffer iraq usual war Talk about threats to national security -- how about government so big, so complicated and so unmanageable, it cant get out of its own way? Bob Schieffer government complicated way Nowadays I'm not even sure if newspapers take into account whether a person is a good writer. Bob Schieffer accounts newspapers persons They've asked me to do this temporarily. I don't know what temporarily means. Life is temporary. Bob Schieffer literature life-is mean We now assume that when people turn on the evening news, they basically already know what the news is. They've heard it on the radio. They've seen it on the Internet. They've seen it on one of the cable companies. So that makes our job a bit different. Bob Schieffer news jobs people