WASHINGTON – One day after Bob Schieffer moderated the third presidential debate, the CBS News chief Washington correspondent tells WTOP he feels satisfied with how it went, but would like to see a debate about America’s education system.
“I would love to have an hour and a half debate on what we can do to get the schools in this country to where they ought to be,” he says.
The debate at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla., Monday night focused on foreign policy issues and topics surrounding Libya, Syria, Iran and Israel. While previous moderators – former PBS anchor Jim Lehrer and CNN’s Candy Crowley – drew a lot of attention for their performances, Schieffer mostly stayed out of the spotlight.
“He dutifully guided the conversation from question to question. His follow-up questions did not seem to draw any notable criticism or praise,” The Huffington Post writes.
Schieffer tells WTOP that he wanted the debate to be about the candidates.
“There’s been so much attention focused on the moderators I was just determined this was going to be their debate,” he says.
Schieffer’s most notable line came after cutting off Romney, who got off-topic on education.
“I think we all love teachers,” Schieffer said, prompting a laugh from the audience.
Schieffer says his sister is a retired school teacher, and he was glad to see “bipartisan agreement” on his comment.
“I asked them last night what they consider one of the main threats to our national security,” he adds. “One of the main threats, I think, is the state of our school system
