Pulitzer Prize Winning Author Tells Bob Schieffer 'That's a Bulls--t Question'
A Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer on Sunday responded to a query from "Face the Nation" host Bob Schieffer by saying, "As the immortal Marisa Tomei said in 'My Cousin Vinny,' that's a bulls--t question."
Edmund Morris, who won a Pulitzer Prize in 1980 for "The Rise of Teddy Roosevelt," apparently felt Schieffer was being too "presentist" with his questions that were trying to "pluck people out of the past and expect them to comment on what's happening today" (video follows with transcript and commentary):
BOB SCHIEFFER, HOST: What would Teddy Roosevelt think of today's politics, Edmund?
EDMUND MORRIS, PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING BIOGRAPHER: You keep asking these presentist questions, Bob. As the immortal Marisa Tomei said in “My Cousin Vinny,” that's a bulls--t question. Because you cannot pluck people out of the past and expect them to comment on what's happening today. I can only say that what he represented in his time was that what we look for in our presidents now, what we hope for in our presidents now and we're increasingly disappointed. He was somebody who understood foreign cultures. He represented the dignity of the United States. He was forceful but at the same time civilized. And what I really feel these days is we've become such an insular people, and I'm particularly sensitive to this as I suppose Arianna [Huffington] is as an immigrant because I represent, I come from another culture. I can call myself legitimately an African-American. And I'm aware of the fact that people elsewhere in the world think differently from us. I can sort of see "us," us Americans with their eyes, and not all that I see is attractive. I see an insular people who are insensitive to foreign sensibilities, who are lazy, obese, complacent, and increasingly perplexed as to why we are losing our place in the world to people who are more dynamic than us and more disciplined.
This was the second time during the segment that Schieffer asked Morris what Roosevelt would think about what's going on today, and it appears that twice was too many.
But despite the comedic value of the exchange, why else would Morris - whose third installment in his Roosevelt trilogy is scheduled to be released Tuesday - be invited on such a program?
It certainly wasn't to tell viewers Americans are lazy, obese, complacent, undisciplined, and stupid.
After all, just about any liberal media member could do that.
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Comments
I just have to say- that
Submitted by bkeyser on Sun, 11/28/2010 - 3:52pm.
I just have to say- that version of Marisa Tomei... mmm, mmm, mmm.
But you were saying something about a prize or some such, Noel?
Another foreign elitist
Submitted by humanzee on Sun, 11/28/2010 - 3:57pm.
Another foreign elitist taking a jab at America. Countries rot from top to bottom. America is in this position because the elite are a bunch of arrogant ass-----s.
It doesn't matter if the masses are a bunch of fat slobs or skinny rice farming peasants. The only thing that matters is who is running the damn country.
He's right
Submitted by griv on Sun, 11/28/2010 - 4:24pm.
Fat and lazy Americans put Obama in charge.
Another asshole know-it-all
Submitted by Barack_must_go..... on Sun, 11/28/2010 - 5:31pm.
Another asshole know-it-all that won a BULLSHIT prize for being a bigger asshole than all the other left wing bomb thrower assholes.
This guy is about as American as Barack Hussein Obama......that's not at all.
It's funny, actually sad, these self absorbed pieces of shit are given unfettered access to the airwaves to expound their total hatred for America, her people and our very way of life.
This guy has no idea just how lucky he is to be here in America able to speak his simple mind and live to gloat about it.
That is but one of the many liberties being an American affords each and every one of us, although we all take it for granted.
I would love to see this guy sitting in a studio in the Middle East somewhere spewing his hatred for their way of life in such a cavalier manner.....and see what happens to him.
Barack_Must_Go.....
Tone it down please.
Submitted by Denny Crane on Sun, 11/28/2010 - 11:02pm.
I understand where you are coming from, but in my humble opinion, you swear way too much on these boards.
Can you please try to get your point across without swearing so much?
This guy isn't "another a$$hole know-it-all" Where did he say anything that could be construed as hating America? He pointed out reasons why America is losing standing in the world.
"Lib free or die"
We Are The 53%
If you can listen to that
Submitted by Barack_must_go..... on Mon, 11/29/2010 - 5:51am.
If you can listen to that asshole and have any doubt he is an asshole then quite possibly you are cut from the same cloth.
Real Americans do not worry about what the rest of the world say about us, never have, never will.
It is the new breed of left wing progressive douchebags that run the majority of the TV, radio and print outlets in this country apparently along with yourself that believe America needs to be dismantled and rebuilt as an outpost of Northern Europe or some hybrid like entity.
This is not going to happen now and hopefully never, no matter what lies the Ass Clown in our White House feeds you.
If YOU hate America, as this pompous asshole does, just move somewhere else.
Our country is going through a rough time right now, as we have in the past, but we're not giving up nor in to those who wish what makes us truely Americans destroyed.......got it?
Barack_Must_Go.....
Are you looking to get booted again Pantryman?
Submitted by The Vet on Mon, 11/29/2010 - 12:20pm.
Knock it off with the constant profanities. The man asked you nicely.
He also said the guy isn't an
Submitted by Barack_must_go..... on Mon, 11/29/2010 - 1:10pm.
He also said the guy isn't an asshole, but the guy is one so really what's your point?
If you don't like what I as a real American have to say or how I say it, look away while you pass on by.
Barack_Must_Go.....
No. Knock it off.
Submitted by The Vet on Mon, 11/29/2010 - 1:18pm.
So now we are not real Americans because we don't curse with every single post?
Knock it off Pantryman.
That's not the reason
Submitted by Barack_must_go..... on Mon, 11/29/2010 - 1:46pm.
That's not the reason why....and you know it.
Knock what off lady?
Barack_Must_Go.....
You iz not trollie right?
Submitted by The Vet on Mon, 11/29/2010 - 6:36pm.
Calling other users lady when you know they are male. Yeah, that ain't needling is it? You raising bile now are you? You see how upset I am? Ewwwwww. I iz mad trollie. I iz throw my keyboard. Wait. Awwww. I saw through your little fallacious ad hominem and didn't get the slightest bit annoyed. Fail trollie.
And acting stupid to boot? Wha... I done do suntin wrong mister. I iz confuzed by 'umans.
Looks like your true nature comes out, huh? Stupid and Insulting.
We don't act like you and pull out the vulgarity card, oops, trollie turns up the heat.
So little potty mouth troll
Submitted by Denny Crane on Mon, 11/29/2010 - 8:42pm.
Are you saying that Edmund Morris, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Biographer is
Another asshole know-it-all that won a BULLSHIT prize for being a bigger asshole than all the other left wing bomb thrower assholes. For writing a Best selling trilogy on Teddy Roosevelt? He was also the oficial Bbiographer for Ronald Raegan, and spent years with that great man. Where have I ever said I believe "America needs to be dismantled and rebuilt"? Don't swear at me little boy because you have no comprehension of what the story is about. I asked you nicely as this is a Family friendly site, and it has been well established over the years that posting here is done with a little decorum, which you DON"T HAVE. "Lib free or die"We Are The 53%
I stand by what I said
Submitted by Barack_must_go..... on Mon, 11/29/2010 - 10:22pm.
I stand by what I said whether you agree with me on not so save your indignity for someone who cares......I don't.
Barack_Must_Go.....
Obviously you do care
Submitted by Denny Crane on Mon, 11/29/2010 - 11:22pm.
Or else you wouldn't have replied.
You stand by what you said? OK fine, but it's very interesting that you can't back up what you said. All you do is call Obama an "assclown" accuse people of being "leftwing bombthrowers" accuse people of sexually abusing children and when someone asks you nicely to tone down the language in your posts you comeback with
It is the new breed of left wing progressive douchebags that run the majority of the TV, radio and print outlets in this country apparently along with yourself that believe America needs to be dismantled and rebuilt as an outpost of Northern Europe or some hybrid like entity. Your posts are no better than the crap that gets tossed around sites like DKos, and DU, you just happen to be the polar opposite. You constantly resort to name calling and profanity. It makes you look like an adolescent jerk crying for attention. So this time I'm asking not so nicely. Stop acting like an adolescent jerk, and TONE DOWN THE PROFANITY AND RHETORIC CRAP.We Are The 53%
NO !
Submitted by Barack_must_go..... on Tue, 11/30/2010 - 8:57am.
NO !
Barack_Must_Go.....
Whatever Clivious Motrin.
Submitted by The Vet on Tue, 11/30/2010 - 9:44am.
Remember that? Whackjob.
Hey, you never did visit your forum.
pantryman, meet steve05. steve05, meet pantryman.Miss your old name? Wait, maybe I ought to back off. I am only 95% sure you are pantryman. I really should be 100% sure. After all, pantryman was the biggest lying sissy here. All he ever talked about was his love of wearing women's underthings and getting all dressed up as Paulagirl to visit the mall as a woman. Sickening the obsession really. I know we should be nice to transgenders but still ewwwwwww.
Yeah, you prolly ain't that sissy after all. Wait, you did call me lady, pantryman called everyone lady because of his hidden obession with getting the surgery to become one. Nah, just a coincidence.
Man that guy was one weird sissy.
No?
Submitted by Denny Crane on Tue, 11/30/2010 - 8:17pm.
You don't stand by what you said? Now I'm confoosed.
Or, no, you're not going to tone it down cuz you like looking like an adolescent jerk crying for attention?
"Lib free or die"
We Are The 53%
Yeah, we're a sorry lot.
Submitted by Newsbubba on Sun, 11/28/2010 - 5:50pm.
The "civilized" countries of the world, especially European ones, always look down on us until they need us to rescue their sorry asses from some tyrant about to destroy them.
It used to work because we fought to win. Nowadays, I'm not too sure if we still want to win. So uncivilized, you know.
Back to basics. Lead, follow, or get the f**k out of the way.
Interject This!
Submitted by Bill W. on Sun, 11/28/2010 - 5:57pm.
"...who are lazy, obese, complacent, and increasingly perplexed... But, enough about liberals and freeloaders..."
Or as Dennis Miller says
Submitted by Blonde on Sun, 11/28/2010 - 6:21pm.
"We don't mind taking care of the helpless, but the clueless are on their own".
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)
This is exactly why
Submitted by vaboxrboy on Sun, 11/28/2010 - 6:27pm.
I can't stand Stewart Varney. He shouts the same stuff and says he can go back to England anytime because he's earned enough money in America to do so. Yet for whatever reason no one has a problem with him at all.
Stewart Varney---
Submitted by matthewdean on Sun, 11/28/2010 - 7:25pm.
says things that makes sense to a conservative.
You, vaboxrboy, as a liberal, on the other hand, remind me of a seagull; you eat, and then come on NB's and squawk out a post that is full of sh*t.
MD
oh it is a liberal.
Submitted by The Vet on Sun, 11/28/2010 - 7:42pm.
I heart Stuart Varney. I heart Fox Business News.
Off topic
Submitted by Radical1979 on Sun, 11/28/2010 - 8:21pm.
I <3 the Vet.
Liberal or not
Submitted by vaboxrboy on Sun, 11/28/2010 - 7:50pm.
I don't like it when people come here and bad mouth us and then says he can leave anytime he wants. Sorry, I have enough pride for my country to call him on it.
What in the name of all that is fuzzy and warm are you on about?
Submitted by The Vet on Sun, 11/28/2010 - 7:57pm.
Stuart, IT IS SPELLED STUART, Varney wasn't even in the clip. What are you talking about?
Link to something, no take it to the woodshed, you are off topic here by a mile.
Varney has said more than
Submitted by Radical1979 on Sun, 11/28/2010 - 8:19pm.
Varney has said more than once that he came to the U.S. to escape the economic system of England and he doesn't want to see this country fall into the same cesspool.
Thanks Rad.
Submitted by The Vet on Sun, 11/28/2010 - 9:38pm.
I don't know what this vaporboy is on about. I have never heard Mr. Varney say anything remotely close to what he has claimed. And how did Mr. Varney enter the conversation anyway?
Hey Hey Hey. I have an imitation.
Johnny Ray was gay. I never liked him.
Did you guess who I was? I was vaboxrboy. Out of left field red herrings at the ready! Git yer Red Hot Herrings!
"Git yer Red Hot Herrings!"
Submitted by Rukus on Mon, 11/29/2010 - 6:33pm.
OMO! That there is funny as hell! Good shot Vet! ; )
Love the "African American" part
Submitted by krendler on Sun, 11/28/2010 - 6:47pm.
Too bad Roland Martin or some equally-race-obsessed "journalist" wasn't sitting there so he could get all outraged and $h*t over the white guy saying that.
First image that comes to
Submitted by mrsimele on Sun, 11/28/2010 - 8:20pm.
First image that comes to mind when thinking "fat and lazy" is Michael Moore.
I'd rather be an American anything else is a distant second.
Submitted by CT on Sun, 11/28/2010 - 8:25pm.
I have lived overseas for years in both Europe and Asia. I would suggest to all that the Archie Bunker archetype is alive and well everywhere around the world. Americans are no more insular or provincial than their first world counter-parts and certainly less so than third world societies.
What is so bad about being
Submitted by mrsimele on Sun, 11/28/2010 - 8:54pm.
What is so bad about being insular? I loved the way the United States was about 40 years ago, before the influx of illegal migrants from Mexico. I liked America decades ago when getting on an airplane did not constitute the TSA from man-handling my private parts and scanning my body. Just because elitist liberals think that globalization should include the dismantling of what America used to be does not mean I have to agree with that notion. I will be the first to admit that I don't want muslims in my country because of how they treat their followers. I will also admit that English should be the one and only language spoken in classrooms. Maybe I am insular and proud of it but I guarantee you I am not alone.
We are "insular" because the American way of life is the most ideal. If it isn't then why do so many foreigners want to move here?
(No subject)
Submitted by UpNorth on Mon, 11/29/2010 - 8:58pm.
OK, now NB is getting downright scary. I have yet to hit the "Save" button one time tonight, and the new site apparently decided that I should post something, just because? Come on, can we get this "new, better" site to actually operate the way my local news station web site operates? And, it wouldn't recognize my screen name for three tries when I tried to log in.
I keep expecting things to get better, but it's not happening, at least not yet.
UpN, Just when is the Change "SAVE" to "POST'...happening?
Submitted by upcountrywater on Mon, 11/29/2010 - 9:19pm.
How many years have all people that use computers, feel compelled to hit the save button!
Surprise, "save" has an entirely new meaning,here in NB-2 land.
I've done the same thing...may do it again,,sheesh
You Didn't Build That.