Andy Rooney Doesn't Speak for Bob Schieffer

CBS Evening News anchor Bob Schieffer praised Katie Couric’s selection as his successor in an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer aired during the 4pm EDT hour, and again in the 7pm EDT hour, of Thursday's The Situation Room. As MRC analyst Brian Boyd reported here, CBS correspondent Andy Rooney appeared on the April 5 Imus in the Morning radio program, where he told Don Imus that he was "not enthusiastic" about Couric’s hiring, and that "I don’t know anybody at CBS News who is pleased that she’s coming here." When Schieffer was asked about Rooney’s comments, he politely disagreed with his colleague.

Bob Schieffer: "Well, if he says he didn’t know anyone I, I hate to tell you, Andy, but you must have not talked to me, because I’m pleased she’s coming here, so I’d have to question you on that. You know, I, I learned a long time ago that I let everybody speak for themselves. That’s Andy’s view. That’s what, you know, that’s what Andy does. He, he speaks his mind. I, I just don’t agree with him. He’s a great friend of mine but I don’t agree with him on that."

Earlier in the interview, Schieffer expressed hope that Couric’s selection will demonstrate CBS’s drive to win, before concluding with a statement that contradicted Rooney.

Schieffer: "But I think what this means, Wolf, is that CBS News management is saying we want to win. We want to go beyond where we are...I’m a fan of hers, Wolf. I talked to her the night before she made this announcement and she’s really excited about it. You know what, people sometimes tend to forget, because she’s been on the Today show for so long, Katie was a crack reporter. She was a very good beat reporter for NBC. She covered the Pentagon, way back when, and I think she’s going to do a terrific job here. And she’s going to get a lot of help from me, if she needs it, for one thing. We’re all glad to see her coming here."