In a TV-journalism age in which a good haircut and a sharp suit often seem to count for more than substance, there's something admirably old-school about Barry Schweid. Old, and unapologetically schlumpy, Schweid is the antithesis of TV's Sharp-Dressed Man.
Even so, on Fox & Friends Weekend this morning, Schweid let his liberal leanings show.
Schweid has been covering diplomacy for the Associated Press for over 30 years, and is currently its senior diplomatic correspondent. He joined FOX News Channel as a contributor for foreign affairs in 1997.
Schweid came on to discuss the issue of torture, and specifically Condi Rice's recent European tour, intended to pallliate delicate continental sensibilities on the issue.
Said Schweid:
"Initially only interrogations held in the US were to be bound by strict rules and [Rice]extended the jurisdiction to worldwide, meaning that there's one rule and it applies wherever US interrogations or US-arranged interrogations take place, and that was reassuring."
Schweid is billed as a "correspondent," not a commentator. Yet here he was offering up a personal opinion on a very controversial issue.
In the classic 'ticking-bomb' scenario, not everyone, Barry, will find it reassuring that interrogators have their hands tied.
