Former CBS reporter Bernard Goldberg went on WashingtonPost.com's Live Online and answered questions emailed to him by readers. Goldberg was there to discuss his latest book, "100 People Who are Screwing Up America."
Someone asked if he would "add Cindy Sheehan as number 101 this week?"
"I'm with you. Our hearts go out to her for her loss, but she is wearing thin. It is perfectly reasonable to disagree with President Bush on Iraq. But the over-the-top nonsense she's spouting is doing her and her cause more harm than she understands."
Another reader asked what he thought of Dan Rather.
"Dan got pushed out mainly because of low ratings, though Memogate was not irrelevant. However, if Dan had been #1 in the evening news horse race, the scandal would not have been enough to get him kicked upstairs. Dan has spent over 40 years at CBS News and has covered every major story of our time. He brought this on himself -- by circling the wagons and pointing fingers at his accusers -- but still it's a little sad to see the guy get "beaten up" by his own colleagues who have said less than flattering things about him (in the New Yorker, for example). Dan's flaw is that he's not very introspective. He lashes out at critics, instead of looking inward. And yes -- because of Memogate, and only because of Memograte -- he is on The List."
Goldberg was asked about comments made by Pat Robertson and radio host Michael Graham.
"This is more complex than a lot of folks may think. Of course, our first reaction is: how can anyone say such a thing, that an elected leader of another country should be bumped off. But consider this (and nothing I say here should be seen as even vaguely endorsing Pat Robertson's comment): What if we had knocked off Sadam Hussein -- and then did NOT go to war with Iraq. What that have been civil-- or what that have been worth it, in that it would have saved several thousand lives.
"As for the radio talk show host's remarks: I heard him on TV last night and the point he was making is that there hasn't been enough outrage from supposedly moderate Muslims around the world. His language aside, tha's another point worth considering."
