Bush Shifts Ex-Ballclub Partner to Japan

[Rose Siding]

WASHINGTON -- President Bush is naming a former fellow investor in the Texas Rangers, J. Thomas Schieffer, to be the U.S. ambassador to Japan, the White House announced Friday.

Schieffer, the U.S. ambassador to Australia and brother of Bob Schieffer of CBS News, was a member of the investment group that bought the Rangers in 1989 and was president of the baseball team while Bush was a part owner. He also was a Dallas attorney with a portfolio centering on oil and gas companies and, a Democrat, served three terms in the Texas House.

Former Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker, a Tennessee Republican, announced in December he was leaving the post in Japan in February.

During Baker's tenure as ambassador, Japan has been supportive of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and reconstruction. The Japanese government last month extended by one year a humanitarian mission by 550 of its troops in the southern Iraqi city of Samawah.

http://www.newsday.com/news/politics/wire/sns-ap-us-japan,0,1127034.story?coll=sns-ap-politics-headlines

[medeak]

1. brother of Bob Schieffer?

Am amazed..always enjoyed him.

[Davis_X_Machina]

2. Why else was Bob Schieffer chosen to moderate a debate? n/t

[Rose Siding]

3. Weird -that never came up.

Small world. I didn't detect any glaring bias, but who can say how subtle it might have been. That the subject of the perception of impropriety never even came up is depressing.

[leesa]

6. It DID come up and was promptly ignored by the MSM

[Rockerdem]

10. Im surprised that people are surprised now too

This was common knowledge back then.

[proud2BlibKansan]

8. Have you seen Face the Nation lately?

Schieffer has really given it to shrub the last couple weeks. He is obviously not being paid to promote shrub's agenda.

[Democat]

4. The debate moderator is an oldtime business partner and friend?

If it was Clinton, it would be a scandal. But Bush's friends own the U.S. media.

[Rose Siding]

5. Wouldn't a judge in a court case reveal that kind of connection?

-and ask the attorneys if they objected?

The more I think about it, the nuttier it is. A little research and anyone could have found out about this- it wasn't a secret. When Sheiffer was announced as the moderator, they ran down his professional career. Wouldn't it have been not only appropriate but ethical to mention this familial/business connection at that point?

Maybe I just missed it.

We have this whole tempest going on about bloggers ethics and this was SO much more significant.

[Vidar]

7. Why didn't he give it to Barney's dog groomer (or Laura's)?

[wishlist]

9. Bob Scheiffer lobbed soft balls to Bush during 3rd debate

Despite Scheiffer's nonpartisan stance and occasional criticism of Bush, he went extremely easy in the questions to Bush during the debate and failed to ask many tough questions or follow-ups, instead steering Bush towards love-fest touchy-feely answers.