Andy Rooney leaving "60 minutes" after 33 years

I must admit I haven't watched 60 minutes in quite some time. But when I did I always enjoyed Andy Rooney's common sense commentaries.

After reading this article I'm not entirely sure of the reason for his departure. Is he leaving voluntarily or being pushed out?

 

Andy Rooney, whose folksy and often curmudgeonly essays have been a staple of "60 Minutes" for more than three decades, will end his regular weekly appearances on the program, CBS said Tuesday.

Mr. Rooney, 92, has delivered 1,096 commentaries to the newsmagazine since becoming a regular contributor in 1978, according to CBS. He will formally announce his reduced role in essay No. 1,097 on Sunday night.

His essay will be "preceded by a segment in which Rooney looks back on his career in an interview with Morley Safer," the network said in a statement.

"It's harder for him to do it every week, but he will always have the ability to speak his mind on '60 Minutes' when the urge hits him," said Jeff Fager, the chairman of CBS News and executive producer of the show.

But people close to Mr. Rooney said it was unlikely that he would make many appearances, if any, in the future. The people, who did not want to be identified, said the plan for him to step away from the program had been in the works for some time. Because of the honored place he has occupied on the show, Mr. Rooney's move is not being characterized in terms of a formal retirement, they said.

"There's nobody like Andy and there never will be," Mr. Fager's statement said. "He'll hate hearing this, but he's an American original."

Through CBS, Mr. Rooney declined to comment.

Mr. Rooney was noticeably absent when the newsmagazine started a new season on Sunday night, and he was not quoted in the announcement by CBS.

The change was first reported by TVNewser. In an interview with that Web site last year, Mr. Rooney said that he planned to work for "60 Minutes" until he "dropped dead," and he added, "Until somebody tells me different, I'm not going to quit."

For many viewers, Mr. Rooney's weekly observations on the foibles of life, commerce and politics became a favorite feature of the program, which was for years the most watched on television. But even as his popularity soared, he occasionally ran afoul of some groups, including Hispanics, American Indians and gays and lesbians, because of his comments.

A war correspondent during World War II, Mr. Rooney joined the network in 1949 as a writer for a show called "Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts." In the 1960s he wrote and produced television essays for the correspondent Harry Reasoner, and when CBS established "60 Minutes" in 1968, he produced some of Mr. Reasoner's segments for the program. Ten years later he became a regular commentator.

"60 Minutes" remains by far the most popular newsmagazine on American television. The show has weathered any number of changes over the years, including the death of the correspondent Ed Bradley in 2006. Another veteran correspondent, Mike Wallace, retired from full-time work that year.

Andy Rooney leaving "60 minutes" after 33 years

Liberal Double Whammy

Obama raps the knuckles of the CBC.

Shut you face and vote for me.. just like last time...

Don't waste time thinking about my record. I'm Black, your Black, that's all you need to know!

He lectures them:

"Quit complaining and crying???" 

This kills me.

He's been blaming Bush for everything ever since he took office!

Noticed the calculated, put-on, phraseology when speaking before the CBC is quite a bit different from the one used to address the general population, dispelling any notion we are all one nation.

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Maxine doesn't know who the Messiah was talking to? "Curious" she said. Not surprising since she's made a career of walking around in the dark with her mouth open.  Since the backdrop of the above video states Congressional Black Caucus, which Waters attended, shouldn't that be a clue. She should thank God for her district, Waters couldn't get elected dogcatcher in any other.

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Liberal Double Whammy

WOW!

I like Herman Cain but I didn't see this coming. Not only did he win he received more then double the votes of his closest rival Perry!


I guess Perry's "Have a heart" statement concerning illegals, costing taxpayers millions and are a detriment to our own people,  didn't go over that well.

Herman Cain Wins Florida GOP Straw Poll

Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain arrives onstage to address the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla., Friday, Sept. 23, 2011.

Businessman Herman Cain won the Florida straw poll Saturday, beating Texas Gov. Rick Perry, the GOP presidential front-runner who just two days earlier delivered a debate performance that was widely panned.

Cain finished with 37 percent of the vote, while Perry trailed with 15 percent. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney followed with 14 percent while former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum drew 11 percent. U.S. Rep. Ron Paul finished with 10.5 percent, while former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman finished with 2 percent.

U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, who won the Iowa straw poll in August, finished with just 1 percent of the vote.

"Thank you to the Republican voters for this incredible honor of being named the winner of the Presidency 5 straw poll in Florida today," Cain said in a statement after the results were in.

"This is a sign of our growing momentum and my candidacy that cannot be ignored. I will continue to share my message of 'common sense solutions' across this country and look forward to spending more time in Florida, a critical state for both the nomination and the general election," he said.

Perry, who was expected to finish strong had told the more than 3,000 GOP activists who came from across the state that his rivals made a mistake by skipping the straw poll..

Romney and  Bachmann had both left Florida before the voting began and their campaigns discounted the straw poll's role in the campaign.

Other first-tier candidates hadn't actively organized for the Florida vote, either. So the results probably won't shuffle the campaign's standings and were shaping up as little more than a popularity contest among the delegates selected by local party organizations.

Ahead of the test vote, Perry's campaign bought breakfast for hundreds of the party faithful assembled for a three-day conference and debate. Perry said skipping the straw poll was a blunder.

"I think that's a big mistake. I think it's very important," Perry said, citing its history.

Previous straw polls have predicted the GOP nominee.
Ronald Reagan won in 1979, George H.W. Bush in 1987 and Kansas Sen. Bob Dole in 1995. The Republican Party of Florida, however, has not organized the test vote in recent years.

Perry, a late entrant into the Republican primary who quickly led national polls, stumbled in recent weeks.

His strident defense of in-state tuition rates for illegal immigrants put him on the wrong side of the GOP's conservative base. His rivals worked to exploit his opposition to a fence along the U.S.-Mexican border and his support of a mandatory vaccine for girls against a sexually transmitted disease.

A Florida poll victory could prove helpful, especially ahead of Friday's deadline for the latest fundraising snapshot.

From Florida, Perry was headed later Saturday to a Republican gathering on Mackinac Island in Michigan. Romney, the son of a former Michigan governor, also was set to address the crowd in the state where he spent his youth.

WOW!

Solyndra Execs Plead Fifth At Congressional Hearing

Solyndra Execs Plead Fifth at Congressional Hearing More Than a Dozen Times

Top executives from a bankrupt California solar energy company pleaded the Fifth Amendment more than a dozen times Friday in a congressional hearing that went nowhere but gave members the opportunity to pose dozens of questions about the loss of a half billion dollars in government loans.

Solyndra Inc. CEO Brian Harrison and the company's chief financial officer, Bill Stover, had notified the House Energy and Commerce Committee they were going to invoke their Fifth Amendment right to decline to testify to avoid self-incrimination.

That didn't mean lawmakers didn't have questions for the executives, leading to complaints from committee Democrats that House Republicans were badgering the witnesses.

Read this and then check out the video.

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The Supreme Court has ruled it's considered prosecutorial misconduct when the government calls witnesses with the flagrant intent of questioning them to invoke their Fifth Amendment, said Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif.

Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Cliff Stearns, who led the hearing, said that Democrats had agreed to the format ahead of time.

I agreed to the format. That doesn't mean I agreed to badgering the witnesses, said ranking committee member Diana DeGette, D-Colo.

This is a video demonstration of Henry Waxman applying the proper etiquette when badgering..I mean... questioning a witness.

Rep. Phil Gingrey, R-Ga., told Fox News that the members asked questions that they would have liked to have answers. But he said the executives used their Fifth Amendment rights becaise they feared their testimony would incriminate themselves.

"And indeed I think they would,"  he said.

Silence from the two executives will not stop committee leaders from pursuing their investigation into the $528 million loan Solyndra received from the Energy Department in 2009.

In a letter to Energy Secretary Steven Chu, GOP lawmakers said they were expanding their inquiry into the Solyndra loan, which has become a rallying point for Republican critics of the Obama administration's push for so-called green jobs.

Lawmakers said they want the administration to turn over all communications between the Energy Department and White House related to Solyndra, as well as all communications between Energy and the Treasury, which lent Solyndra the money.

Committee leaders said the Obama administration may have violated the law when it restructured Solyndra's loan in February in such a way that private investors moved ahead of taxpayers for repayment in case of default. The economic stimulus law provides for taxpayers to be ahead of other creditors in the event of bankruptcy or default.

"We are also determined to know why DOE allowed the taxpayers to be subordinated to the private investors during that restructuring in violation of the clear letter of the law. What we do not know is whether the Solyndra executives here today have something to hide. Was all the information they submitted to DOE accurate and complete?" added Stearns.

Deputy Energy Secretary Daniel Poneman said Thursday that the restructuring was "entirely legal," noting that another aspect of the law requires Chu and other officials to protect the overall interests of taxpayers. He said the restructuring accomplished that because it gave the struggling company a better chance to succeed.

Solyndra filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this month and laid off its 1,100 employees.

The Fremont, Calif.-based company was the first renewable-energy company to receive a loan guarantee under a stimulus-law program to encourage green energy and was frequently touted by the Obama administration as a model. President Obama visited the company's Silicon Valley headquarters last year, and Vice President Biden spoke by satellite at its groundbreaking ceremony.

Since then, the company's implosion and revelations that the administration hurried Office of Management and Budget officials to finish their review of the loan in time for the September 2009 groundbreaking has become an embarrassment for Obama as he tries to sell his new job-creation program.

Solyndra Execs Plead Fifth At Congressional Hearing

GOP debate: Winners and losers

Perry's answer last night when asked about illegals.

PERRY: In the state of Texas, if you've been in the state of Texas for three years, if you're working towards your college degree, and if you are working and pursuing citizenship in the state of Texas, you pay in-state tuition there.

And the bottom line is it doesn't make any difference what the sound of your last name is. That is the American way. No matter how you got into that state, from the standpoint of your parents brought you there or what have you. And that's what we've done in the state of Texas. And I'm proud that we are having those individuals be contributing members of our society rather than telling them, you go be on the government dole.

Two issues I have with this statement:

1. "No matter how you got into that state, from the standpoint of your parents brought you there or what have you."

He means we'll give you say, $100,000 to go to college paid for by the taxpayers even though you are here illegally. This is total bullshit!!!!

This will never sit well with anyone with half a brain; a "Judas kiss" to the Tea Party.

2. He goes on to say the reason behind it is to get them off the government dole. WHAT? I thought that's why he was running for president. To get them off the government dole. I guess it hasn't occured to him these felons shouldn't be on the government dole to begin with. This is why conservatives are pissed off. Taxpayer money used to accommodate and support illegals. What conservative in their right mind could endorse that! Is Perry McCain in sheep's clothing? We already went that route. This time around we want a candidate who says enough is enough, and apparently that ain't Perry.

Maybe this photo can help put things in proper perspective.

Special thanks to Ed Kilbane

The six Republican presidential debate this year, which took place Thursday night in Orlando, Florida, left some candidates more prepared than others and gave some candidates some key standout moments. Here's the breakdown of the winners and losers:

Winners:

Mitt Romney: The former governor of Massachusetts was the clear winner of the Orlando debate hosted by Fox News and Google. He's run a presidential campaign before and it shows. His answers were polished and on message. When he didn't have an answer, he quickly went on to the main talking point of his campaign -- attacking President Obama. And he held his ground in a back and forth with front-runner Rick Perry over what each said in their respective books, telling the Texas governor "words have meaning."

Rick Santorum: While still relegated to the lower tier in the race, the former Pennsylvania senator shone through with forceful answers highlighting his positions which are popular with the conservative base. He notably went on the attack against Perry on immigration and against Huntsman's call to pull U.S. troops out of Afghanistan.

Herman Cain: The former CEO of Godfather's Pizza continues to poll in the single digits, but he always seems to win over a crowd. The audience at the Fox News/ Google debate responded positively to his "999" economic plan, which calls for a 9 percent corporate tax, 9 percent flat income tax, and a new 9 percent national sales tax.

Cain also proved to be charismatic when playing along with the last, light-hearted question about which of his opponents he'd choose for vice president. Cain said he may choose Romney -- as long as Romney adopts the 999 plan.

Newt Gingrich: The debate audience responded well to the former House speaker's remarks in the debate, and he received plenty of praise from his opponents. Multiple candidates were quick to name Gingrich when asked which of their opponents they'd choose for VP -- they cited Gingrich's policy expertise and leadership (although they could have been thinking Gingrich's low standing in the polls made him a safe answer).

Fido, the New Mexican pooch: Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson finally got a ticket to the dance. And he came prepared. When he delivered an obviously planned remark about his neighbor's dog having more shovel-ready jobs than Mr. Obama, the audience roared. The other candidates offered praise for the four-legged friend. Even debate host Bret Baier remarked, 'your dog is famous now!"

Losers:

Rick Perry: The Texas governor was caught flat footed from the very beginning when asked about the specific policies he would implement to revive the economy. Perry didn't seem to have a response and resorted to speaking in generalities.

The governor was more prepared for the anticipated repeat-attack on the controversial HPV vaccine mandate he implemented in Texas, but his solid answer may not satisfy conservatives uncomfortable with that 2007 policy. Furthermore, Perry's opposition to a border fence and support for giving illegal immigrants in-state tuition put him on the defense again, and his answers may not have seemed conservative enough to primary voters.

Michele Bachmann: The darling of the Tea Party was virtually non-existent in Thursday's debate. And when she did get her time in the limelight, she notably gave a non-sensical answer and a whopper. Asked what the ideal tax rate should be, she said Americans should not have to pay any taxes. But then she added that the government had to collect something, without saying how much. Asked about her claim that HPV causes retardation among young women, Bachmann incredulously claimed she never made the charge. "I didn't make that claim nor did I make that statement," she said when moderator Chris Wallace asked if she stood by a quotation he read verbatim to her.

Ron Paul: The staunch libertarian has been trying expand his reach beyond his small, but devoted, fan base and catapult himself into the top tier of candidates, and even announced a new $1 million ad buy today. But Paul didn't seem to get much airtime in this debate and didn't break through to the crowd. He will need to produce some more memorable moments to prove he's a serious contender.

Jon Huntsman: The former Utah governor has failed to gain traction in the race and he once again fell into the background. He capped off the night with an awkward answer to the question of who he would choose as vice president, suggesting the frontrunners, Rick Perry and Mitt Romney, will eventually fade into obscurity like Rudy Giuliani and Fred Thompson in the 2008 race.

GOP debate: Winners and losers