5, 4, 3, 2 and 1...

The tapping of Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer was an experience. Excitement, humor, hustle, bustle, time pressures, enthusiasm – everything you would expect a in a network TV control room. It’s amazing how much preparation and work there is that goes into a 30-minute news broadcast and today’s episode was particularly challenging. In Bob’s words, they were trying to fit 8 pounds into a 6 pound bag, but every pound was enthralling.

General Odierno and South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham started the show off by talking about the war in Afghanistan. Sen. Graham, who is on the Armed Services Committee, changed his position by stating he thinks we CAN safely withdraw based on the progress he saw during his recent visit to Afghanistan. Odierno’s interview was also optimistic as he offered his thoughts on whether he thought we won the war Iraq as the final U.S. combat forces prepare to leave the country (see his comments and the entire broadcast here). It was interesting to be in the control room while I was learning about this information as opposed to sitting in front of a TV – it increased the importance of the information, made me feel the immediacy and magnitude of the situation.

Then Bob interviewed a slightly nervous Greg Mortenson, author of “Three Cups of Tea” (this is now required reading for the armed forces) and “Stones into Schools”. Mortenson, despite the butterflies, did an amazing job sharing his story: while climbing a mountain in Pakistan in 1993, he became ill and was nursed back to health by local villagers. When he asked how he could repay them, they requested his help with building a school. Since then, he has raised about $25 million dollars and built more than 150 schools, seven of which are currently under construction.

This man is a hero – making education available, especially for girls, in places where education might come secondary to survival. He emphasized the importance of involving locals, especially the elders, in the creation of the schools (or any other concept American troops are trying to implement) because that is how their culture works. I couldn’t help but wonder, what the war would have looked like if we started off with this concept earlier – what state would Afghanistan or Iraq be in if we had?

Mortenson also shared a wonderful story after the broadcast. A young woman, who graduated from one of the schools, received medical training in pre-and post-natal care (which only cost $800 dollars) and was able to return to the village and decrease the annual average number of 20 women dying from pregnancy related issues to ZERO (and has continued to do that for the past 10 years). This man clearly has a passion for what he does and I wish him the best of luck with everything in the future. He will be visiting TCU in January – keep your eyes open!!

Talking with Bob after tapping emphasized the impact network broadcast has on the political system – he mentioned a phone call he received from the White House. They had "concerns" about his interview General Odierno, which turned out to be nothing more then network competition, but it showed how interconnected media is with political news, especially in D.C.

Another great day – capping off an excellent first week in Washington.