Bob Schieffer, former anchorman, host of Face the Nation, and a distinguished and much-honored journalist retired in June after forty-six years at CBS.  On Tuesday, he talked about politics and the 2016 election to an adoring audience at the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy.

Schieffer recalled the days when volunteers worked on campaigns because they believed in a candidate’s vision, doing jobs that now command a hefty salary; when elected officials were not so beholden to their donors that they could not compromise or do what they believed was right; when campaigns were shorter and more civil, and when politicians talked directly with constituents rather than focus groups. 

He reminded us of the days when government wasn’t so dysfunctional, when things actually got done in Congress, and when compromise was not a dirty word. 

We older folks often feel that things used to be better. Schieffer reminded us that, in politics, they probably were.