All right, Bob Schieffer, I've studied your every move, and now I'm ready with the hard questions.
Okay!

Brit or Lindsay?
I'm sorry? [Laughs] I'm a Britney Spears fan right now. I think she came out with the best commercial of the season so far.

You talk about political commercials in your book. Why have elections, like the Super Bowl, become less about the candidates and more about who has the best ads?
Because they work. Because negative campaigning works. It's much easier to tear someone down in 30 seconds than it is to explain something complex, or even to say something positive about yourself. In the short run, these commercials do work.

Where’s the beef?
I think if you can cut through and find the right example or find just the right way to put something, then I think it does have an impact. I think if you look at our campaigns over the years, it has been our candidates who have been able to come up with just the right phrase or just the right thought.… Those are the ones that are usually successfully. I think one reason Barack Obama was so successful in the beginning of the primaries was his slogan, “Yes we can.” What made it such a good political slogan was that you didn't know exactly what it meant, but it made you feel good to say it. So you have to say that was effective. As the campaign goes on, he's going to have to flesh that out.

Are you going to ask him to explain more when you moderate the debates?
Sure. Absolutely. I think that's going to be the challenge for Obama. He's obviously struck a chord with people on where he thinks the country ought to go. He's going to have to explain how he intends to do some of this.

Is there pressure from the network on you to ask stupid, baiting questions at the debates to increase ratings?
You know, there really isn't. There are a couple of times in American life where people sit down and focus on one thing at one time. A lot of people focus on the World Series and the Super Bowl. I guess it's fair to say that many people focus on American Idol. [Laughs] And these debates are a time like that. There will be no pressure to juice it up in any way. I will feel successful if I don't do more than pose that first question and then sort of keep time until the next segment. We want these debates to be about the candidates, not the moderators.

What's one thing most New Yorkers don't understand about life inside the Beltway?
That's a very good question. New Yorkers may not know that we don't have skyscrapers here in Washington. Washington doesn't look exactly like New York. I've always thought that D.C. was more like Hollywood. It's all about stars…

Political stars?
Yeah. And New York is a little different. New York is a great place, there's no place like it. But quite different.

Have you ever been accused of being too trustworthy?
[Laughs] No!… No! [Laughs some more] I’m sure there is always somebody who thinks I’m not trustworthy. I’m not sure you can really attain that. That’s nice of you to say. My wife would disagree. She said to me the other day, when she was sitting at the computer. I said, “Any Google alerts about me?” She said, “I have more to do than sit around and Google you.”

Well, I YouTubed you, and I saw that you have a band…
Yeah, and it’s going great, much to the chagrin of my bosses at CBS. But I like it, and we’ve had a lot of fun. I’m going to have a book party in New York, and we’re going to celebrate with some barbecue and honky-tonk music.

In your essay about marketing candidates like fast food, who is the Extra Value Meal of candidates?
[Laughs] That's a good question too. I don't have a good answer for that.

You have to stay impartial?
Yes!

Most important skill for a presidential candidate: leadership, taking umbrage, equivocating or being a snappy dresser?
[Laughs] I guess I'll be old-fashioned and say character.

Character? That wasn't even a choice! You are old-fashioned.
But snappy dresser, that figures heavily.

Schieffer reads from his new book, Bob Schieffer’s America, at the Lincoln Center Barnes & Noble on Wed 10.