Sam Donaldson

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Sam Donaldson

<tr valign="top"><th style="text-align:right;">Occupation</th> <td>panelist for ABC News Now</td></tr><tr valign="top"><th style="text-align:right;">Spouse</th> <td>Jan Smith</td></tr>

Sam Donaldson
Born	March 11, 1934 El Paso, Texas

Samuel Andrew Donaldson (born March 11, 1934 in El Paso, Texas) was a news anchor for ABC News, anchoring the Sunday edition of World News Tonight from its inception in January 1979, known for his loud, distinctive cadence and his persistence in questioning senior government officials up to and including the President of the United States. Donaldson attended New Mexico Military Institute as well as Texas Western College [now known as University of Texas at El Paso].

He also appeared for a number of years on the Sunday morning television talk show, This Week with David Brinkley. After the retirement of David Brinkley from the program, he co-hosted the program for several years with Cokie Roberts. Donaldson's television appearances as a political commentator and his penchant for political predictions have occasionally made him the target of satirists and media critics <ref> [1]</ref>. He currently serves as a panelist on "This Week" along with Roberts and George Will and co-hosts Politics Live on ABC News Now. One popular feature on Politics Live is the Stump Sam feature, in which viewers send in presidential trivia question for Donaldson to answer. If Donaldson is stumped, the viewer who "stumped Sam" wins a free hat.

In 1995, Donaldson had a melanoma removed from a lymph node. Since then, he and his wife, Jan Smith, have both been active supporters of cancer research.

On August 2nd, 2006, during what would be the last White House Press conference in the briefing room before it underwent major renovations, Sam Donaldson shouted, "Mr. President, should Mel Gibson be forgiven?" – referencing reports of the actor/producer's alleged anti-Semitic remarks. Mr. Bush laughed and looked up to see who had asked the question. Bush joked, "Is that Sam Donaldson? Forget it...you're a has been! We don't have to answer has beens' questions." To which the famously outspoken and aggressive reporter retorted: "Better to have been a has-been than a never was Mr. President!"

[edit] References

Hold On, Mr. President! Sam Donaldson (Random House 1987) ISBN 0-449-21520-2
Schmitt, Mark Straight Line Projections, The Decembrist, March 2006

[edit] Quotes

Quotes by Samuel Andrew Donaldson

"A lot of people say there's a lot of ham in me."
"They laughed at me. I couldn't get a job. I went and I made the rounds, I met every news director and they thought I was awful."