Civic Arts Plaza presents Wallace in speaker series

Chris Wallace In his more than three decades as an honored journalist and broadcast reporter, Chris Wallace has not been a stranger to controversy. His 2006 confrontation with former President Bill Clinton and his oncamera verbal sparring with hosts of the "Fox & Friends" show are all over YouTube, showing Wallace's long-standing frank and confrontational style.

Wallace's address, part of the Distinguished Speaker Series, at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza on Monday reflected the complex abilities and personality he brings to broadcast news journalism.

Wallace, 60, has worked for three of the four major network news organizations: NBC, ABC and Fox. His father is Mike Wallace, the venerable icon from CBS's "60 Minutes" news magazine.

Chris Wallace didn't get to know his father until he was a teenager, the result of his parents' divorce when he was a year old. His stepfather, Bill Leonard, became president of CBS News and had a greater influence on Chris's upbringing.

In his address, Wallace said he has a good relationship with his famous father, now 90 and recovering from triple bypass surgery, but noted that they've had their share of spirited discussions at the kitchen table.

Wallace's speech, which was postponed from May due to his reporting on the Pennsylvania primary, lasted only only about 45 minutes. Predictably, most of it focused on the presidential race, including the recounting of his recent interview with Sen. Barack Obama (which he secured after more than two years of badgering the candidate, who had promised one to him in 2006 but never delivered).

He also presented his side of his controversial interview with Bill Clinton, which was labeled by the former president as a "conservative hit job."

As a speaker, Wallace is disappointing. He mostly read from prepared notes, sometimes not catching his own mistakes. Prior to the start, he delivered some well-worn political one-liners in a rapid-fire, stilted manner that made it sound like a Bob Hope monologue.

It wasn't until the requisite question-and-answer session that Wallace finally hit his stride, presenting thoughtful, pointed remarks about President Bush, the war in Iraq, Obama's and John McCain's prospects for election and his associates at Fox News.

He defended Fox, which is considered by many to be conservatively biased, by saying that the network was more evenhanded than the "mainstream networks" (CBS, NBC and ABC). As for the other major news network, Wallace said candidly, "You'd have to put a gun to my head to get me to watch CNN. It's really boring."

He distanced himself from right-wing Fox shows hosted by Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity by calling them "opinion shows," and said that, unlike MSNBC's "fiery liberal, Keith Olbermann," O'Reilly and Hannity are never permitted to anchor newscasts.

Of Obama, Wallace says that his steadiness and judgment are his best attributes, while McCain delights in engaging questioners, enjoying the giveandtake of the interview process.

President Bush received some high marks from Wallace, despite egregious mistakes he says Bush made regarding Iraq and the war on terror. Bush, said Wallace, is a "savvy politician with good instincts," and Wallace admires his ability to "do what he says he's going to do."

At the outset of his address, Wallace paid his respects to the late NBC broadcast journalist Tim Russert, saying that he was a big admirer of Russert's and that Russert was "an extraordinary person."

Russert was a guest speaker in Thousand Oaks in April 2007, and having had the fortune of being there that night, I can see stark differences between the two highly respected journalists.

Russert proved to be much more engaging and personable than Wallace, devoting twice as much time to deliver his unscripted remarks and utilizing his knowledge of American history to put his comments in perspective. Whereas Wallace's address was interesting and provided enlightened observations on today's prominent politicians, Russert's was enriching and passionate. Even though the two could be equally tenacious, Russert was unique, able to disarm his subjects with his ingratiating personality.

Although he's no Tim Russert, Chris Wallace remains a vital force on today's political scene and a valuable asset in broadcast journalism.