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Veteran newsman visits Lexington

CBS News veteran Bob Schieffer has covered countless political campaigns in a career that spans half a century.

He says the 2008 campaign was different.

On Monday, Schieffer traded Capitol Hill for the Colonnade in Lexington.

Speaking to journalism students at Washington & Lee University, he spoke of a career that carried him from a Texas newspaper to a national network, and coverage of every president since Richard Nixon.

Schieffer also reflected on the most recent presidential election, historic he says in ways you may not have considered.

"We talk about the historic nature of it and certainly it was that, but we saw oratory come back. We saw crowds come back. We saw the emphasis less on television commercials. There was still plenty of commercials out there but less on that than we had seen in the past. And so in many ways it was more than just a historic changing of the guard or turning of the page. We really did see a different kind of campaign this time around," said Schieffer

Whether a different kind of campaign becomes a different kind of administration remains to be seen.

Schieffer gives President Obama credit for trying to change the tone in Washington.

But says he'll have to do more to win Republican votes than "invite people over for drinks on Wednesday afternoon."