Though unable to view the actual “60 Minutes” broadcast this evening, I was just able, some three hours later, to watch the entire 13-minute-plus interview between Clemens and Mike Wallace online at CBS.News.com.
While I have been skeptical up until now regarding Clemens’ guilt or innocence concerning steroid use, he was convincing on camera going up against one of the toughest journalists of all-time on the most-respected news program in TV history.
Clemens has, over the course of his 24-year career, doubtless become a seasoned interviewee. That said, besides perhaps good legal counseling, little could have prepared him for Wallace’s no-holds-barred grilling which called into question his word, character and reputation. Throughout the segment, the 45-year old baseball veteran looked Wallace directly in the eye, both angry and resolute, and denied taking steroids—ever.
Also powerful: B-roll from a past Mike Wallace story, interspersed throughout tonight’s segment, which showed Clemens going through, with his former trainer and accuser, a number of intense workouts. This, in turn, served to effectively underscore what many attribute Clemens’ long-term success and achievements to: hard work.
His next test could be even more trying: a possible appearance in front of Congress in 10 days.