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Samuel Andrew Donaldson (born March 11, 1934 in El Paso, Texas) is a reporter and news anchor for ABC News, anchoring the Sunday edition of World News Tonight from its inception in January 1979 through the 1990s. He was known for his 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 as a panelist 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 . 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 questions for Donaldson to answer. If Donaldson is stumped, the viewer who "stumped Sam" wins a free orange cap. 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 July 7, 2004, three members of the family tending to Donaldson's ranch in Hondo, New Mexico were found murdered. Cody Posey, a 14-year-old and sole remaining survivor of the family, was arrested and charged with the murders and subsequently convicted. On August 2, 2006, during the last White House Press conference in the briefing room before undergoing major renovations, 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."
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