Bob Schieffer hosted the CBS Eveneing News tonight from Philadelphia. He was there to honor Ben Franklin whose 300th birthday comes next month.

In the lead-in to the story CBS declared: "Of all the founders, it was Ben Franklin – his wit, charm, and that practical side which produced so many of his inventions – who would have been most at home in modern America."

CBS built its story around an extended intervioew with Franklin biographer Walter Isaacson.