Chris Wallace Apologizes for Calling Michele Bachmann a "Flake"

Actually, he asked her if she was a flake. You'd think it'd be better to be asked this question in the friendly territory of FOX "News." But it is not at all surprising that FOX "News" Sunday's host, Chris Wallace felt pressured to apologize before the day was even done! As I've said in the past, Michele Bachmann is only well known to anybody because of her sometimes bizarre, sometimes flat wrong pronouncements. This will be the mildest version of the question she gets, should she last very long into the contest. In fact, Mitt Romney--the guy who is just barely ahead of her in the polls--won't even have to look very far to find a treasure trove of material to use against her. Think he won't?

FOX "News" Edited Out Criticism of Exec from Jon Stewart Interview

The most truthful person ever on FOX "News."
Image from source, Media Matters

I watched the FOX "News" Sunday with Chris Wallace interview of Jon Stewart when it aired on Sunday morning. Later, when I posted the clip to the blog, I reviewed it. I did notice some edits--some of the awkward comedy that Wallace was trying to put on (what was the bit with the coffee cup about?)--but didn't think much of it. They have to cut that stuff down to fit in the time available. Well, usually it's live, I thought. But whatever.

Still, there seemed to be more in the online clip about Chris Wallace's "marching orders" from on high. When I heard the name "Bill Sammon," I knew what Stewart was talking about. But did that make air? No, it didn't. Now, I suppose you can give FOX "News" partial credit for putting the whole clip online. But the TV version was definitely edited to make FOX and Chris Wallace look better. And how many F"N"S viewers go back and review the unedited videos?

[Excerpt]

Fox News Sunday Edits Out Jon Stewart's Criticism Of Fox Exec

Yesterday, Jon Stewart appeared on Fox News Sunday to discuss his sharp criticism of Fox News. But one uncomfortable reference to marching-order emails from a Fox News executive was cut from the program. . .

Read more at: Media Matters

Countdown with Keith Olbermann's "Worst Persons in the World" Returns!

I still don't get Current TV, but I'll gladly pop over to their web site for some clips! No surprise in the choices. But (grrrrrr) we only get the bronze and the silver! (By the way, Current TV's tech guys need to fix the glitch in their player. It will only "autoplay" no matter what I try. So the video clip can be accessed at the link at the bottom of the post).

Jon Stewart on FOX "News" Sunday

FOX "News" Sunday is easily the least of all the Sunday morning political chat fests, but due to is scheduling here in Las Vegas, usually is one of the two I regularly watch (along with NBC's Meet the Press). Chris Wallace is also the least of the hosts (narrowly edging out David Gregory), but when stacked up against the rest of the FOX "News" talent, is probably the best. Faint praise, I know. This point is made by Jon Stewart in the interview below. Stewart says--and I agree--that Wallace is most likely there to give the whole operation a sheen of respectibility, since without him, there wouldn't be any.

Stewart comes out swinging, gently, with humor. He punctuates that humor with some good solid points that FOX "News" viewers probably don't get to hear often.  And at times, he just plain comes out (justifiably) swinging. Wallace--even though probably the best reporter FOX has--tries to frame some "gotcha" questions, but Stewart comes up the winner. I think it's a great bit of video, and surely worth your time.

FOX "News" Sunday's Chris Wallace Whines About White House Shut Out

Want some cheese with that whine?
Image from source, Huffington Post

Awwwww!!! Poor little Chris Wallace, the vaguely creepy host of FOX "News" Sunday, was shut out by the Obama Administration when it tried to get Hillary Clinton or Bob Gates to talk about Libya on the program. Frankly, I wonder why any prominent Democrats would ever appear on the frightfully skewed channel. Every program--even their allegedly "hard news" programs--is infused with the primary goal of making liberals look bad. Why help them out?

Oh, and the whining Wallace also stated that his program regularly beats two out of the three other Sunday morning political programs. I'd very much like to see the data that backs up this dubious claim. I suppose if you add up all the reairings of F"N"S, and put it against the single airing of ABC's This Week, and CNN's State of the Union, he might be right. But the truth is, Wallace's show regularly trails CBS' Face the Nation, NBC's Meet the Press, as well as This Week.


[Excerpt]


Fox News' Chris Wallace Slams White House For Blocking Access To Clinton, Gates


Secretary Of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates made the talk show rounds on Sunday, appearing on ABC, CBS and NBC to discuss Libya. However, they did not go on Fox News--something which made Chris Wallace, host of "Fox News Sunday," very unhappy--and he let his viewers know it. . .


Read more at: Huffington Post

FOX "News" Sunday Promotes O'Keefe as "Power Player"

FOX "News" Sunday with Chris Wallace is easily the least in every category for the Sunday morning political shows. It is also the easiest one to breeze through on the DVR, since it has the most commercials. The always vaguely creepy host is the most likely of the bunch to lob softballs at guests, and to set up perfect hits to his ludicrously named "Power Panel" of pundits (nearly always one-half of the show's running time). I always stop the DVR and erase right after the last of those segments, skipping the last segment.

At the end of each show, Wallace has a segment titled Power Player of the Week. I don't know who that title is supposed to impress, and I can't imagine ever anticipating with excitement just who it's going to be this week.  So I skip it. But not this week. This week, FOX inexplicably picked James O'Keefe, video hoaxster. O'Keefe is the one who "punks" organizations and individuals who are on the far right's hit list. O'Keefe's videos are nearly always creatively edited to make them far more incendiary than they otherwise would be.

The weird part of this is, even though these "exposés" are 95% hokum, they have an effect anyway. ACORN--which did nothing wrong--is now gone. NPR, another target, is shedding personnel and is in danger of losing funding, even though the "punk'd" executive merely told the truth. This punk's dodgy antics are effective, often even when he really doesn't expose anything. Wallace and FOX are apparently awarding this creep with their alleged weekly honor, and for what? Being a partisan asshole? 

FOX "News" is extremely good at injecting false or distorted narratives into political discourse. Do "death panels" ring a bell? ACORN itself would probably still be around were it not for the grossly inflated and embellished claims about them getting air on FOX. So I guess it makes sense after all that O'Keefe be given their big "honor." He's doing exactly what the network as a whole does. Fair and balanced, my ass. 

[Excerpt]



Chris Wallace Ignores James O’Keefe’s Dodgy Past While Promoting Him As The ‘Power Player Of The Week’



Right-wing activist James O’Keefe recently released a video showing how he deceived NPR fundraisers into thinking they were having a discussion with members of a Muslim non-profit organization. One of the fundraisers was caught criticizing Republicans and the Tea Party and NPR CEO Vivian Schiller subsequently resigned. . .
 
Read more at: ThinkProgress

Republicans Defend "Pledge" in Friendly Territory: FOX "News"

The big GOP "Pledge to America" thingy wasn't exactly a roaring success.  Democrats of course are not impressed, but neither were a bunch of Republicans. So, John of Orange Boner Boehner and Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) are defending the lemon pledge on FOX "News" Sunday. But even the vaguely creepy Chris Wallace sounds like he's not buying it, and McCarthy had to do a little flim-flam to find support for the pledge.

[Excerpt]

McCarthy Cites Editorial That Was Prearranged By GOP Leadership To Show Support For GOP ‘Pledge’

. . .McCarthy misrepresents the right-wing Wall Street Journal editorial page’s reaction to the Pledge.  In truth, the WSJ gave a the Pledge a decidedly mixed review, stating that the pledge is “less specific in offering new ideas than was the GOP’s 1994 Contract with America,” and it attacks the Pledge for its unambitious approach to earmarks, health care and tax policy. . .

Read more at: Think Progress

Sunday Update: FOX "News" Sunday Biased as Ever

Image from FoxNews.com

Gee, I wonder if I've ever used that headline before. If not word-for-word, I've at least used the same sentiment, because they just keep doing it.  This morning, FOX "News" Sunday was my first choice to watch on the DVR, because for some reason the (increasingly boring) Meet the Press didn't record.  I store these shows up for a little while in the morning so that I can zip through them without all the BP commercials.

Anyway, the first guest was Ted Olson, George W. Bush's Solicitor General (a job until recently filled by Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan).  Olson would not be an unusual guest to have on F"N"S were it not for the fact that he recently tried and won Perry v. Schwarzenegger, the case that overturned California's Proposition 8 as un-Constitutional.  Prior to that, Olson was mostly known for holding the Bush side of Bush v. Gore, Citizens United and for being the widower of Conservative writer Barbra Olson.

Chris Wallace did his level best to push the presumed "typical" FOX viewers' viewpoint on the same-sex marriage case, repeatedly hammering Olson with questions right out of the right-wing playbook.  Question after question, time after time, Olson replied with cogent, logical, legal answers, not once falling into a trap or contradicting himself.  I was very impressed.  I'll admit to having had concerns when I'd originally heard that Olson was the lawyer trying Perry.  While I'm still extremely wary of the results of the  Citizens United case, it is clear that Olson is a brilliant legal mind, one that is capable of seeing logic and the law ahead of partisanship.  My hope from today's interview is that he may have put a seed of rational thought into the minds of FOX "News" viewers.

The second guest was apparently a Republican dude (Mitch Daniels it turns out, whoever that is) who has aspirations to be a presidential contender.  I have no idea who he was--as far as I know, I've never seen him before--because I was typing the stuff above!  But the reason I started writing this post is what Wallace said when he lead into second interview: (paraphrasing) "Up next, what can Republicans do to ensure big wins in the 2010 elections? Our next guest. . ."

Of course the show's last half is nearly always filled with the ludicrously named "Power Panel," their "fair and balanced" discussion group.  This week, the right is represented by extreme neocon William Kristol and Darth Cheney's daughter, Liz Cheney.  The left--as usual--had Juan Williams and some lady I've never seen before.  Even when FOX has equal numbers of right vs. left-leaning pundits (if you pretend that Wallace is neutral), they stack the deck with heavy weights on the right and feather weights on the left.

Now, it would be a rare thing indeed for me to recommend watching a clip from this highly-skewed program.  But I'll make an exception for the Olson interview. It's kind of fun to see Wallace's tactics fail when he's up against someone who can outthink him.

Captain Obvious: It Does Not Matter When FOX "News" Played Tape

I'm catching up on the Sunday morning political shows on the DVR, and am presently in the middle of FOX "News" Sunday, the lowest-rated (for a network that constantly touts ratings, this is noteworthy) and lowest quality of the group.  Newt Gingrich, with his Kermit the Frog voice (seriously, look away and listen) was up first, with Howard Dean. Jesse Jackson was next, and then the famous--and ridiculously named--"Power Panel."  By far, the biggest issue was the Shirley Sherrod/Andrew Breitbart faux racism story.

Notably, the host, Chris Wallace, was very prickly about exactly when FOX "News" actually aired the notoriously out-of-context video from the NAACP.  Wallace claims that FOX never aired the clip before Sherrod resigned.  This is only partially true, and a very disingenuous point.  Bill O'Reilly, who tapes his program, The O'Reilly Factor rather than airing it live, was on the air saying that Sherrod "must resign" before the announcement was made, by bare minutes. But this means he had recorded it hours earlier. Also, FOXNews.com had already reported on the issue, with absolutely wrong information, such as stating that Sherrod was a government employee at the time of her story (which was really 24 years ago).  FOX Nation (the extremely far right blog site) was also discussing the story in an unfavorable light.  I have no doubt that Sean Hannity's and Glenn Beck's radio shows (which air earlier than their FOX shows) were already on this issue as well.  So Wallace's "FOX never aired" the clip is a slice-and-dice of the facts, at best.

All of this points to the fact that FOX was running with this story. If Sherrod's resignation had come six hours later--or not at all--there can be no doubt that this would have been the 24/7 number one story on FOX. . .which it became anyway.  What the White House was trying to prevent--in a regrettable, stupid fashion, I'm not afraid to note--is exactly what did happen.  They wanted to squash a bad news cycle in the midst of a pretty good policy week, and they failed. Exactly when FOX aired the clip,  is a bit of false framing, as though their journalistic integrity was the reason for holding back. BULL PUCKY. Clearly, this thing was a go, and all of Wallace's protestations can't make that go away.

Sunday Morning Update

Well, it's been a lazy weekend for me, on the blog at least. Real life has been a bit more active.  So, I figured I'd put something up for Sunday morning. But I don't really know what's going on yet, I just got up!  I did find out that Meet the Press with David Gregory isn't on this morning. No big loss. I'm suffering through FOX "News" Sunday as it airs, so I can't zip through the squicky parts with the DVR remote.

FNS is nominally a political news show, but usually the politics far overtakes the news, and with no sort of balance. Living up to its parent network's reputation, host Chris Wallace does his level best to chose subjects, story lines, guests and the wording of his questions to tear down the left and pump up the right. Not much has changed. As I watch this, Wallace is pumping up Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-La.), while tearing down the Obama Administration. Typical.

Now, I'm watching Haley Barbour, who is still sounding like the mayor of Amity Island in Jaws. There's no awl here, jus' tar bawls. And they're natchrul. Bring the kiddies down to the beach!  The tar jus' makes them sand castles hold t'gether! 

I hate to make fun of a person's accent, but Barbour's sounds particularly moronic.  Did you hear him last week, when he said there wasn't enough oil on Mississippi's beaches to fill up a "milk juuuuuug?"  The GOP putting Barbour on a national or global stage mystifies me. 

FNS allots half its time every week for its ludicrously named "Power Panel," their collection of far-right and very moderate pundits to present "balance." The first topic--naturally--how the oil spill is all President Obama's fault.  Interwoven with that is FOX "News"'s favorite topic: the fact that two potential Democratic candidates (Sestak and Romanoff)  for office may have been offered administration positions in order not to run, because the White House had favored candidates for the offices those guys were running for. Did you nod off during that explanation? Well FOX is pushing this like the President got a blow job or something. Snooze. Sorry folks, this hour was a waste of my time, and probably wasn't too fun to read about either!

I'll try to come up with something more entertaining for the rest of the day!

Sigh. . .Sunday Political Babble, Again

I started my Sunday as I do most weeks. I woke up a little later than I meant to, got up, put on coffee, and then started the DVR recording of Meet the Press with David Gregory. His first interview was with General David Petraeus, and it didn't bother me too much. My coffee hadn't kicked in yet, and Petraeus' waffling on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" seemed a little tortured, but whatever.

Then, 2012 Presidential hopeful Tim Pawlenty, who is probably happy that President Obama broke the "weird name" barrier in 2008. Pawlenty is more pleasant than a lot of prominent Republicans, but he's also like Chatty Kathy talking points doll. And he sticks to them pretty hard. He lost what few points he had with me when he said that our rights as Americans come from God, not the government. I know that is a loose paraphrase of the Declaration of Independence (not a legally binding document, btw), but it skeeves me out in 2010.

Next up was a he said/he said panel of partisans mixed with a couple of journalist-pundits. Their names (except for sing-songy Peggy Noonan) are unimportant. But their babble was aggravating, to be sure. Here are the things that bugged me:

1) Right-wing partisan saying that there was no effort at "real" bipartisanship from Democrats.
- Bull pucky. The health care bills have been watered down and conservatived up the hoo-ha to try and get Republican votes. Nada. This talking point is BS.

2) President Obama is far-left, and governs as an ultra-liberal.
- Hahaha! MOUNTAINS of bull pucky! This is where my understanding of the tea baggers breaks down too. Obama isn't a communist, marxist, socialist, radical! He's upset liberals and progressives because he's been to milquetoasty.

3) Obama should have come in--with a rather large win in the 2008 election--by governing from the middle, even if it did irritate his "base."
- He did! Haven't you been paying attention, Miss Noonan???

4) To be bipartisan, Obama should scrap health care reform, and start again.
- Sure! That's exactly what Bush would do in the same position, right? Cave, and let the other guys have a shot? Riiiggght.

It went on like that. Me yelling at the teevee, and host David Gregory frickin' refusing to ask follow-ups or correct the record. It was ridiculous. And the thing I followed it up with? FOX "News" Sunday with Chris Wallace, with the lead interview being with Senate Minority Leader Mitch (Shelley the Constipated Turtle) McConnell. He's a deck of talking points cards, shuffled in a different order each week--and he does seem to turn up every week somewhere. And McConnell's denial of obstructionism with an all-time record of filibusters is flat-out dishonesty. You lie, Mitch McConnell!

Sarah Palin Tea Bags Nashville

Ugh. I just heard on the (ludicrously named) "Power Panel" segment of the (also ludicrous) FOX "News" Sunday that opponents to both "Tea Partiers" and Sarah Palin have a derangement syndrome. This was the catch-all excuse for George W. Bush's detractors during his administration. He's not a bad President, his opponents just have "Bush Derangement Syndrome!" They conveniently forgot the gusto with which they hated Bill Clinton. The clearer difference here is that the Tea Baggers, and to a only slightly lesser extent, Palin herself, are themselves deranged.




In my previous post, I gave my impressions of Palin's appearance on F"N"S. It is no coincidence that Palin appeared on the program in tandem with her appearance at the $549-per-ticket Tea Party convention in Nashville, Tennessee. Why waste all that prep work on one event when you can get a twofer? So, here is the Great GOP 2012 Hope. Everything I said in the previous post (and all commentary I've made about Palin since fall 2008) applies to this pile of word salad too.

Sarah Palin Finally Appears on a Sunday Morning Political Show

Image from Huffington Post

In what is sure to give the network airing it a huge ratings boost, Sarah Palin--after running for Vice President, and staying in the political public eye ever since--has finally appeared on one of the Sunday morning political shows. To nobody's surprise, it was FOX "News" Sunday (from the Tea Party Convention in Nashville!). Also to no one's surprise, a liberal like me found it nearly impossible to sit through.

Palin's speaking style (transcript here) has not improved one bit since the Katie Couric interview, though she's added a few more talking points and big words to her repertoire. She is still gesticulating wildly, while spewing overly long "word salad" replies that are a combination of "home spun" partisanship, colloquial English and "pageant answers." This morning, she seemed particularly over-caffeinated, and almost perturbed, which was odd given that she's in such friendly territory. And lest we forget, this appearance was taped, no doubt edited, and performed by a co-worker.

I still find myself in near disbelief that this woman inspires any kind of loyalty, inspiration, enthusiasm and respect from her legion of followers. Shes' very nearly insufferable to listen to. She's abrasive to me in so many ways--and has been since nearly day one--it is hard to conceive that people see her in a leadership role. Sorta like George W. Bush, though I will grudgingly admit, he was slightly more qualified.

[Excerpt]

Palin Considering 2012 Run, Defends Limbaugh's Use Of 'Retard' On Fox News Sunday

Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin didn't cage her answer when pressed Sunday morning as to whether she would consider a run for president in 2012.

"I would, I would if I believe that is the right thing to do for our country and the Palin family. Certainly I would do so," she told "Fox News Sunday," in an interview that was taped before she addressed a Tea Party convention the night before. "I think that it would be absurd to not consider what it is that I could potentially do to help our country ... . I won't close a door that perhaps could be open for me in the future. . ."

Read more at: Huffington Post

What the Hell is the Far Left Wing?

So I'm watching Meet the Press and FOX "News" Sunday on the DVR today, and I've heard that President Obama should "move to the middle" or "move to the right" in order to more effectively govern. It's counter-intuitive, since doing this is what his own party thinks he's already done too much of. Despite the ridiculous right-wing image of socialist/Marxist/Communist, the President has made countless gestures to "reach across the aisle" in the health care program, in fiscal policy and elsewhere. The President's descending approval ratings have as much to do with the left's disappointment in his timidity as they do with the right's over the top attacks.

So, I'm digesting this really annoying "conventional wisdom" talking point, and then I hear another one. Senator Evan Bayh--in trying to discount the move-to-the-middle point--said that "far left blogs" were upset with concessions already made to the right. Huh? Who is he talking about there? The biggest left-wing blogs I can think of are Daily Kos, Huffington Post, FireDog Lake, and Democratic Underground. I wouldn't classify any of those as "far left." I'd be willing to bet that Bayh (and every FReeper) would call this blog far left, even though I am a former Republican with a few conservative opinions.

Do some far leftist readers comment at blogs like these (and mine)? Probably. Is there occasionally a post that would be out of the mainstream, even for a solid Democrat? Probably. But by and large, all of those blogs represent merely the left, not the far left. None of them is as staunchly extremist as say FreeRepublic.com, the far right internet outpost. The weird part is, with the mainstreaming of people like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck--extremist far right-wingers by any definition--anything left-of-center is now seen as "far left." It isn't. And I didn't like seeing a prominent Democrat furthering that misperception.

Sunday Update, Part II: Repetition and Talking Points

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tx.) is on my DVR at the moment from FOX "News" Sunday. He's repeating a couple of phrases that I just heard Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell say on Meet the Press. If you pay attention--and believe me, that can be difficult on these cerebrally numbing shows--you can catch what the new talking points are.

A "step-by-step" reworking of health care reform, after "starting over" from scratch. Those two phrases were worked in by Cornyn in exactly the same fashion as McChinless. Several other things he said were nearly verbatim as well, along with conclusions drawn about Scott Brown's victory in Massachusetts this week. And of course, the fictional assertion that Republicans are ready to work with Democrats if they're only "given a seat at the table." They've been sitting at the table! They've just been saying "no!"

Sunday Politics. And Mitch McConnell. Ugh.

Image from IndieDesign

Here I sit, yet another Sunday, watching the political yak-fests. Why do I do it? I don't know. I got into the habit several years ago, and can't seem to shake it. Meet the Press with David Gregory is a dim shadow of the program the late Tim Russert hosted (and it wasn't terrific then). Gregory seems to be asking questions only to hopefully inject himself into the news cycle by asking (or being answered) with a zinger. His problem--and frankly the problem with the whole format on any channel--is the fact that uber-partisans are slated to be interviewed, and then spew talking points, regardless of the question. A follow-up from the host is rare, and even then an actual answer is rarer. It is most frustrating as a viewer. I suppose this is the reason for the "panel" segments featured on most shows, but the results can be much the same.

FOX "News" Sunday airs in Las Vegas at the same time as MTP, so I watch it on the DVR. It is the easiest show to zip through, with the most commercials. Today, the host is Brit Hume, who usually plays the part of lead conservative on their ludicrously named "Power Panel." F"N"S--like MTP--started with the political odd couple of Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton and their alliance for help in Haiti. This is the second go-around I've watched (and I assume they've done all of the programs this morning), and it produced little that was newsworthy besides the alliance itself. W managed to not embarrass himself unduly, but I still can barely tolerate the guy.

I haven't gotten to This Week or Face the Nation yet, and I may skip them. My big irritation came from FOX's interview of Senate Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell. He looks like a constipated turtle, and his personality is no better. He pretends that Republicans are only looking out for the best interests of America, rather than merely voting "NO!" to absolutely everything proposed by Democrats. And, of course, he's a talking points machine, sure to work in whatever is on this weeks GOP handout. What was the big talking point this week? My guess is that Americans are supposedly saying (or as McConnell says, "literally screaming") "Please don't pass" health care reform. How do I know it's a talking point? Because he said it at least four times. Repetition may work, but it's annoying as hell.

And looky here. McConnell's misuse of "literally screaming" must be part of the talking point, because he also used it on CNN's State of the Union. . .in freakin' November!

Update: Upon further study, it appears this might be more a Mitch McConnell talking point than a GOP one, though it's difficult to be sure. If you Google "please don't pass" along with "health care" you'll find countless examples of its use. . .almost exclusively by McChinless himself. Which kind of proves my point about these guys on the politics shows: talking points and repetition. What is the point?

Sunday Morning Update

After having had the entire holiday season off work, I convinced myself that Monday through Thursday of last week was merely a four day "work break" before my vacation resumed. But here we are on Sunday already, and my fantasy is about over. With the still reduced work schedule in place though, the four-on, three off rhythm is still pretty tolerable. What is nearly intolerable is my regular Sunday morning routine of watching the political chat fests.

It's getting pretty tedious. For the third weekend in a row, one of the primary topics was still the failed underpants bomber and "what it all means." Worse, on at least two of the shows, the leaders of both political parties, Tim Kaine and Michael Steele, were yapping and yapping, mostly about inconsequential stuff. I've always detested these sorts of politicians, regardless of party. The only one I could really stomach was Howard Dean. Mostly, they're smarmy and calculating, and nothing they say can be viewed as 100% true. . .it's all through a political lens, all of it.

The big deal this morning somehow became Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's ill-advised choice of words about Sen. Barack Obama as he was campaigning for President. What Reid said was correct, that Obama had a great shot at the job (he won it, after all), because he wasn't "too black" for a majority of America to vote for him. That may not be politically correct--or even very nice--but it's true. If Obama's manner was like that of Kat Williams or Martin Lawrence, there is zero chance he'd have won. But it's not a smart thing to say, and of course he used the incredibly old-school word "negro" while doing it. Still, Reid apologized and Obama accepted uncategorically. That should be that.

Still, Michael Steele--who has his own very full slate of problems--tried his Muppet-headed best to turn this into a white-hot issue. His call for Reid to step down as Leader struck me as a desperate attempt to take the shame spotlight off of Steele (who had his own stupid "racist comment" moment just this week).

I thought that This Week with George Stephanopoulos was going to be a step up, when I saw that there was no Kaine or Steele on that one. Then I heard the dreaded words, "Liz Cheney." Enough! I'm taking The Other Half's advice, and I'm bailing on the political shows for the week!

Endings and Beginnings

Christmas (and all its attendant festivities, not to mention competing festivals) has come and gone. The week of holiday limbo that follows has likewise been crossed off the calendars. New Year's Day marked the end and beginning of a year and (kinda) a decade. And now most of us have seen an unusual new year's treat--not having to go back to work until the fourth of the month--sneak up on us, even if we've had the previous 8-11 days off.

Personally, I've been off work since Christmas Eve. I've managed to accomplish at least as much as my cat in that time, and in fact have picked up a habit or two from her. Sunbeams do make fun napping places! But there is a counter-inutuitive bit of time perception that happens on stay-at-home weeks of from work. Usually, if you waste time by doing nothing, time crawls. Actually trying to waste time seems to make it go on and on. But when you do this at home--rather than at your desk at work--time actually seems to accelerate. Here I am on day 11 of my break, staring at returning to work tomorrow morning, and I'm thinking, "already?!?"

So, I'm making my last leisurely brunch/late breakfast. I'm on the last day of my waist-expanding project. I'll resume my low-carb diet tomorrow, along with a slightly-better-than-halfhearted attempt at regular exercise. And, I'll try to return the blog to more than a post a day. But that project could be difficult if this morning's Sunday political yack-fests are any indication.

I actually had to check my DVR to make sure that I wasn't watching last week's Meet the Press with David Gregory. Seriously, did nothing happen in the past week? Nearly the entire program was taken up with the Christmas Day attempted underwear bombing. There was absolutely nothing new to be heard, with Gregory (who is turning out to be a piss-poor substitute for Tim Russert) asking the same batch of loaded questions he asked last week. Pathetic.

FOX "News" Sunday with Chris Wallace was no better (as though it ever is). The vaguely creepy host continued to embarass his father by dragging the allegedly "hard news" segment of FOX "News" into the partisan gutter as he does every other week. Wallace also seems to think it is last week, with--as I watch this--nothing that would let you know an entire week has gone by since they talked about the exact same thing. That's 9 days since the non-event "happened."

I may have to zip through the rest of the program with the remote, especially when they haul out the ludicrously named "Power Panel," the rag-tag (surely skeleton crew) group of arch-conservatives and milquetoasty moderates that constitute "fair and balanced" on this stupid program. Then, unless it is preempted by tennis or golf or girls' field hockey, it'll be time for This Week with George Stephanopoulos. Unless they've replaced him. At least he has the "Sunday Funnies" segment, which usually proves amusing. Except all the comics have been on vacation, so good luck with that, George. Maybe my New Year's resolution should be to stop watching these increasingly lame shows? Maybe. But habits are hard to break.

Keith Olbermann's Play-by-Play of FOX's Limbaugh Interview

I gave my own recap of the Rush Limbaugh puff-piece interview by Chris Wallace on FOX "News" Sunday. But I don't have nearly the platform, nor the panache of Countdown with Keith Olbermann, who did a fine job of pointing out the fawning, slobbery job done by Wallace. And when I say "job," I think you know what I mean. . .

Sunday Morning Blogging, Pt. 2: FOX "News" Sunday, 9/20/09

Ah, the weak link in the Sunday shows, FOX "News" Sunday. . .what can be said? It is no less biased and no more "fair and balanced" than anything else produced by the ironically named cable channel. President Obama isn't appearing there, and has seemingly blacklisted the channel, as well he should. It is not a legitimate news channel. I challenge anyone with an open mind to watch one of their alleged "hard news" programs--not the supposed commentary ones--and tell me there is no hard-right bias there.

Case in point, this week's installment of vaguely creepy Chris Wallace's show. First up: ACORN! The bogeyman organization endlessly hyped by FOX as practically a satanic organization is a favorite subject there. Bertha Lewis, the leader of the organization did an admirable job keeping the discussion in the realm of reality, though she tried to avoid answering a couple of questions quite the way they were asked. Wallace did not give her the deference he reserves for Republican guests, and berated her for not answering the way he wanted. To my way of thinking, if ACORN has some shady characters in the organization, by all means they should be eliminated and penalized. But how this becomes FOX's leading issue of the week is baffling.

Next up, three CEOs of corporations? Mm'kay. Whatevs. Wallace asked a lot of leading "help me smear Obama"-type questions, but no fireworks really flew. Moving on. . .

Now it's time for the pompously named "Power Panel," the no matter what is going on, half-the-show segment to turn the program into 100% commentary, FOX's wheelhouse. First, Wallace whined that Obama wouldn't come on his program. Next, a discussion on "is Obama overexposed?" What? He's the freakin' President. Not much else of note was discussed, and of course no criticism of any Republican or conservative was profferred. They are all, conservatives and "liberals" on the the panel, of the opinion that there should be no investigations into torture and other war crimes from the Bush Era. Brit Hume said it's a terrible idea. Why?

OK, I've had enough of this crap. I might--I say might--slog through This Week with George Stephanopolous. I haven't made up my mind yet.