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!

Sunday Morning Political Shows Play-by-Play (Pt. 3)

I opted for This Week with George Stephanopoulos after all. Why? I don't know.

- It starts with Nancy Pelosi here too. The Republican guy (don't care what his name is) is on the CIA's side. Jim Webb says "I just don't think it's that big a deal." Me too, Congressman. "Torture doesn't work." Agree with that too. But he thinks this torture dealie will "resolve itself." Mmm hmm. I'm not on board with that one.

- Fine distinctions between "enemy combatants," "prisoners" and "prisoners of war." Nobody seems to get around to explaining why someone like Timothy McVeigh could be handled by the penal system, and these terrorist (suspects) cannot.

- George Stephanopolous may be a little surfacy like other politics-TV talking heads. But he goes a little deeper, and seems much more thoughtful than David Gregory who is about as deep as the dimple on a golf ball.

- This Week's round table has a different feel from the other shows. It feels a bit less stilted, and regimented, and comes off like a more genuine conversation. Add to that a genuine (instead of a token) liberal in Kristina Vanden Heuvel, and you've got a little more balance too. I don't care what anybody says, there is no "liberal bias" on these Sunday morning shows. They are almost always right-leaning.

- George Will actually questions why people seem to think that we as Americans have insufficient capability to house and detain terror suspects. Good on you George, I've been wondering that too. Do they have super powers or something?

That's enough for this weekend. twenty minutes to go on TW. And sorry, Bob Schieffer (and whoever or whatever CNN does on Sundays), I don't have it in me to seek out any more.

Grades: Meet the Press - D; FOX "News" Sunday - F; This Week with George Stephanopoulos - C+.

Sunday Morning Political Shows Play-by-Play (Pt. 2)

Well, I'm back. Mitch the Turtle has mercifully stopped talking. I can't believe that McConnell is one of the very top Republicans in government. And he's one of like, what? Three of them total? John Boner Boehner (with his orange skin and bizarre facial twitch) is one, Eric Cantor (with a series of embarrassing gaffes making him seem like a cartoon character) is the other. Anybody else? More observations:

- FOX "News" Sunday's round table (the ludicrously named "Power Panel") comes right back around to the Nancy Pelosi vs. CIA he-said-she-said overblown controversy. He lied! She lied! Who cares? F"N"S just like Meet the Press (and probably the rest of the shows) has pounced on the shiny object when the real story is elsewhere.

- Brit Hume, more shar-pei-ish than ever, is back, having been gone for a couple of weeks. And as is often parodied on The Stephanie Miller Show, he sounds like a cold automobile engine trying to get started.

- Hume is also cranked up to ten on "Democrats are against national defense" with no facts to back him up. Go away, Hume.

Ugh. . .can't do more on the FOX show. More in a minute if I watch This Week with George Stephanopoulos. It can't be worse than this.

Everything Old is New Again: Today's GOP

Funny that the Democratic National Committee came up with this ad. Because yesterday when I was flipping through the Sunday political gabfests, I wondered, why are they trotting out these old has-been Republicans to speak for their party? This is what they've got?

John Boner Boehner on This Week

I left the TV running this morning, and This Week with George Snuffleupagus came on at 10 am. This is sort of unusual here in Las Vegas where almost anything can pre-empt the show, and exile it to late afternoon.

I don't have a lot to say about today's program, other than leading Republican John Boehner is a very, very odd man. Watch this video to see what I mean. He's like a talking-point robot, with very strange facial expressions, and a disturbing mouth twitch. I didn't realize until now just how good Dan Aykroyd's impression of him a few weeks ago on Saturday Night Live was. Except Aykroyd wasn't orange enough.

David Gregory to Host Meet the Press?

Photo from source, Huffington Post

For at least the past two years, leading up to the election, I watched the Sunday morning political shows almost without fail. Of those shows, NBC's Meet the Press was the only one I considered "must see," with CBS's Face the Nation and ABC's This Week numbers two and three on my list. Oh, sure, I watch FOX "News" Sunday too, but it's in a different league altogether; something akin to opposition research.

One of the biggest reasons for MTP's top tier status was Tim Russert, who unfortunately passed away between the primaries and the general election. And what a shame that he didn't get to see how it all played out. After Russert's death, Tom Brokaw took over, and did a fine job. But he didn't agree to take it over completely, only through the election. And I'll confess, after the election and minus Russert, my Sunday morning habit has been broken.

Now, if I miss it, I miss it. I'm not sure that the addition of David Gregory as host will make it any more "appointment viewing" than it already was. I guess time will tell. He's got that unusual look about him, though. He'll fit right in, in the Land of Gorch!

[Excerpt]

David Gregory To Moderate "Meet The Press"

David Gregory will take the reins as moderator of NBC's "Meet the Press," the Huffington Post has learned. Gregory has been a leading contender for the permanent spot since Tom Brokaw stepped in as interim moderator following Tim Russert's death in June. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post

McCain's Health: What's Going On?

Image from source, AmericaBlog

This past Friday, one of the more surprising aspects of the first debate was that John McCain seemed fully awake, upright, engaged and less doddering than usual. In this event, and in his speech at the Republican National Convention, McCain seemed very different than he often has on the campaign trail. I'd really like to know how they get him pumped up for the big events,

when he seems like a slowly deflating balloon at the smaller ones.

The issue of McCain's general health has become--for some reason--an almost taboo subject in the mainstream press, or from the Barack Obama campaign. Almost nobody seems willing to touch it. I'd really like to know why.

McCain was allowed--in a now more familiar "stunt"--to release his medical records on his own terms, by letting a select number of reporters view his voluminous records for a limited amount of time. Then they pulled the records from view. MoveOn.org recently ran an ad regarding the importance of knowing the status of McCain's health, and were slammed for it, with FOX "News" even somehow shaming a skittish MSNBC into dropping the ad. But these are valid points.

John McCain is our oldest candidate for a first-term President. People don't say much about it, but the previous record holder, and the oldest candidate for a second term, was very likely experiencing the beginning stages of Alzheimer's Disease while he was President. Well, as a blogger, I have very little to risk by doing my little part to bring some of this to light. I particularly have no fear of FOX "News!"

John Aravosis and the other bloggers at AmericaBlog, have been paying close attention to McCain and his health, and they've noticed that McCain had an odd appearance on this morning's This Week with George Stephanopoulos. They quite rightly are asking, what is up?

TW has not yet aired out here, so I may revisit this topic later in the day.

[Excerpt]

Swollen, lisping McCain appears on ABC's THIS WEEK

Remember, the reason we are forced to speculate about John McCain's health is because John McCain refuses to release his medical records. McCain let a few journalists review his records for 3 hours, that's it. They couldn't make copies, they had to leave everything behind. They got about 5 seconds to review each of other 1000 pages, then they had to move on to the next page. It's patently absurd. But that's where we are, due to John McCain's own choice in hiding his medical records. Thus, we are forced to speculate whether our potential next president is sick or dying. . .

Read more at: AmericaBlog

Old Washington White Guys

This is a frivilous and possibly ill-advised post. But after watching a lot of Sunday morning news programs over the last year, I've noticed something. The world of politics is ugly. I'm not talking metaphor here, I'm talking literally ugly. I've commented before that Meet the Press with Tim Russert's usual round-table discussion group looks something like Jim Henson's Land of Gorch. And the other shows ain't much better: Chris Wallace, William Kristol, Brit Hume? All caricaturists' dream subjects.

And then there are the politicians. Now, I'm no raving beauty either, but I don't try to make a living in the public eye. This clip highlights a little of what I'm saying. First, it's John Kerry. I voted for him, mostly because I thought he had a groovy wife, and because he was running against a chimp. And honestly, he does have a hint of handsomeness about him. . .but just a hint. Like Ann Coulter, there's something out of skew about the guy. And then there's Lindsey Graham, who looks like a constipated turtle, and sounds like Leslie Jordan's Brother Boy or Beverly Lesley.

I might need to revise my theory that old, pale, hunched, short John McCain would lose to young, hale, tall Barack Obama just on the visuals alone. We keep electing the ugly ones. . .over and over again!

Sunday Morning: Clinton, Obama, McClellan, Oh My!

I had the rare opportunity (and somehow, the intestinal fortitude) to watch all of the Sunday morning political talk shows this morning. What, there are five? Sorry, I can't take Wolf Blitzer, especially after choking back bile from watching FOX "News" Sunday.

All of the shows focused--naturally--on yesterday's battle to seat Democratic delegates for Florida and Michigan. The other big topic was former Press Secretary Scott McClellan's book What Happened. A smaller note was made about Barack Obama quitting his church, though that was the very first thing that FOX's Chris Wallace focused on. Surprise!

The biggest theme of the morning, on all four shows, was the Barack Obama vs. Hillary Clinton take on the primary at this very late stage. Rather, it was a variety of their campaign supporters, each dispatched to one of the shows. Not surprisingly, the Clinton people were Rovian in both their logic and their presentations. Each of them (particularly the loathesome Terry McCauliffe) used nearly identical verbiage in answer to their various interviewers. The phrase that struck me as the most obvious talking point was "I don't accept that premise" as a response to the question of Clinton leaving should Obama secure enough delegates to win on Tuesday.

The Obama people may have been using their own version of "talking points" but it sure didn't sound like it to me--and I'm not a long-time Obamaton. Mostly, I get the vibe that Obama wants to play fair, and that Clinton wants to seem fair. "Truthiness" seems to be her touchstone. I didn't feel this way in the beginning, but over the last several months, Clinton and her mouthpieces have rubbed me so far the wrong way, I see them as indistinguishable from "permanent campaign" Republicans. And I want Terry McCauliffe to never appear on my TV set again. Ugh.