Sunday's two days away. The Chat and Chews await those not fast enough to flee their TV sets before the annoying themes begin. Check your local listings for airtimes.
ABC's This Week offers up:
Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del.
Foreign Relations Committee.
Sen. John Thune, R-S.D.
Armed Services Committee
As they note:
Another week has gone by with more violence and no constitution in Iraq. With support for the war taking a nose dive, and President Bush repeating his call to "stay the course," do the Democrats have a better answer? And why aren't more Democrats capitalizing on new public doubts about the war? I'll speak with Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., the ranking member on the Foreign Relations Committee, to discuss the stalled Iraqi constitution, the insurgency and whether staying and fighting in Iraq is helping us win the war on terror.
Yes, why aren't more speaking up?
Think you'll get a straight answer from Biden? Oh, cookie, you are an innocent.
So walk right into the lion's den where you'll find George Will, Cokie Roberts and Fareed Zakaria waiting to jaw and jaw until you just wish your ears would fall off. Fareed's not really fitting in on the roundtable and people are confused as to why that is.
I think I may have the answer. He has no attention getter around his neck. George Will sports his annoying bow ties and, of course, Cokie Roberts wouldn't be Cokie Roberts without her pearls (or "pearls" when they're fake as they sometimes are) -- without them, how would she manage to practice her special brand of "clutch the pearls" 'journalism?' Fareed needs to figure out what he can bring to the table. A dickie? A scarf?
(For those who insist on watching, watch with a stop watch so you can clock how long it takes Cokie to trash unions -- one of the topics will be "the striking mechanics at Northwest Airlines.
Also watch to see whom has the guts to point out that Alan Greenspan, another topic, should have retired years ago -- my guess is it will be Will or it won't get said.)
Over at NBC, Meet the Press the guests are:
AMBASSADOR ZALMAY KHALILZAD
U.S. Ambassador to Iraq
GEN. WESLEY CLARK (RET.)
Former Supreme Allied Commander, Europe
GEN. WAYNE DOWNING (RET.)
Former Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Special Operations Command
GEN. BARRY MCCAFFREY (RET.)
Former Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Southern Command
GEN. MONTGOMERY MEIGS (RET.)
Commanding General, U.S. Army, Europe
Former Commander, Stabilization Force, Bosnia-Herzegovina
NBC is boasting of an "all star" panel. Four star panel? As Amy Goodman's noted, the "we all got it wrong" excuse doesn't cover it because everyone didn't get it wrong. And yet? The voices who called it correctly still aren't invited to the table.
In fact, let's note Amy Goodman on this topic:
"War coverage should be more than a parade of retired generals and retired government flacks posing as reporters," Goodman says after the show. "Why not invite on some voices that are not Pentagon-approved?"
That's from Michael Powell's "'Democracy Now!' Host Amy Goodman Is Making Her Voice Heard on Iraq" (Washington Post, via Common Dreams).
Returning to the Chat & Chews, Miss Cleo's back and NBC's got him! Just FYI, for anyone missing Tim Russert playing host.
Miss Cleo?
As noted this afternoon (Russert and Robert Novak are reacting to -- salivating over? -- Bully Boy dressed up in military garb and strutting around with the Mission Accomplished banner behind him):
Tim Russert's a clown. But is he also a psychic? Note this:
RUSSERT: Bob Novak?
NOVAK: Well, I think he looks good in a jump suit. A lot of people don't, Tim. Maybe you and I wouldn't look that good in a jump suit as a fly-boy.
RUSSERT: Maybe an orange prison garb for you there, more likely.
The above exchange was noted by Bob Somerby in 2003, "Spinning Bush At War (Part1)! Pundits recalled a leader's war record. Their memory was weak -- but it served." May 5, 2003, by the way. Who knew Russert was a Miss Cleo?
And what of CBS' Face The Nation? Didn't turn in assignment.
If I had to watch one, as the question goes, which would I watch? I do enjoy surprises and Face The Nation is only a half hour. But, were I in the mood for predicitions, I might check out Miss Cleo on Meet the Press. ABC's This Week? Hey, just because George Will and Cokie Roberts' spouses can face them in the morning (and live to tell) doesn't mean I want to.
By the way, I'm way behind in e-mails (and that's with Ava and Jess helping -- thank you to both for their help), Luke (wotisitgood4) e-mailed this week to note a wrap up of the Sunday Chat & Chews that he found entertaining. You can read it here.
The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.
