Weekend Show *Preview* for 12/30 - 12/31/06 (not the live thread)

With apologies to Robert Burns' mousie, these are the last shows for the year and all of the best laid plans of the show planners gang aft agley. No doubt originally all that was to happen this weekend was a review of the (trumpant) Dhimmicrat's "overwhelming victory" in the November elections (never mind that the change in seats in 2006 in the House was barely half of the change in '94, or that the Dhimmicrats don't hold a majority in the Senate, despite what Wolf Blitzer tries to tell you). Then Gerald Ford had the bad manners to drop dead. But that's OK, because he was a good Republican who knew how to act in the minority and roll over for his betters. But then (gasp) McChimpy Bushitler personally put a noose around good old Saddam's neck and ruined all of the dreams of the Dhimmicrat's friends in the Baath party. How gauche!

I'm real late posting this on Saturday, the 30th, but it's moot since all of the Saturday shows seem to have been preempted by the Ford funeral arrangements. It's possible that some of the shows, particularly JER, will be on late tonight, but we'll see. In the meantime it appears that lots of the conventional wisdom has been scrambled, primarily by Saddam's unlamented exit from this mortal coil, but also by President Gerald Ford's passing. I think Reid's insistence on vacationing (pardon me, conducting hearings) in Peru instead of attending the funeral for an ex-President will come back to haunt that miserable excuse for a human being (OK, I'm prejudiced, so sue me). Likewise I think Nazi Pelosi's four day coronation is going to look really tacky after the dignity of the Ford funeral. But, hey, that's just crass politics. More significantly I think there is a chance that ol' Saddam's absence may just shock the players in Iraq into thinking again about their positions on certain issues. Sadr has to be taking another look at his life insurance policies, for example. It's all well and good to tell others that you get 72 virgins upon martyrdom, but when your main goal is power that's scant comfort for someone like Mookie.

As last week there are brief analyses of each of the Sunday shows in the show by show preview. Here are the minimalist show listings for the five Sunday shows:

This should be cross posted to my blog at Wizards.townhall.com sooner or later, maybe even today. This post exists primarily as a heads up for who is on the weekend talks shows, what they've been invited on to push (based on their recent pronouncements) and the spin (meme) the DBM is likely trying to push based on that information. All of this is prep work for the weekly Sunday Morning Talk Show thread posted by Alas Babylon!. That thread provides a live commentary and analysis of the Sunday talking head shows, with rare insight and exceptional fact checking. we are the Jedi Council of FreeRepublic, at least in regards to these DBM gabfests. You wanna know what was said and what it meant, as well as where they messed up? Read that thread!

Saturday Shows For 12/30/06

Analysis: These are the listings, but the whole schedule is blown to hell with the Ford funeral in Washington tonight. There isn't much "there there," even with Journal Editorial Report, but since most of the shows are being preempted it won't matter much. It is, however, instructive to look at what they planned to cover before they knew they were being preempted.

Below are the topics and guests announced for these programs, along with my take on the "memes" that the shows are trying to push. With each guest's name are a series of links that I found in a web search that helped me get a handle on who they are and what their likely positions will be when they are interviewed.

The Beltway Boys (Mort Kondrake, Fred Barnes)

Meme:
- First showing pre-empted by coverage of Ford funeral
Topics:
- The 'Beltway Boys' pay tribute to the late President Gerald Ford
- The 9th annual Year End Awards! Find out who were the biggest losers and winners of 2006!
Beltway Boys contact information beltway@foxnews.com
The program airs on FOX News Channel Saturdays at 6 and 11:30 p.m. ET

CNBC's Tim Russert Show (Tim Russert)

Meme:
- no listing
Topics:
- no listing
Guests
- no listing
CNBC's Tim Russert Show airs Saturday at 7pm, 10pm & 1am ET

Fox News Watch (Eric Burns)

Meme:
- Neal Gabler last week: "(bloggers) are mosquitoes and the main stream media is the elephant that controls the agenda"
- Yep, Neal, but the elephant is dead and people like you are maggots eating your way through the putrid carcass
Topics:
- Summing Up and Looking Ahead:
  - Iraq
  - November's midterm elections
  - Duke investigation...
- Which stories were covered well by the media in 2006?
- What can we expect in 2007?
The program airs on FOX News Channel Saturdays at 6:30 p.m. ET and Sundays at 2:30 a.m. ET
Fox News Watch contact information Newswatch@foxnews.com

Journal Editorial Report (Paul Gigot) - FNC show page

Meme:
- Even JER succombs to presenting the inside the beltway "conventional wisdom" issues once in awhile
Topics:
- Opinion Journal web page: Wait Till Next Year
  - A year-end special on what to expect in 2007:
    - Can anyone stop John McCain and Hillary Rodham Clinton from winning their parties' presidential nominations?
    - Will President Bush raise taxes to get a Social Security deal with Democrats?
    - Will Mr. Bush get his third Supreme Court nomination?
- Fox News Channel web page
  - Is there a way forward in Iraq and can President Bush find it?
  - Hillary Clinton and John McCain may be frontrunners, but who will lead the pack as we approach the presidential primaries?
Guests
- no listing
Journal Editorial Report (at Fox News) contact information - jer@foxnews.com
The program is from The Wall Street Journal and airs on FNC Saturday at 11 p.m. and again Sunday at 6 a.m. ET

NBC Meet The Press (Tim Russert)

Analysis: Bob Woodward! Bob Woodward! Tell us what Gerald Ford really thought, despite 30 years of statements to the contrary! Michael Beschloss, fiction writer extraordinaire (and Jon Carry advisor) should be real interesting. I bet he says that Ford secretly wanted Kerry to win in '04. E. J. Dionne and Eugene Robinson are on to give the Daily Kos viewpoint while Kate O'Beirne is on because they can easily ignore her. And William Safire is on to pronounce Gerald a non-entity, though he was a "good Republican." And Tom? Tom's there to promote something, probably the repeat showing of his illegal immigrants mockumentary.

Below are the topics and guests announced for this program, along with my take on the "memes" that the show is trying to push. With each guest's name are a series of links that I found in a web search that helped me get a handle on who they are and what their likely positions will be when they are interviewed.

Meme:
- Here now, what's this? Wasn't Ford that evil Republican who pardoned ~~Satan~~ Richard Nixon? How can we be praising him? Oh, he's dead you say. Well all righty then...
- Now for the real tragedy this week: the execution of Saddam Hussein
Topics:
- Remembering the life and legacy of President Gerald Ford with two reporters who covered his career closely
  - What did Ford tell Woodward about the war in Iraq before he passed away?
  - How will Ford be remembered?
- "Meet the Press" roundtable:
  - Looking back on 2006 and ahead to 2007 and the 2008 presidential election.
Guests
- Tom Brokaw
  - U.S. Broadcast Journalist
  - Bio (from the museum of broadcasting)
  - CBS CRITICIZED FOR NON-COVERAGE OF FORD'S DEATH (Contactmusic.com, UK - Dec 28, 2006)
  - The History Channel to Air Gerald Ford Tribute Tonight (MovieWeb - Dec 27, 2006)
  - TV reporters fondly recall "unassuming" Ford (Reuters - Dec 27, 2006)
  - Dana Carvey (as Tom Brokaw) Called Ford's Death Years Ago (Seattlest, Seattle - Dec 27, 2006)
  - What Brokaw didn't report about illegals (Aspen Times, CO - Dec 29, 2006)
  - TV Review | 'Tom Brokaw Reports: In the Shadow of the American Dream' (New York Times, NY - Dec 25, 2006)
  - Still-busy Brokaw (Denver Post, CO - Dec 26, 2006)
  - Brokaw On Immigration: Neither Wall, Nor US Teens At $16/HR, Will Work (NewsBusters - Dec 26, 2006)
  - Indisputable points in the immigration debate (Tom Brokaw, NBC News) (MSNBC - Dec 22, 2006)
- Bob Woodward
  - Bob Woodward subverted Ford's wishes (Arizona Republic, AZ - Dec 29, 2006)
  - Ford, Nixon Sustained Friendship for Decades (Washington Post - Dec 29, 2006)
  - Woodward Reveals Tape That Finds Ford Referring to Cokie Roberts' Father: 'He's Nuts' (Editor & Publisher - Dec 28, 2006)
  - ABC's 'GMA' And NBC's 'Today' Once Again Hype Woodward's Anti-War Ford Story (NewsBusters - Dec 29, 2006)
  - When Watergate Was Shut: Bob Woodward Recalls Ford Pardoning Nixon (Editor & Publisher - Dec 27, 2006)
  - Woodward Drops the Pardon Bomb, Pundits Owe Nation an Apology (Huffington Post - Dec 29, 2006)
  - 'No Point In Being Bitter' (Washington Post - Dec 30, 2006)
- Michael Beschloss
  - Gerald Ford: Iraq war was not justified (ABC Online, Australia - Dec 28, 2006)
  - Former President Gerald Ford's Legacy Remembered (Transcript PBS News Hour - Dec 27, 2006)
  - Former US president, Gerald Ford, dies (ABC Online, Australia - Dec 27, 2006)
  - Curry Draws Parallel Between Watergate and Today's 'Troubled, Murky Times' (NewsBusters - Dec 27, 2006)
  - Not accidental (Washington Times - Dec 28, 2006)
  - Advice, But Often No Consent (Newsweek - Dec 6, 2006)
- E.J. Dionne
  - E.J. Dionne Jr.: Bookending the Acrimony of 2006 (Truthdig - Dec 28, 2006)
  - EJ Dionne Jr.: The Risk-Aversion Spiral (Truthdig - Dec 21, 2006)
  - E.J. Dionne Jr.: No More NASCAR Fakers (Truthdig - Dec 18, 2006)
  - EJ Dionne Jr.: Putting Iraq on the Credit Card (Truthdig - Dec 15, 2006)
  - EJ Dionne Jr.: Moving religion beyond politics (Sacramento Bee, CA - Dec 5, 2006)
  - EJ Dionne Jr.: The center of politics (Sacramento Bee, CA - Nov 29, 2006)
- Kate O'Beirne
  - Why Did the Republicans Lose? (Accuracy In Media, DC - Dec 10, 2006)
  - Winner of the Coveted 2006 Award for Political Incorrectness (Intellectual Conservative, AZ - Dec 27, 2006)
  - Welfare Reform Made Interesting (National Review Online, NY - Dec 27, 2006)
- Eugene Robinson
  - EUGENE ROBINSON: No good reason exists to send more troops (Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, MS - Dec 20, 2006)
  - Eugene Robinson: An uneventful transition in Cuba (Sacramento Bee, CA - Dec 2, 2006)
- William Safire
  - The "Judith Miller Distinguished Journalism Awards" (Huffington Post, NY - Dec 28, 2006)
  - 'NYT' Sunday Preview: Safire Weighs In on 'Civil War' Media Debate (Editor & Publisher - Dec 15, 2006)
  - WORDS ABOUT WORDS (Wordspy.COM)
What would you like to ask this week's guests? (web page for submitting questions for this weeks show)
Meet the Press mailbox (web page for comments)

CBS Face The Nation (Bob Schieffer)

Analysis: Watergate. There's nothing more to remember about Gerald Ford, except that he was a "good Republican," willing to roll over for his masters, the Dhimmicrats. Oh, and he hated Ronald Reagan, which Ol' Bob ought to like a whole bunch. The one bright spot is the inclusion of Tom DeFrank, whose own interviews with Gerald Ford puts the lie to Bob (I really interviewed him on his death bed) Woodward's interpretation of Ford's comments about Iraq. I guess since they couldn't get Woodward they decided to diss him (or cut the legs out from under DeFrank). Watch for lots of shots at Haig for offering a "deal" to Ford in exchange for Nixon's pardon.

Meme:
- Here now, what's this? Wasn't Ford that evil Republican who pardoned ~~Satan~~ Richard Nixon? How can we be praising him? Oh, he's dead you say. Well all righty then...
- Now for the real tragedy this week: the execution of Saddam Hussein
Topics:
- The Presidency of Gerald Ford
Guests
- Gen. Alexander Haig
  - Former Ford White House Chief of Staff
  - Bio (from MSN Encarta)
  - Haig: Ford 'healed America' after Watergate (KGET 17, CA - Dec 27, 2006)
  - Why Pardoning Nixon Was Wrong (Slate - Dec 29, 2006)
  - Critics of Ford's Nixon pardon now call it wise (International Herald Tribune - Dec 29, 2006)
  - Haig: 'We were very fortunate to have Ford' as president (Palm Beach Daily News, FL - Dec 27, 2006)
- Ben Bradlee
  - Editor Emeritus, The Washington Post
  - Bio (from MSN Encarta)
  - Relationship Between US Government and Press is Rocky (Voice of America - Dec 12, 2006)
  - Cursing the Word (Washington Post, DC - Dec 1, 2006)
  - Anthony Williams feted at Kuwait Embassy (Washington Times, DC - Nov 30, 2006)
  - CHRISTINE EBERSOLE, The Star of ‘Grey Gardens’(East Hampton Star, NY - Dec 1, 2006)
  - What My Son Taught Me About God (Washington Post, DC - Dec 7, 2006)
- James Cannon
  - Ford Historian
  - Author Time & Chance: Gerald Ford’s Appointment with History
  - Essay on Gerald Ford from Character Above All (excerpt via PBS from book CHARACTER ABOVE ALL: Ten Presidents from FDR to George Bush, 1997)
  - Critics of Ford's Nixon pardon now call it wise (International Herald Tribune - Dec 29, 2006)
  - Ford Arranged His Funeral to Reflect Himself and Drew in a Former Adversary (New York Times, NY - Dec 29, 2006)
  - Television's tributes to Gerald Ford (Orlando Sentinel, FL - Dec 28, 2006)
  - OUR PRESIDENT: Gerald Ford was a uniter, a leader, a healer -- a Michigander (Detroit Free Press, MI - Dec 28, 2006)
- Tom DeFrank
  - Washington Bureau Chief, New York Daily News
  - Co-author (with Ed Rollins) Bare Knuckles and Back Rooms
  - Bio (from Harry Walker Agency, speaker's bureau)
  - Bush Considers Changes To Iraq Policy (U.S. News & World Report, DC - Dec 29, 2006)
  - A scoopful from the newly dead (Washington Times, DC - Dec 30, 2006)
  - Praise for 'a legacy of honor' (Los Angeles Times, CA - Dec 27, 2006)
  - US Public Support for Iraq War Declines (Voice of America - Dec 14, 2006)
  - US Election Lessons (Voice of America - Dec 12, 2006)
Face The Nation contact information - ftn@cbsnews.com

Fox News Sunday (Chris Wallace)

Meme:
- Ooooo, oooooo.... now the terrorists are gonna get us.. they're mad because we killed Saddam so they won't show any more restraint ...... WTF????????
- Now, the great white male Dhimmicrat hope, Tom Vilsack... Excuse me... Tom who?
Topics:
- How will Saddam's execution impact the situation in Iraq?
  - As Saddam Hussein faces execution and President Bush finalizes a new strategy for victory Fox presents live reports on the latest from Baghdad
  - How will the hanging of the former dictator impact the insurgency?
  - Can the president still lay out a path for victory after more than three years of fighting?
- Presidential politics - a discussion with Democratic candidate Gov. Tom Vilsack, D-Iowa
- The All-Star Sunday roundtable panel pays tribute to President Ford
- Fox News essay Coming Up On Fox News Sunday
Guests
- Senator Richard Lugar, Republican - Indiana
  - Senate web site | Bio
  - Professor remembers Ford the congressman (Henderson Gleaner, KY - Dec 28, 2006)
  - Hoosiers Reminisce on Loss of Gerald Ford (WISH, IN - Dec 29, 2006)
  - Lugar comments on Iraq Study Group report (WTHR, IN - Dec 7, 2006)
  - A New Cold War With Russia? (AntiWar.Blog - Dec 28, 2006)
  - Obama banter (Fort Wayne News Sentinel, IN - Dec 27, 2006)
- Governor Tom Vilsack, Democrat - Iowa
  - Governor's web site | Bio
  - Presidential Hopeful Tom Vilsack Ponders Letter Offering Help in Tracking Birth Mother (FOX News - Dec 22, 2006)
  - Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack: Digital audio of his exit interview with the Quad-City Times Editorial Board (Quad City Times, IA - Dec 23, 2006) Note: links to MP3 files
  - EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: I’m Tom Vilsack! Who the Hell are You? (Rolling Stone - Dec 21, 2006)
  - Enough 'frontrunner' talk - meet Tom Vilsack (Concord Monitor, NH - Dec 16, 2006)
  - Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack deserves a closer look (Kansas City Star, MO - Dec 18, 2006)
  - Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack is seeking the Democratic nod in his own way (U.S. News & World Report, DC - Dec 17, 2006)
  - Why Tom Vilsack is Starting So Early (TIME - Nov 30, 2006)
- Roundtable:
  - Bill Kristol
    - Weekly Standard Editor
    - It's Up To Bush (The Weekly Standard - Dec 18. 2006)
  - Juan Williams
    - NPR Senior National Correspondent
    - This Week in Politics: Gates in Iraq, Calls for More Troops (NPR Day to Day, Dec 22, 2006) Note: streaming audio
  - Charles Krauthammer
    - Syndicated Columnist
    - Commentary: Charles Krauthammer: Americans should throw a game or two (Daily Mail - Charleston, WV - Dec 27, 2006)
  - Mara Liasson
    - NPR National Political Correspondent
    - Obama Welcomed with Enthusiasm by Democrats in New Hampshire (NPR - Dec 11, 2006)
Fox News Sunday contact information - FNS@foxnews.com

CNN Late Edition (Wolf Blitzer)

Analysis: CNN, as is their want, will downplay the Ford funeral and spend their time lamenting the short sighted and islamophobic murder of Saddam Hussein. Their guest list makes is abundantly clear to me that they think we would all be better off if Saddam were still in charge in Iraq and George W. Bush were swinging from the end of a rope. But that's CNN for you. I gotta say, I would love to see Joe Lieberman on in the same segment with Snarlin' Arlen Specter. I bet Arlen wouldn't leave the encounter with a shred of what little credibility he has left. Similarly Vali Nasr and Shibley Telhami and ought to be set down opposite one another. For Zbiggy baby I could think of no one better to confront him with than Mark Steyn, but CNN won't invite him on their Jihadfest.

Meme:
- Here now, what's this? Wasn't Ford that evil Republican who pardoned ~~Satan~~ Richard Nixon? How can we be praising him? Oh, he's dead you say. Well all righty then...
- Now for the real tragedy this week: the execution of Saddam Hussein
Topics:
- What impact will the execution of Saddam Hussein have on the future of Iraq and of the entire Middle East?
Guests
- Feisal al-Istrabadi
  - Iraq’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations
  - Saddam Hussein executed by hanging in Baghdad (Ha'aretz, Israel - Dec 29, 2006)
  - TV networks hold tense death watch for condemned Iraqi dictator (San Francisco Chronicle, USA - Dec 29, 2006)
  - ABC7 Interview With Iraqi Ambassador (abc7news.com, CA - Dec 7, 2006)
- Senator Arlen Specter, Republican - Pennsylvania
  - Senate web site | Bio
  - Outgoing Judiciary Committee Chairman
  - Steve Clemons: The Independent Republican Senator From Pennsylvania, Arlen Specter (Huffington Post via Yahoo News - Dec 30, 2006)
  - ARLEN SPECTER'S IGNORANCE OF THE MIDDLE EAST (Dafka - Dec 29, 2006)
  - Sen. Arlen Specter Planning Trip to Syria Despite Bush Objections (FOX News - Dec 15, 2006)
  - HOIST ON THEIR OWN PETARD (New York Post, NY - Dec 30, 2006)
  - Abbas forces receive arms from Egypt (Taipei Times, Taiwan - Dec 29, 2006)
  - Hezbollah Blocks Fatah Attacks (Truthdig, United States - Dec 30, 2006)
  - Choice for many: Upgrade or miss Redskins game (Daily Press, VA - Dec 30, 2006)
- Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I/D-Connecticut
  - Senate web site | Bio
  - Armed Services Committee member
  - Morally And Strategically Right To Send More US Troops To Iraq (TheDay, CT - Dec 30, 2006)
  - Iraq and Afghanistan Recommendations (U.S. News & World Report, DC - Dec 29, 2006)
  - Senator Lieberman, This is Your War Too (Huffington Post, NY - Dec 29, 2006)
  - Like a Rock (Slate - Dec 29, 2006)
  - Litchfield County, 2006: Snow and Other Storms (Litchfield County Times, CT - Dec 28, 2006)
- Zbigniew Brzezinski
  - Former Carter National Security Adviser
  - Senator Lieberman, This is Your War Too (Huffington Post, NY - Dec 29, 2006)
  - Sino-US relations need a broader view (China Daily, China - Dec 28, 2006)
  - President supported Indonesian Invasion of East Timor (Melbourne Indymedia, Australia - Dec 28, 2006)
  - The Great Game On A Razor's Edge (CounterCurrents.org, India - Dec 26, 2006)
  - US must pursue talks with Iran, says Brzezinski (Islamic Republic News Agency, Iran - Dec 5, 2006)
- Thomas DeFrank
  - Washington Bureau Chief, New York Daily News
  - Co-author (with Ed Rollins) Bare Knuckles and Back Rooms
  - Bio (from Harry Walker Agency, speaker's bureau)
  - Bush Considers Changes To Iraq Policy (U.S. News & World Report, DC - Dec 29, 2006)
  - A scoopful from the newly dead (Washington Times, DC - Dec 30, 2006)
  - Praise for 'a legacy of honor' (Los Angeles Times, CA - Dec 27, 2006)
  - US Public Support for Iraq War Declines (Voice of America - Dec 14, 2006)
  - US Election Lessons (Voice of America - Dec 12, 2006)
- Howard Kurtz
  - CNN's "Reliable Sources" and Washington Post media critic
  - Howard Kurtz Jousts With Tony Snow on Press Coverage of President (Editor & Publisher - Dec 10, 2006)
  - Howard Kurtz Slaps Fellow Postie George Will For Smearing Webb (TPMCafe, NY - Dec 4, 2006)
  - Howard Kurtz: Threatened layoffs deepen gloom in Philadelphia (Sacramento Bee, USA - Dec 3, 2006)
  - Dan Rather Says Saddam Hussein was Right and President Bush was Wrong (NewsBusters - Dec 17, 2006)
  - Here's what they had to say during 2006 (Baxter Bulletin, AR - Dec 29, 2006)
- Shibley Telhami
  - Brookings Institution
  - CAIR panel discusses ISG report (Arab American News, MI - Dec 16, 2006)
  - Analysts of poll in Lebanon struck by Shia rise in region, U.S.-Iran dispute (Kuwait News Agency, Kuwait - Dec 1, 2006)
  - Baker's ISG: Shilling for the Saudis (Israel Insider, Israel - Dec 20, 2006)
  - Panel Offers Chance for Public Arab Critique of U.S. MidEast Policies (Agape Press, MS - Dec 13, 2006)
  - Iran's president urges Americans to back Iraq exit (Los Angeles Times, CA - Nov 30, 2006)
- Vali Nasr
  - Author "The Shia Revival;"
  - Member of Council on Foreign Relations
  - Celebrations follow Hussein's hanging (CNN - Dec 30, 2006)
  - Trudy Rubin: To succeed, Iraq policy must look to the region (Sacramento Bee, USA - Dec 29, 2006)
  - Shiite struggle in Iraq spills over area (Montreal Gazette, Canada - Dec 29, 2006)
  - Implications of Saddam’s Death (Council on Foreign Relations, NY - Dec 27, 2006)
- Laith Kubba
  - Former Iraqi spokesman and former adviser to former Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari
  - Political elite finds a new home out of harm's way (Times Online, UK - Dec 1, 2006)
  - Much worse (uruknet.info, Italy - Dec 5, 2006)
CNN Late Edition (web page for comments)

ABC This Week (George Stephanopoulos)

Analysis: ABC continues the trend of providing free airtime to Democrat candidates (of their choosing) in order to defray their early campaign expenses. At some point someone is going to file an FEC complaint about the hundreds of millions of dollars in contributions in kind being dumped into Dhimmicrat coffers. The Breck boy is probably a non-starter, since he got trounced in his own state in his reelection bid, but don't bet on that topic being raised by Little Georgie Steponallofus. I think the real question Little Georgie is addressing with his show is who he wants to promote as Hillary's VP. The roundtable is the typical 4 to 1 obscenity (and Dan Senor isn't exactly a Bush partisan, despite his previous job) and it's really getting boring. At least George Will won't, this week. Watch for praise for Gerald Ford as a "good Republican," meaning he was a good loser who hated Ronald Reagan (according to the NY Times their mutual loathing of Reagan made Ford and Carter fast friends).

Meme:
- Here now, what's all this then? Wasn't Ford that evil Republican who pardoned ~~Satan~~ Richard Nixon? How can we be praising him? Oh, he's dead you say. Well all righty then...
- Now for the real tragedy this week: the execution of Saddam Hussein
- And now, the great white male Dhimmicrat hope, John Edwards, the Breck boy himself!
- And here's the little woman with a book on how you don't need God for support as long as you've got a community!
Topics:
- Live coverage as Americans gather at the US Capitol to pay their last respects to former President Gerald Ford
- Former Senator John Edwards and his wife Elizabeth talk about his decision to run and what they've learned since 2004
- Roundtable:
  - The passing of former President Gerald Ford
  - The year in politics
Guests
- Former Senator John Edwards
  - Campaign web site | Bio
  - John Edwards launches White House bid (Daily Telegraph, Australia - Dec 30, 2006)
  - Edwards steps down as director of UNC poverty center (San Antonio Business Journal, TX - Dec 30, 2006)
  - Edwards sells DC house for $5.2 million (Houston Chronicle - Dec 29, 2006)
  - John Edwards’ presidential campaign comes to battered neighborhood (News-Leader.com, MO - Dec 30, 2006)
  - John Edwards Still Doesn't Get It (Human Events, DC - Dec 29, 2006)
  - John Edwards Does YouTube. This Could Get Interesting (InformationWeek, NY - Dec 29, 2006)
  - Edwards dives in with new theme (Concord Monitor, NH - Dec 30, 2006)
- Elizabeth Edwards
  - Bio (from campaign web site)
  - Author Saving Graces: Finding Solace and Strength from Friends and Strangers
  - Edwards has been on TV, around the globe since '04 (News & Observer, NC - Dec 29, 2006)
  - Chris Matthews Makes Sexist Remarks to John and Elizabeth Edwards (NewsBusters - Dec 13, 2006)
  - Saving Graces by Elizabeth Edwards (The Independent Weekly, NC - Dec 6, 2006)
  - John Edwards Goes 'Home' (CBS News, NY - Dec 3, 2006)
- Roundtable:
  - Jay Carney
    - Deputy Washington Bureau Chief, Time magazine | Bio
    - Married to Claire Shipman
    - McLaughlin Group Hypes Man-Made Global Warming, Calls Naysayers 'Neanderthals' (NewsBusters - Nov 28, 2006)
  - Dan Senor
    - Former Senior Advisor to then-Presidential Envoy L. Paul Bremer III, Administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority | White House Bio
    - More Troops and Help Needed to Quell Chaos (ABC News, Good Morning America - Nov 29, 2006)
  - Claire Shipman
    - Senior national correspondent ABC News, Good Morning America | Bio
    - Married to Jay Carney
    - Morning Shows Rush to Cover Ford's Criticism of Bush Administration (NewsBusters - Dec 28, 2006)
  - Donna Brazile
    - Political consultant
    - Founder and Managing Director of Brazile and Associates, LLC | Web Site | Bio
    - Contributer and political commentator on CNN’s Inside Politics and American Morning
    - Columnist for Roll Call Newspaper and a contributing writer for Ms. Magazine
    - Michelle Pilecki: The Media Disconnect of Edwards' New Orleans Photo Op (Yahoo! News - Dec 28, 2006)
    - Edwards's Theme: U.S. Poverty (Wall Street Journal - Dec 27, 2006)
ABC This Week comment web page

Ping

The Weekend Talk Show Preview Thread is (finally) up

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It will be cross posted to my blog at

http://wizards.townhall.com/

Okay, okay. I know I'm way late this weekend. It's just been one of those weeks. Anyway, happy New Year to all.

Here's a sample of my usual witty commentary...

With apologies to Robert Burns' mousie, these are the last shows for the year and all of the best laid plans of the show planners gang aft agley...
... I think Nazi Pelosi's four day coronation is going to look really tacky after the dignity of the Ford funeral. But, hey, that's just crass politics. More significantly I think there is a chance that ol' Saddam's absence may just shock the players in Iraq into thinking again about their positions on certain issues. Sadr has to be taking another look at his life insurance policies, for example...

I know you are sleeping probably...so you won't have had the good luck to watch this week's Beltway Boyz.

Well...I have to report on two things that have been said that are real "eye-rollers"...

First of all....Fred and Mort are giving their year-end awards.

One of the awards was "person gone, and forgotten"..and it went to Sen. Frist....which is okay I guess...but FRED said that he admired him for sticking with is pledge to only serve 2 terms..but THEN said that he also admired the "nuclear option" that Frist did which "got Bush his conservative judges"...!!!! I kid you not--that is what FRED said.

Then.....they gave the award for "Turncoat of the Year"..and they gave it to all of the GOP politicians that have turned their backs on Pres. Bush and the war in Iraq...

They showed the footage of Sen. Gordon Smith giving that disgusting floor speech about how it may "even be criminal" to have our troops in Iraq.

Well..I happily agreed with them, and I was proud of them...UNTIL, Mort said "well actually, we can really include Pres. BUSH in that catagory of 'Turncoat of the Year', because HE has not continued his 'staying the course' message..and has instead said he would look for a new way forward"....again, I KID you not!!

Luckily, Fred said that Pres. Bush's "way" may change but he hasn't changed his mind about finishing the mission.

I quit listening after that....to type this.

Those two need to move to CNN or MSNBC.

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