Weekend Talk Show *Preview* for 8/11 - 8/12/07 (not the live thread)

Network and Cable News Networks | August 11, 2007 | Network and Cable News

[Phsstpok]

Preview and Analysis for Weekend of August 11^th and 12^th, 2007

Guest lineup for the Sunday TV news shows:

NBC's "Meet the Press" Harold Ford Jr., DLC Chairman Markos Moulitsas, founder of Daily Kos CBS's "Face the Nation" Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee Fox News Sunday Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney Ann Romney

CNN "Late Edition" Mahmud Ali Durrani, Pakistani ambassador to U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-El Cajon Rep. Joe Sestak, D-Pa. Former Sen. Jim Talent, R-Mo., campaign adviser to Mitt Romney Rep. David Dreier, R-Glendora, campaign adviser to Rudy Giuliani ABC's "This Week" Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio Actor Leonardo DiCaprio

And they're off!  Fast out of the gate is Mitt Romney, heavy favorite and officially the man with the most to lose in Saturday's Ames Iowa Straw Poll.  Daddy's boy Chris Wallace has Romney and his wife Ann on for the inevitable day after appearance.  You know he's hoping for a juicy "surprised and saddened loser of the all important straw poll" to be sitting across from him on their set.  The rest of the announced top tier Republicans are taking a pass on this "non event" but the conventional wisdom says they run the risk of insulting the Iowa party activists.  The also rans in the Republican second (or third) tier are hoping for a strong second place showing, with Huckabee, Hunter and Brownback all featured on shows this week.  The folks booking the shows know they've got a great guest whichever way things turn out Saturday in Iowa, either with interviews of a "surprisingly strong" candidate or presiding over the funeral of a doomed campaign.  "Non-candidate" Fred Thompson has no organization in Iowa (yet) but he went their this week anyway.  I don't even know if his name is on the ballot, but at this point there's no downside for him in showing up.  And then there's Ron Paul who's supporters are suing over the electronic voting machines.  Figures.  I'm betting that he's not the shows like some of the other also rans because the DBM is hoping to keep his looney tunes candidacy alive so that he can attack the Republicans from the inside while they attack from the outside. (Note: Prayer request - Ron Paul's wife Carol was hospitalized earlier today with shortness of breath and low blood pressure - I may not like him as a politician, but I don't wish him or his family any harm)

Largely absent from the shows this weekend is discussion of Iraq.  Only Fox News Watch on Saturday and CNN Late Edition on Sunday even list Iraq in their topics.  The other shows may discuss things in the Mideast, particularly in their roundtables, but I take the absence of highlighted coverage a sure sign that we must actually be winning over there.  Given the make up of this weeks roundtable panels on most of the shows it might be interesting to see them talk about the politics of their own profession and the distortions they bring about in their reporting.  It'll probably never happen, but it would be interesting.

NBC Meet The Press has the clash of the titans, Harold Ford Jr. facing off with Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas.  More than any other show Lil Timmah's gabfest has been in Hillary's camp this season, acting as an arm of the campaign most weeks.  Most likely this is an attempt to protect Hillary from the lunatic fringe of the nutroots.  It may also be a bit of pre-positioning for Ford if things play out as they appear to be on the Dhimmicrat side and the moonbats force everyone to the extreme left.  If that happens they will face an historic loss at all levels next year and a "moderate" Harold Ford Jr. will be in the perfect place to ride in and rescue the party.  Not likely as it looks like Hillary is the destined winner, but Lil Timmah is that Machiavellian.  The roundtable of lefty Washington insiders Margaret Carlson (Bloomberg), Michael Duffy (Time) and Chuck Todd (NBC), with a token (though brilliant) conservative Byron York will be heavy on the Ames Straw Poll and the "new politics" represented by Kos and the rest of the blogosphere.  They're also likely to talk about Iraq and Iran some and it's likely that the Time and ABC hit pieces on Billy Graham inspired by Duffy's new book will also come up.

CBS Face The Nation has the first of the Republican second tier candidates for almost instant analysis of the results from Ames.  Ol' Bob and his cast of reporter know it alls, David Yepsen (The Des Moines Register), Karen Tumulty (Time) and Jim VandeHei (Politio.COM) are no doubt prepared whether he does well or poorly.  As indicated I think they're hoping that he does poorly as it will be more fun for them.  A lot of horse race and inside politics stuff will result.

Fox News Sunday has Mitt Romney and his wife Ann booked for the post Ames analysis.  Visions of "a failed campaign" interview must be dancing in Young Chris Wallace's head.  Like the other shows this all depends on who wins and by how much in Saturday's straw poll.  The round table is all subs, likely because they're on location in Iowa.  But if you have to have subs having Michael Barone on the panel is a good substitute for Brit and company.  It looks like it will be a good analysis discussion whichever way it turns out.

CNN Late Edition, in marked contrast to the other shows, leads with Iraq, Iran and Pakistan.  I doubt that they'll actually spend much time on Iraq, except to lament the lack of political progress and Maliki and company "cozying up" to Iran and they have Dhimmicrat (and former Admiral) Representative Joe Sestak (no, not one of the aliens from Land Of The Lost, despite what this guy says) to trash any talk of success.  They will surely spend considerable time on the "real danger" and "the country we should invade" (copyright Barack Obama for President Inc.), Pakistan.  The set up is perfect, with the Pakistan Ambassador to the US, Mahmud Ali Durrani, a former senior Pakistan Army General who insists that there are no Al Qaeda in Pakistan.  Wolfie will have a field day bashing Musharraf and Bush and will score points for Barack Obama at the same time.  A threefer and a CNN reporters dream.  Their Iowa Straw Poll coverage focuses on Duncan Hunter, one of those who will likely either be catapulted into the front ranks (or at least closer to it) or be forced to quit (or at least closer to it).  They also have David Dreier and Jim Talent as surrogates for Giulliani and Romney, respectively.  Finally they roll out Jaba the Pollster, Bill Schneider, to "explain it all" to us poor benighted ignoramuses.

ABC This Week rounds out the also ran interviews with Sam Brownback.  Like Hunter he will either be celebrating a great showing or explaining a poor one and fending off questions about his dropping out of the race.  For some unlikely reason they have also chosen to feature Dennis "Moonbat" Kucinich.  The only thing I can think is that they want to cast Brownback as a long shot extremist fringe candidate along the same lines as Kucinich.  They then provide free advertising for Leonardo DiCaprio's anti timber industry propaganda piece, The 11th Hour.  The skinny Michael Moore.  Curious George will lap it up.  Their roundtable is likely going to be obsessed with Iowa and the horse race questions, but the participants have largely been silent on the topic in recent weeks, so it's hard to tell.

The Saturday Shows look a bit more interesting than they have been in recent weeks.  The Beltway Boys, with Charles Krauthammer substituting for Fred Barnes (already over and I missed most of it) looked pretty good, but anything with Krauthammer is bound to be pretty good.  Fox News Watch (already over) did take on The National Review faux news story from Baghdad Diarist Scott Thomas Beauchamp, but they were very gentle and allowed Neal to vomit forth a screed where he attacked The Weekly Standard, the US Military and particularly the Bush administration as being much worse liars.  Par for the course.  They spent as much time and took as seriously the story of the closing of the Weekly World News tabloid (you know, the supermarket rag with stories like "Batboy" leering on its cover).  Seriously.  CNBCs Tim Russert Show is another repeat, but at least they bothered to list it on their web page this week.  Timmah trots out his interview of "an exciting new face in Washington," Barack Obama.  I think he felt that those nasty Republicans were going to be getting too much attention this weekend so they had to have something with one of the "good guys" as balance.  Finally The Journal Editorial Report leads with discussion of this weeks turmoil on Wall Street and in European and Asian markets.  If any group of journalists should be able to put it all into perspective, good or bad, they should.  They then have Stephen Hayes on to discuss Dick Cheney and the new book Hayes has written about him.  That should be interesting.

So, that's the line up.  I'm keeping to my recent schedule of posting this late, but at least still before the Sunday thread gets posted.  I hope you find it interesting and useful.

This should be cross posted to my blog at Wizards.townhall.com later today. I have finally caught up over their and I hope to keep up to date from now on. In fact I'm going to change the format just a bit when posting this in light of the success of the technique I used to get caught up. This analysis will still be first but then I'm going to try putting all of the show by show posts into one big Post number 1. If I end up falling back to separate posts you'll know that I found an upper limit to the length of FR posts.

This thread 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 valuable 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!

Mark Kilmer has posted his excellent preview of the Sunday shows over at Redstate.COM.

Politico.COM has their Sunday Talk Show Tip Sheet

[Phsstpok]

Show by Show Preview

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.

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The Saturday Shows For August 11, 2007

The Beltway Boys (Mort Kondrake, Fred Barnes)

• Meme:
  • What's the narrative from Iowa?  Who will win Saturday's straw poll?  How much hype and spin will the Beltway Boys put on each meaningless vote?
  • The unbearable lightness of being Hillary
• Topics:
  • What effect will the Iowa straw poll have on the 2008 race?
  • Hillary Clinton feels the heat of being the Democratic frontrunner
• Note: Charles Krauthammer substituted for Fred Barnes this week
  • The Baghdad Fabulist (Washington Post - Aug 10, 2007)
• 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:
  • Barack is going to be unfairly ignored this weekend, what with those nasty Republicans in Iowa getting all that attention
  • Lets trot out an old interview to try and recapture that excitement, shall we?
• Topics:
  • An encore of Tim’s interview last year with Barack Obama on "his" (ghost written?) campaign book
• Guests
  • Barack Obama
    • Author, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream
    • Off and Running (Commentary Magazine (review) - December 2006)
• CNBC's Tim Russert Show airs Saturday at 7pm, 10pm & 1am ET

Fox News Watch (Eric Burns)

• Meme:
  • Finally, a faux reporting scandal that they will actually report on! (it will be fun to watch Neal's head explode)
  • The dinosaur media is going extinct all around us and the only evidence they find is the closing of the Weekly World News?
• Topics:
  • Bogus in Baghdad? Uproar over reports in The New Republic written by a U.S. soldier in Iraq
  • The media zero in on the 2008 candidate's wives. Why?
  • Bye bye Weekly World News
• 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:
  • Okay, a little perspective on this weeks economic hysteria from some professionals who actually know what they're talking about
  • Is Dick Cheney really all that scary?
• Topics:
  • Opinion Journal web page: Of Great Interest
    • Turmoil in the credit markets. Will it sink the overall economy?
    • An interview with the author of a new book about Vice President Dick Cheney.
  • Fox News Channel web page
    • Dick Cheney — an in-depth look at one of history's most powerful and controversial vice presidents
    • Credit market woes: just how bad is the subprime problem?
• Guests
  • Stephen Hayes
    • Author, Cheney: The Untold Story of America's Most Powerful and Controversial Vice President
    • Inside Dick Cheney: 'Choose your friends carefully' (Salt Lake Tribune - Aug 7, 2007)
    • Wall Street Journal Praises Stephen Hayes' Biography of Dick Cheney (DePauw University, IN - Aug 5, 2007)
    • Feingold Seeks Censure Of Bush, Cheney (U.S. News & World Report, DC - Jul 23, 2007)
    • Why is This Man Gloomy? (Newsweek - Jul 30, 2007)
• 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

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The Sunday Shows For August 11, 2007

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NBC Meet The Press (Tim Russert)

• Meme:
  • The DLC vs the Kossacks!  Let's get ready to rumble!
  • Is Lil Timmah setting up Harold's "Sister Souljah" moment?  Is this about 2012 or 2016,or are they setting that stage for Hillary?
  • What's the narrative from Iowa?  Who won Saturday's straw poll?  How much hype and spin will Lil Timmah put on each meaningless vote?
  • Billy Graham may be the devil incarnate, just like all Christians, but he can't be all bad, he likes Hillary.
  • The politics of political reporting and the reporters who do the voodoo that they do in reporting about it
• Topics:
  • The leader of the DLC debates the direction of the Democratic Party and the 2008 elections with the KOSsack in charge
  • A political roundtable on the Iowa Straw Poll and the race for the White House
• Guests
  • Former Congressman Harold Ford, Jr., Democrat - Tennessee
    • Chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council | Bio
    • Our Chance to Capture the Center (Washington Post - Aug 6, 2007)
    • Harold Ford, Jr. Joins Criticism Of Yearly Kos (News Hounds, CA - Aug 9, 2007)
    • Democratic Dustup (Wall Street Journal - Aug 9, 2007)
    • The Centrists Didn’t Hold (New York Times - Jul 28, 2007)
    • In which Harold Ford mistakes FDR for Gerald Ford (BTC News - Aug 8, 2007)
    • Dems: Center Or Bust (Men's News Daily, CA - Aug 10, 2007)
    • Vanderbilt class maps strategies for 2008 presidential campaign (Vanderbilt University News, TN - Jul 20, 2007)
    • Among the centrists (Guardian Unlimited, UK - Aug 3, 2007)
    • No Presidential Candidates to DLC Meeting? Is This True, Harold? (Memphis Flyer, TN - Jul 22, 2007)
  • Markos Moulitsas
    • Founder and Editor of the DailyKos | Bio
    • Co-Author, "Crashing the Gate: Netroots, Grassroots, and the Rise of People-Powered Politics"
    • How We Seized the Mainstream (Washington Post - Aug 10, 2007)
    • Markos Moulitsas Tells YearlyKos Attendees ‘We Are The Center’ (NewsBusters - Aug 3, 2007)
    • The Rise of Kos (Washington Post - Aug 2, 2007)
    • A Netroots Founder Amid a Stock Scandal (New York Times - Aug 10, 2007)
    • The Againstocrats (City Journal, NY - Aug 10, 2007)
    • Kos on Clinton, DLC, GOP attacks (MSNBC - Aug 4, 2007)
    • Kos Calls Jim Webb a "Coward" (Town Hall, DC - Aug 8, 2007)
    • Kos Faithful Line Up Behind Clinton (uruknet.info, Italy - Aug 6, 2007)
    • Daily Kos: CIA Engineered Controlled Opposition? (The Daily Scare, OH - Aug 9, 2007)
  • Roundtable
    • Margaret Carlson
      • Columnist, Bloomberg News
      • Washington Editor, The Week Magazine
      • Margaret Carlson: A shameless Congress applauds 'ethics' law' (Salt Lake Tribune - Aug 8, 2007)
      • For Clinton, Offstage Debate Was Real Deal: Margaret Carlson (Bloomberg - Jul 26, 2007)
      • Margaret Carlson Regrets Lack of 'Will' to Raise Taxes as '$4,000 a Minute' Spent in Iraq (NewsBusters - Aug 3, 2007)
    • Michael Duffy
      • Assistant Managing Editor, Time Magazine
      • Co-author, The Preacher and the Presidents: Billy Graham in the White House
      • Praying with Presidents (TIME - Aug 9, 2007)
      • 'Time' Puts Horns on the Reverend Billy Graham (NewsBusters - Aug 10, 2007)
      • TIME Preview: Billy Graham Admires Hillary, and Worries About Bush and Iraq (Editor & Publisher - Aug 9, 2007)
    • Chuck Todd
      • Political Director, NBC News | Bio
      • Editor First Read: The Day In Politics blog at MSNBC
      • Editor The Hotline at National Journal (requires subscription/membership)
      • White House 2008 Rankings: The Republicans (Hotline at National Journal - Jul 30, 2007) Note: no subscription is required for this article at this time
      • White House 2008 Rankings: The Democrats (The Hotline at National Journal - Aug 6, 2007) Note: no subscription is required for this article at this time
      • Cream of the crop take note (Politico, DC - Jul 30, 2007)
      • Democratic Fight Night (Conde Nast Portfolio, NY - Aug 8, 2007)
    • Byron York
      • White House Correspondent, National Review
      • The Vast Left-Wing Establishment (National Review Online - Aug 2, 2007)
      • Bush and the Fairness Doctrine (National Review Online - Jul 13, 2007)
      • Fred Thompson: Criticism of My Wife Should Be Directed at Me (National Review Online - Aug 6, 2007)
• 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)

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CBS Face The Nation (Bob Schieffer)

• Meme:
  • What's the narrative from Iowa?  Who won Saturday's straw poll?  How much hype and spin will Ol' Bob put on each meaningless vote?
  • Mother of Mercy, is this the end of Mikey? (with apologies to Edward G. Robinson)
  • Mike Huckabee, may be the devil incarnate, just like all Christians, but he can't be all bad, he smacks that Mormon guy around.
  • The politics of political reporting and the reporters who do the voodoo that they do in reporting about it
• Topics:
  • 2008 Presidential Politics
• Guests
  • Mike Huckabee, Republican - Arkansas
    • Republican Presidential Candidate | Campaign web site | Bio
    • Former Governor of Arkansas
    • Momentary momentum for Huckabee? (Arkansas News, AR - Aug 11, 2007)
    • Brownback, Huckabee vie for conservative support (DetNews.com - Aug 11, 2007)
    • Brownback, Huckabee May Find Iowa Straw Poll a `Peasant-Maker' (Bloomberg - Aug 10, 2007)
    • PostTalk: Huckabee's Tough Talk About Romney (Washington Post - Aug 10, 2007) Note: includes link to video
    • State Democrats document Huckabee campaign (Arkansas News, AR - Aug 11, 2007)
    • Giuliani, Romney Should Consider Huckabee For Running Mate (Opinion Editorials, VA - Aug 11, 2007)
    • AMES: Setting the Scene (Atlantic Online - Aug 11, 2007)
    • Huckabee Goes After Romney (Town Hall, DC - Aug 9, 2007)
    • Huckabee weighs in on citizenship rights (Washington Times, DC - Aug 9, 2007)
    • Huckabee’s Hope (Town Hall, DC - Aug 8, 2007)
    David Yepsen
    • The Des Moines Register
    • David Yepsen's political blog at Des Moines Register
    • Questioner in ABC's Republican debate from Iowa, Sunday Aug 2, 2007
    • In Debate, Republicans Make the Case for Staying in Iraq (New York Times - Aug 5, 2007)
    • Paying for Bridge Repairs? (Des Moines Register - Aug 5, 2007)
    • Get Ready To Move Iowa’s Caucus Date (The Des Moines Register - Aug 8, 2007)
    • Obama Bombs on the Bomb (The Des Moines Register - Aug 3, 2007)
  • Karen Tumulty
    • TIME Magazine
    • Contributer to The Swampland political blog at Time
    • South Carolina Primary Move Puts Election Calendar in Flux (PBS News Hour (transcript) - Aug 9, 2007)
    • NEWS FLASH: The 2008 Election Will Be Held in 2008 (The Swampland blog at Time.COM - Aug 10, 2007)
    • Rudy in Iowa (The Swampland blog at Time.COM - Aug 10, 2007)
    • Why Do We Suck? and Other Questions Political Journalists Asked Themselves at YearlyKos (Huffington Post, NY - Aug 6, 2007)
  • Jim VandeHei
    • Co-founder and executive editor Politico.com | Profile
    • CBS's Hannah Storm Focuses On Giuliani Hit Piece (NewsBusters - Aug 6, 2007)
    • Why the surge might not be stopped (Politico.com - Aug 1, 2007)
    • The Oversight Congress: Trouble for Bush (Politico.com - May 22, 2007)
• Face The Nation contact information - ftn@cbsnews.com

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Fox News Sunday (Chris Wallace)

• Meme:
  • What's the narrative from Iowa?  Who won Saturday's straw poll?  How much hype and spin will Young Chris put on each meaningless vote?
  • Is Mitt Romney the devil incarnate, just like all Mormons?
  • The politics of political reporting and the reporters who do the voodoo that they do in reporting about it
  • The topic that must be ignored, denied or spun by the rest of the DBM: signs of success in Iraq
• Topics:
  • Live from Des Moines, the day after the Iowa Straw Poll
    • Thousands of Republicans prepare to descend on Ames, Iowa tomorrow for the straw poll meant to gauge support for the GOP’s presidential contenders
    • An exclusive interview with the overwhelming favorite to win, Mitt Romney
      • How will the outcome affect his current strategy moving forward in an accelerated race for the party’s nomination?
      • His stance on some controversial issues
  • Power Player: Ann Romney
    • Wife of Governor Romney discusses life on the campaign trail
  • Fox News Sunday panel
    • The Iowa Straw Poll
    • The Democrats’ campaign efforts this week
  • Fox News essay: Coming up on Fox News Sunday
• Guests
  • Former Governor Mitt Romney, Republican - Massachusetts
    • Republican presidential candidate | Campaign web site | Bio
    • Poll finds Romney leading crowd in much-watched Iowa Straw Poll (San Francisco Chronicle - Aug 11, 2007)
    • Romney upbeat on eve of straw poll (Boston Globe - Aug 10, 2007)
    • Paul Camp May Catch Romney’s Bus (New York Times - Aug 10, 2007)
    • At straw poll, group attacks Romney on Mormonism (Boston Globe - Aug 11, 2007)
    • Do Americans Have Faith In Romney? (CBS News - Aug 10, 2007)
    • Was Willard `Mitt' Romney lying then, or is he lying now? (Chicago Tribune - Aug 10, 2007)
    • Romney Family Rallies (New York Times - Aug 10, 2007)
    • Romney praises immigration crackdown (Boston Globe - Aug 10, 2007)
    • Romney Adapts Business Plan to Politics (Washington Post - Aug 10, 2007)
    • Romney suggests cutting funds to 'sanctuary cities' (Boston Globe - Aug 10, 2007)
    • Romney Confronts the War in Iowa (New York Times - Aug 11, 2007)
    • Long Line of Chickenhawks (ZNet - Aug 9, 2007) Note: written by Cindy Sheehan
    • Romney pigs out at Iowa State Fair (Politico - Aug 11, 2007)
    • A different kind of flip flop (MSNBC First Read: The Day In Politics - Aug 10, 2007)
  • Power Player: Ann Romney
    • Wife of Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney | Bio
    • Romney Girls (MSNBC - Aug 9, 2007)
    • Romney is one of the regulars at NH retreat (Boston Globe - Aug 5, 2007)
    • Mitt & Ann Romney: Modern-day Eisenhowers? (Boston Herald - Jul 26, 2007)
  • Fox News Sunday panel
    • Carl Cameron
      • Fox News Chief Political Correspondent
      • Carl Cameron Reports On Romney's Morals Crusade (News Hounds, CA - Jul 21, 2007)
      • South Carolina GOP to Force Iowa Caucuses into 2007 (FOX News - Aug 8, 2007)
      • Trouble in Fred Thompson's 'Non-Campaign' (Fox News - Jul 25, 2007)
    • Michael Barone
      • US News and World Report | Barone Blog
      • Resident Scholar American Enterprise Institute | Profile
      • Perceptions of Iraq War Are Starting to Shift (Creators Syndicate column via AEI - Aug 8, 2007)
      • Is the Surge Working? (Barone Blog - Jul 31, 2007)
      • Is the Surge Working? (continued) (Barone Blog - Aug 9, 2007)
    • Mike Glover
      • Associated Press Political Reporter
      • Fierce Fight for No. 2 in Straw Poll (ABC News - Aug 10, 2007)
      • Iowa picks Christmas over caucus, waits for '08 (Seattle Times - Aug 11, 2007)
      • Thompson Plans Initial Foray Into Iowa (Washington Post - Aug 9, 2007)
      • Analysis: GOP Rivals Walk Delicate Line (FOX News - Aug 6, 2007)
• Fox News Sunday contact information - FNS@foxnews.com

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CNN Late Edition (Wolf Blitzer)

• Meme:
  • The topic that must be ignored, denied or spun by the the DBM: there aren't really signs of success in Iraq, are there?
  • Not to be alarmist or anything, but WTF is up with Pakistan?  Maybe Obama wasn't all that naive?
  • Proof, absolute proof, that the bridge collapse was all Bush's fault!  That's what we need, because he's getting way too much credit for the way he's responded to the situation.
  • And now the most important question of the week: is Giuliani's advisor Dreier really gay?
  • Romeny's advisor is Jim Talent?  Who lost in Missouri because of Michael J. Fox and Rush Limbaugh?  Brilliant move, Mitt.
• Topics:
  • Iraq, Iran, and the fight against terror – what’s next for the U.S.?
  • Insight on the race for president from inside the campaigns
• Guests
  • Representative Duncan Hunter, Republican - California
    • House web site | Bio
    • Republican presidential candidate | Campaign web site | Bio
    • Duncan Hunter kicks off soapbox speechs at fair (DesMoinesRegister.com, IA - Aug 9, 2007)
    • At fair, five GOP candidates address health care concerns (DesMoinesRegister.com, IA - Aug 11, 2007)
    • It’s Time for Them to Go (RealClearPolitics, IL - Aug 9, 2007)
    • Duncan Hunter's toughest fight yet (Los Angeles Times, CA - Jul 12, 2007)
    • Conservatives Need To Rally Behind Duncan Hunter (The Chattanoogan, TN - Jul 30, 2007)
    • Iowa Dispatch: All's Fair At The State Fair (RealClearPolitics Blog - Aug 10, 2007)
    • Reassessed house keeps Hunter in tax struggle (San Diego Union Tribune - Jul 23, 2007)
    • Councilman seeks Hunter's seat in Congress (San Diego Union Tribune - Jul 20, 2007)
  • Representative Joe Sestak, Democrat - Pennsylvania
    • House web site | Bio
    • Senate Armed Services Committee Member
    • "Progress" in Iraq and the Bush Administration's Credibility Gap (Political Affairs Magazine, NY - Aug 9, 2007)
    • Internet-based PAC driving Democratic push (Boston Globe - Aug 6, 2007)
    • Rep. Sestak On FISA: ‘We Should Have Stood Up And Said No’ (Think Progress, DC - Aug 8, 2007)
    • House Dem. cautions on speed of US troop pullout from Iraq (GovExec.com, DC - Aug 7, 2007)
    • Lobbyists, Boos, and a Candidate's Car Gets Towed (Huffington Post, NY - Aug 5, 2007)
    • Five more congressmen sign on against "don't ask, don't tell" (The Advocate, CA - Aug 6, 2007)
    • Vietnam vet Congressman supports gays in the military (PinkNews.co.uk, UK - Aug 7, 2007)
  • Secretary Mary Peters
    • Secretary of Transportation | Bio
    • $50 million from US to help in bridge recovery (Detroit Free Press - Aug 11, 2007)
    • Bridge Probe Zeroes In On Steel Joint Plates (Crusading Guide, Ghana - Aug 11, 2007)
    • U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters Deploys Team of Experts to Assist with Minneapolis Bridge Collapse (PressZoom (press release), Netherlands - Aug 7, 2007)
    • Bush surveys collapsed bridge, pledges to cut red tape in rebuilding (Arizona Republic, AZ - Aug 4, 2007)
    • Bush cool to federal gas tax increase (Minnesota Public Radio, MN - Aug 9, 2007)
    • Inquiry Begun Into Bridge Inspections (Washington Post - Aug 4, 2007)
  • Representative David Dreier, Republican - California
    • House web site | Bio
    • Giuliani campaign advisor
    • Presidential hopefuls making state a campaign priority (Whittier Daily News, CA - Aug 5, 2007)
    • Giuliani Campaign Announces Chair and Co-Chairs in California (Associated Content, CO - Jul 18, 2007)
    • More prison expense help (Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, CA - Jul 30, 2007)
    • GOP leader warned King about Mollohan amendment (The Hill, DC - Jul 30, 2007)
    • Rules Committee row causes Sessions to storm out (The Hill, DC - Jul 27, 2007)
    • Federal dollars coming to area (Whittier Daily News, CA - Jul 29, 2007)
    • Gold Line Takes Funding Hit (Pasadena Independent, CA - Aug 2, 2007)
  • Former Senator Jim Talent, Republican - Missouri
    • Romney Campaign advisor
    • Republicans side with Hillary Clinton (Telegraph.co.uk, United Kingdom - Aug 5, 2007)
    • Candidates spend heavily on voter lists (Boston Globe - Jul 18, 2007)
    • Conservative Republicans seek voice in presidential contest (St. Louis Post-Dispatch - Aug 1, 2007)
    • Debate Opens Elimination Round for GOP (Washington Post, United States - Aug 6, 2007)
    • For Missouri, Stem Cell Measure Changes Little (New York Times - Aug 9, 2007)
  • Mahmud Ali Durrani
    • Pakistani Ambassador to the United States | Bio
    • US Intel Is ‘Absolutely Incorrect’ (Newsweek - Aug 6, 2007)
    • Pakistan Ambassador to US: What Safe Havens? (TPMmuckraker, NY - Aug 6, 2007)
    • Ambassador Durrani denies al-Qaeda safe haven in Pakistan (Associated Press of Pakistan, Pakistan - Jul 13, 2007)
    • Taliban a step ahead of US assault (Asia Times - Aug 11, 2007)
    • Pakistan: Concern over nukes as al Qaeda camps empty (The Fourth Rail - Aug 11, 2007)
    • Maybe Obama's not such a 'naive' rogue after all (Stockton Record, CA - Aug 11, 2007)
    • Court judgement strengthens Musharraf: Ambassador Durrani (Daily Times, Pakistan - Jul 22, 2007)
  • Bill Schneider
    • CNN Senior Political Analyst
    • In Iowa, it's a whole other presidential race (CNN - Jul 27, 2007)
    • For Clinton, debate could turn into 7 against 1 (CNN - Jul 23, 2007)
    • Thompson's 'virtual' campaign experiencing real bumps (CNN - Jul 30, 2007)
    • Obama Targets Clinton At YouTube Debate (U.S. News & World Report, DC - Jul 24, 2007)

• CNN Late Edition (web page for comments)

---

ABC This Week (George Stephanopoulos)

• Meme:
  • What's the narrative from Iowa?  Who won Saturday's straw poll?  How much hype and spin will Curious George Steponallofus put on each meaningless vote?
  • Mother of Mercy, is this the end of Sam? (with apologies to Edward G. Robinson)
  • Who put the loon in luna, lunatic?  Who put the sham in shamalamdingdong?  Dennis, that's who!
• Topics:
  • One day after the Ames Straw Poll in Iowa, Senator Sam Brownback, R-Kan., joins George to talk about
    • the results
    • the campaign
    • his recent attacks on fellow contender Mitt Romney
    • will he stay in the race?
    • what are his plans for the future?
  • Curious George Steponallofus interviews the candidate closest to his physical stature, Dennis Kucinich, about
    • the Democratic field and his longshot campaign for the presidency
    • what drives him to stay in the race?
    • what he'll do now that his only source for information, the Weekly World News, is closing it's doors (not really)
  • Voices segment: actor Leonardo DiCaprio on his new environmental film "The 11th Hour."
• Guests
  • Senator Sam Brownback, Republican - Kansas
    • Senate web site | Bio
    • Republican presidential candidate | Campaign web site | Bio
    • Brownback, Huckabee vie for conservative support (DetNews.com, MI - Aug 11, 2007)
    • Brownback, Huckabee May Find Iowa Straw Poll a `Peasant-Maker' (Bloomberg - Aug 10, 2007)
    • Brownback faces crucial test in Iowa straw poll (Kansas City Star, MO - Aug 9, 2007)
    • Brownback: position 'good' going into straw poll (Des Moines Register - Aug 8, 2007)
    • Brownback likely will stay the course (The Hutchinson News - Aug 8, 2007)
    • Brownback to visit Field of Dreams Friday (All American Patriots (press release), Sweden - Aug 10, 2007)
    • Brownback as Dark Horse? (Washington Post - Aug 9, 2007)
    • Brownback: Absentee Senator? (WIBW, KS - Aug 10, 2007)
  • Representative Dennis Kucinich, Democrat - Ohio
    • House web site | Bio
    • Kucinich charms local liberals (Santa Cruz Sentinel, CA - Aug 11, 2007)
    • Clinton And Kucinich Bring Campaigns To San Francisco (abc7news.com, CA - Aug 10, 2007)
    • LGBT Issues Presidential Forum Sparks Debate (Political Affairs Magazine, NY - Aug 10, 2007)
    • Vandalism at Kucinich HQ after gay marriage support comment (WKYC-TV, OH - Aug 10, 2007)
    • Kucinich Helps the AFL-CIO Prove a Point (Yahoo! News - Aug 7, 2007)
    • Kucinich stands up for child citizens (People's Weekly World - Aug 9, 2007)
    • Kucinich Interested In Legal Action Against Voting Machine Companies (Brad Blog - Aug 9, 2007)
    • Federal Raids Against Medical Marijuana to End If Democrat Elected (Wired News - Aug 10, 2007)
    • Democratic Presidential Candidates Vow to Overturn 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Military Policy (Associated Content, CO - Aug 10, 2007)
  • Voices segment: actor Leonardo DiCaprio
    • How about a Sunday morning chat with Leonardo DiCaprio? (Orlando Sentinel, FL - Aug 11, 2007)
    • DiCaprio disappointed by presidential hopefuls (Digital Spy, UK - Aug 11, 2007)
    • Canadian activists featured in DiCaprio documentary (Ottawa Citizen,  Canada - Aug 11, 2007)
    • DiCaprio takes on forest industry (Canada.com - Aug 9, 2007)
  • Roundtable
    • George Will
      • Do high school students have free-speech rights? (Kankakee Daily Journal, IL - Aug 9, 2007)
      • White-Haired Guy Gets Mad (Newsweek - Aug 13, 2007 issue)
      • A fitting irony greets McCain’s campaign (Kansas City Star, MO - Jul 20, 2007)
    • Fareed Zakaria
      • 'Cathedral Thinking' (Newsweek International - Aug. 20-27, 2007 issue)
      • A Cure for Oil Addicts (Newsweek - Jul 28, 2007)
    • Torie Clarke
      • Pentagon's Clarke Quits, Citing Personal Reasons (Washington Post - Jun 17, 2003)
    • Donna Brazile
      • Hillary still has long way to go (Orangeburg Times Democrat, SC - Aug 11, 2007)
      • Democratic dilemma: Explain or complain (Washington Times - Aug 6, 2007)
• ABC This Week comment web page

 

[Phsstpok]

Ping

The Weekend Talk Show Preview Thread is up

It will also be cross posted to my blog at

http://wizards.townhall.com/

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

... And they're off!  Fast out of the gate is Mitt Romney, heavy favorite and officially the man with the most to lose in Saturday's Ames Iowa Straw Poll.  Daddy's boy Chris Wallace has Romney and his wife Ann on for the inevitable day after appearance.  You know he's hoping for a juicy "surprised and saddened loser of the all important straw poll" to be sitting across from him on their set. ...

... Largely absent from the shows this weekend is discussion of Iraq.  Only Fox News Watch on Saturday and CNN Late Edition on Sunday even list Iraq in their topics.  The other shows may discuss things in the Mideast, particularly in their roundtables, but I take the absence of highlighted coverage a sure sign that we must actually be winning over there. ...

[RobFromGa]

bump

[Alas Babylon!]

Hot today in Memphis?

It sure is hot here! I noticed it was 99 in Memphis. It was 105 here in Tallassee, Alabama. 107 in Montgomery. This heat wave was supposed to be over yesterday. Must be global warming, or perhaps since Congress is on Summer recess maybe they’ve brought all the hot air they normally spew up there down here!

[Bahbah]

Given the make up of this weeks roundtable panels on most of the shows it might be interesting to see them talk about the politics of their own profession and the distortions they bring about in their reporting.

The discussion of the TNR debacle was perhaps the worst I have ever seen. No one on the panel said that the whole point of the "reporting" was to prove that going to war makes monsters of our tender and sensitive boys...but you have to lie to make that point because it doesn't. They don't have a clue about the military. The whole segment was offensive in the extreme. Angry Bahbah. Grrrr.

[Bahbah]

Harold Ford is a deeply creepy guy.

[BusterBear]

Bush’s fault.

[Phsstpok]

Oh lordy. There are voting machine problems in the Iowa Straw Poll, and the Paulistas are jumping ugly all over it!

[Phsstpok]

From the LIVE THREAD: Ames, Iowa Straw Poll (Romney Wins; Huckabee In Second) thread (edited to make order consistent)

Gov Mitt Romney won the 2007 Ames straw poll, receiving 4516 votes, or 31%.

In a surprise, Gov. Mike Huckabee finished second with 2587 votes at 18.1%

3. Sen. Sam Brownback with 2192 votes and 15.3%
4. Tom Tancredo with 1961 votes, 13.7%.
5. Ron Paul with 1305 votes, and 9.1%
6. Tommy Thompson, 1,009 votes, 7.3%
7. Fred Thomson with 231 votes.
8. Rudy Giuliani with 183 votes.
9. Duncan Hunter with 174 votes.
10. John McCain with 101 votes.
11. John Cox with 41 votes.

Iowa state auditor David Vaudt unofficially certified the results.

14,203 ballots were cast. http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/

CBS Face the Nation has Huckabee tomorrow, “big get interview” for Ol’ Bob.

Fox has Mitt Romney. Watch Chris Wallace try to spin this as a disappointment for Mitt.

CNN has Duncan Hunter to kick around, along with Jim Talent representing Romney and David Dreier representing Giuliani. The spinning will be furious. Hunter will be pressed hard about dropping out.

ABC has Sam Brownback with a strong third. Interesting to see how his and Huckabee’s approach will compare.

[Digger]

Rep. David Dreier, R-Glendora, campaign adviser to Rudy Giuliani. You are judged by your associates. Both RINOs deserve each other.

[rodguy911]

Excellent job as usual “P”.