The Center Does Not Hold, Or Does It?

Here is an interesting perspective on Evan Bayh's retirement announcement, and the circumstances surrounding his reasoning. 

Evan Bayh's farewell by Joe Conason, Salon.com

I found the author's point interesting: while Bayh blamed both Republican and Democrat "extremists" for the gridlock in Washington, almost every policy and bill has been watered down and rewritten to include centrists and whatever Republicans would cross over to vote for it (none have). 

Oh Snap! Obama Takes On House Republicans

There was none of the tradition of Prime Minister's Questions nor the artificial structure of a televised debate, but Friday President Obama faced some of his Republican critics at the House Republican Conference's retreat in Baltimore.  By most accounts, even some Republican ones, the President did very well.  Some said that he came out on top.  Here are a few viewpoints:

Mike Madden at Salon.com

His comments are followed by ones by Joan Walsh and Alex Koppelman.

Daniela Perdomo at Alternet.org

Susie Madrak at Crooks and Liars

Heather at Crooks and Liars

I tend to agree with Joan Walsh: this is the guy we voted for in 2008.  We need more of this type of take-it-to-em leadership.  If only this would invigorate Obama and the Democrats to go back and demand a true public option.

If We Have To Explain, They Would Not Understand

All I seem to hear is how Republicans feel there is a double standard.  After all, a Republican Senate Leader (Trent Lott) made some racially insensitive remarks and he had to resign.  Harry Reid, a Democrat Senate Leader, made some racially insensitive remarks and where is the outrage?  No Democrat is calling for his head and, more troubling, the general public seems not to care all that much.

I think I can explain the difference.  Guess which Party's supporters have been seen with these:

And they wonder why their Party has no credibility and less sympathy when they cry "Racism".

Sunday Will Never Be The Same

It appears that an announcement naming Ted Koppel as the new host of "This Week" is imminent, replacing George Stephanopolous.  What this will do to ABC's Sunday morning news show, and it's audience, is still up in the air.  Will the older, familiar Koppel not only hold the current audience but continue the gains "This Week" has made in the ratings against "Meet the Press"?

Here is an interesting article on the state of Sunday morning talk from Politico:

Sunday morning talk

I used to watch the Sunday morning shows religiously, to the point where I used to watch "This Week" from 9-10, "Face the Nation" from 10:30-11 and "Meet the Press" from 11-12, right up to the NFL pregame show.  About a year ago I realized that these shows have devolved from bona fide interview shows to infomercials.  The Republicans have their talking points, the Democrats have theirs and ne'er the twain shall meet.  You will seldom, if ever, get an unscripted honest moment from any of the guests regardless of political stripe.  Everyone is afraid of conceding anything to the other side, particularly the Republicans.  Not only do they have to worry about the Democrats taking them to task for doing so, now the Tea Partiers are on the prod for waffling Republicans.  To be sure, the guests know what they are going to say before the cameras roll and you could not get them off point with a bayonet. 

This is probably another example of how the internet has changed media, for better or worse.  Where the Sunday morning talk shows would have been must see tv even ten years ago, now they are a throwback.  In my opinion, a thinking person can get much more reliable and nuanced information from the internet. 

So, are the networks conceding the Sunday morning show to the over 45 audience?  Is that the reason for Koppel instead of a younger host like Terry Moran or Jake Tapper?  I thought Terry Moran brought up a great point when he asked Counterterror Advisor John Brennan why Facebook and Google can make thousands of connections between bits of data in seconds but our national security computers could not do the same with the attempted Christmas Day bombing.  Would an older host have made the same comparision?