OxBlog

Monday, January 09, 2006

# Posted 12:52 AM by Ariel David Adesnik  

SO MUCH FOR ORIGINALITY ON SUNDAY MORNING: Meet the Press, Face the Nation and This Week each decided to gear up for the Alito confirmation hearings by inviting a pair of senators, one Republican and one Democratic, to do some pre-emptive spin on the confirmation process. On NBC it was Cornyn vs. Schumer. On ABC, Kennedy vs. Brownback. On CBS, Specter vs. Leahy.

Since I have an early meeting tomorrow, I'm going to just grade the senators' performances instead of going into greater detail about what they said:

John Cornyn: B-. Anyone can read the talking points into a camera.

Chuck Schumer: B+. Pure spin, but at least he sounds passionate and intelligent. But facing a sharper opponent, he might've been torn to shreds.

Ted Kennedy: A-. The only one of the six who wasn't boring. But will never get an 'A' until he returns to reality from his alternate far-left universe.

Sam Brownback: B. Great joke about Ted Kennedy's fashion sense.

Arlen Specter: B. Far and away the most reasonable. Far and away the most boring.

Pat Leahy: B-. Manages to sound intelligent and responsible while belittling Alito as a Dick Cheney stooge who will do the Cheney's bidding on the bench.

Well, while I'm at it I may as well grade the hosts, too:

Tim Russert: A-. Punctured a lot of his guests' nonsense, but didn't come up with one of his patented knock-out blows.

George Stephanopoulos: B. Couldn't keep Kennedy under control. On the other hand, Kennedy out of control is pretty entertaining.

Bob Schieffer: B. As reliable and friendly as a Toyota. BAbout as interesting as a Toyota.

And when Fox and CNN start doing podcasts, you'll hear about their shows, too.
(3) opinions -- Add your opinion

Comments:
Well, Ted Kennedy and NARAL aren't my cup of tea ... but "FAR left"? Hmmm. Mao and Lenin are far left. Hitler and Ahmenijabad are far right. Can we leave the "fars" out of it?
 
So you have to be a hardline Communist to be far left? I'm talking American politics here. Dennis Kucinich -- far left. Pat Robertson -- far right. Ted Kennedy & NARAL? Not too far from Kucinich.
 
Anyone who has vivid recollections of the "Goldwater" presidency is "Far" something.
 
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