OxBlog

# Posted 8:56 PM by Ariel David Adesnik

SUNDAY MORNING ROUND-UP: Somehow, John Murtha wrangled another lead-off spot on Meet the Press, followed by the CEOs of Chevron, XXX and ConocoPhillips. Tony Snow was the headliner on Face The Nation, followed by Joe Biden and Lindsey Graham. On ABC, World Cup football booted George Stephanopoulos.

Murtha: C-. Abysmal. Clearly withdrawn from the reality-based community. His newest nonsense is to insist that we would've nailed Zarqawi even if we had already withdrawn all of our soldiers from Iraq. Why? Because we hit him with an airstrike. As for the GIs who took custody of Zarqawi after the bombing (with help from the Iraqis who supposedly hate us), Murtha doesn't say.

The CEOs: B-. They were indistinguishable from one another. They evaded all of the controversies that surround energy policy and national security. Above all, they desperately sought to avoid offending the consumers who are lining their pockets. Not one of them had the guts to say, "You know why gas costs $3 a gallon? Because millions of Americans think driving an SUV is their constitutional right. So don't pretend we're forcing you to hand over your hard-earned money."

To be fair, I probably wouldn't say anything like that if I were an oil company CEO. If I were earning billions thanks to the American consumer, I would flatter him as well.

Tony Snow: B+. He's really good at what he does. He tells you when he won't answer your question. He gives answers that sound like answers, not talking points, which is virtually impossible for a White House press secretary.

Joe Biden: B-. Enough Biden already. He just repeats himself loudly.

Lindsey Graham: B+. He's a reasonable guy and he sounds like he's being sincere. I think it's because he really is. I like him and I could see him being on the VP short-list in 2008.

Hmm. An usual week. It isn't often that one party scores so much higher than the other on the OxBlog round-up. But if you assume that the two American CEOs vote Republican, then I guess it balances out. As for the hosts:

Russert: B-. Either stop inviting Murtha on your show or stop him from rambling incoherently.

Schieffer: B.

See ya next week.

(9) opinions -- Add your opinion

Comments:

Gee, David - only a C- for Murtha? Just a few weeks ago you cut McConnell's grade from a B+ to a D (and somewhat deservedly) for his unsupportable that Democrats will "wave the white flag" when they're in the majority...

Murtha not only comes out and says we should wave the white flag in Iraq, but cites the retreat from Somalia -- the last time the Democrats were in the majority -- *and* he makes the statement that Rove is sitting around on his "big fat" ass, without a care about the lives of our troops.

Your grades are great, but sometimes I get the feeling you're not sticking to the same curve week-to-week.

# posted by

Anonymous : 10:59 PM

I think all the oil company CEOs are Americans.

# posted by

Anonymous : 11:45 PM

I'll be the first to admit that there's a lot of subjectivity to this exercise (although I do try to be consistent.)

I guess McConnell just had farther to fall. I give out very few D's. Those few are intended as punishments. For Murtha, this was just more of the same, so I stuck with the baseline C-.

# posted by

Ariel David Adesnik : 12:00 AM

Hmm. That second comment just popped up after I entered my first.

I said two CEOs, not three, because one seemed to have a foreign accent, possibly British.

# posted by

Ariel David Adesnik : 12:02 AM

Yeah "Abysmal" should be an F, no?

# posted by

Anonymous : 12:14 AM

Nope. My curve has a very low standard deviation, so it very hard to go above B+ or below B-. An 'F' would have to be something so bad people remember it years later.

# posted by

Ariel David Adesnik : 12:20 AM

"An 'F' would have to be something so bad people remember it years later."

So like when Dean said on MTP he had "no idea how many troops are in Iraq".

I've seen Snow at White House briefings. He is terrible. No matter how you look at it.

# posted by

Anonymous : 9:58 AM

Yes yes, Tim Russert is fine and all that. But not once have you graded the Maury Povich, Connie Chung program on MSNBC! And you call yourself a legitimate current events blog...

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