Justin
Moderator Emeritus
I happened to be channel surfing this morning, and landed on CSPAN. Now, I really, really want to like CSPAN, but I just can't get past the fact that it's boring as all get out. Anyway, the program was a re-airing of a book-expo discussion that happened last month, and one that I've heard a few rumblings about. It was a 3-way discussion between Bill O'Reilly 
Molly Ivins and Al Franken . The whole thing was moderated by former congressional member Pat Schroeder .
Now, I dislike Bill O'Reilly intently. Generally speaking, he's wrong about 90% of the time, but occasionally, like a blind chimp with a .357, he will hit a target with spectacular results.
The target was Al Franken. Franken went on at length about how Bill had worked for Inside Edition, basically a tabloid tv show, and had on numerous occasions mistakenly made reference to an award that IE had not won. He also made a bunch of other infammatory remarks about O'Reilly and the right in general.
O'Reilly, of course, would have none of it, at one point calling Franken an idiot, and repeatedly telling him to shut up before rebuking him. Sure, I don't like O'Reilly, but Al Franken is a simpering dolt in the grandest sense of the term, and one in desperate need of a royal smackdown.
Meanwhile, the oh-so wrinkly Ivins tried to calm the boys down by playing to both sides with that godawful Texan accent of hers. I'm convinced there's no way in Hell that's a real accent. She probably just puts the thing on in the morning after she gets out of the shower so she won't come across as an elitist snob, which she oh-so-obviously is.
Roughly five seconds into the panel discussion Pat Schroeder was relegated to the sidelines, which seems to be a bad place for a moderator of a public panel discussion. She was an utterly terrible public speaker, and had no handle of the discussion at hand. Pat is a drooling mouth-breather of the classic style. I'd like to say I was surprised that someone so bereft of the ability to think was ever elected to congress, but I'm cynical enough to recognize that most people who are public servants found those jobs because they had absolutely nothing to offer the private sector.
Other high points of the show included a bit where they did a promo for Tom Daschle's new book. The host was interviewing the publisher while the camera panned over Dashcle smiling and signing autographs. If you watch closely you can see a girl approach the senator and give him what looks like one of those little copies of the Constitution and Bill of Rights that the Cato Institute puts out.
Also entertaining was the bit where Franken, author of such fantastically insightful tomes on public policy as 'Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot' goes on to lament the death of civility in public discourse.
Oh, and fans of DBZ, keep an eye on the background during the final bit where they let Franken and Ivins take calls from viewers.
This was truly the most entertaining two hours of C-SPAN ever. C-SPAN will be re-running the discussion again and I highly recommend it. Truly entertaining TV.
Molly Ivins and Al Franken . The whole thing was moderated by former congressional member Pat Schroeder .Now, I dislike Bill O'Reilly intently. Generally speaking, he's wrong about 90% of the time, but occasionally, like a blind chimp with a .357, he will hit a target with spectacular results.
The target was Al Franken. Franken went on at length about how Bill had worked for Inside Edition, basically a tabloid tv show, and had on numerous occasions mistakenly made reference to an award that IE had not won. He also made a bunch of other infammatory remarks about O'Reilly and the right in general.
O'Reilly, of course, would have none of it, at one point calling Franken an idiot, and repeatedly telling him to shut up before rebuking him. Sure, I don't like O'Reilly, but Al Franken is a simpering dolt in the grandest sense of the term, and one in desperate need of a royal smackdown.
Meanwhile, the oh-so wrinkly Ivins tried to calm the boys down by playing to both sides with that godawful Texan accent of hers. I'm convinced there's no way in Hell that's a real accent. She probably just puts the thing on in the morning after she gets out of the shower so she won't come across as an elitist snob, which she oh-so-obviously is.
Roughly five seconds into the panel discussion Pat Schroeder was relegated to the sidelines, which seems to be a bad place for a moderator of a public panel discussion. She was an utterly terrible public speaker, and had no handle of the discussion at hand. Pat is a drooling mouth-breather of the classic style. I'd like to say I was surprised that someone so bereft of the ability to think was ever elected to congress, but I'm cynical enough to recognize that most people who are public servants found those jobs because they had absolutely nothing to offer the private sector.
Other high points of the show included a bit where they did a promo for Tom Daschle's new book. The host was interviewing the publisher while the camera panned over Dashcle smiling and signing autographs. If you watch closely you can see a girl approach the senator and give him what looks like one of those little copies of the Constitution and Bill of Rights that the Cato Institute puts out.
Also entertaining was the bit where Franken, author of such fantastically insightful tomes on public policy as 'Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot' goes on to lament the death of civility in public discourse.
Oh, and fans of DBZ, keep an eye on the background during the final bit where they let Franken and Ivins take calls from viewers.
This was truly the most entertaining two hours of C-SPAN ever. C-SPAN will be re-running the discussion again and I highly recommend it. Truly entertaining TV.