My Whatever World in Maine

RIP, Tim

Tim Russert died of a heart attack yesterday afternoon-about the time I was eating lunch, apparently-and for a political and news junkie like myself, that is the equivalent of the death of Valentino. It seems especially cruel that he died in the midst of what is shaping up to be the most groundbreaking presidential campaign in this country's history.

The punditocracy and politicians around the news world are in deep mourning, calling Russert "a giant," "transformative" and "the embodiment of journalistic integrity". Russert was certainly one of the hardest-working guys on television-you'd see him working a primary until the wee hours of the morning, and then show up on "Today" at 7am for an analysis. He was all over the news shows especially at this time of year. I enjoyed listening to his analysis of what was going on under the surface of the campaigns, ie, this is what is going on in this camp, this is what this candidate needs to do to shore up this voting bloc, this is what is going on in this war room. I also liked the one-on-one interview show he did on CNBC, usually with a political or cultural figure who had just written a book. He just seemed like a very approachable, smart guy, and he always knew what he was talking about, which is more than you can say for a whole lot of what passes for journalists these days.   

Although the rest of the world is lauding what they say is Tim's hardnosed way of interviewing his MTP guests, I admit I didn't see it that way. I frankly wasn't always a fan of his interviewing style-although I often watched "Meet the Press," I  would often find myself screaming at the television over his softball tactics with many of his more controversial guests, particularly his lack of follow-up. He'd ask what might be a good initial question, get a completely self-serving answer-like the statement made a million times on that show that Saddam Hussein posed an immediate threat-and then not adequately follow up on it or challenge it (not that any of the MSM does, but I digress). That drove me insane. But I figured that what made him the top Sunday newsshow was his ability to get the big shots on, and he couldn't alienate them too much or he's lose his bread and butter. I was also really annoyed at his propensity (again, common amongst mainstream news media outlets) of mixing in partisan conservative commentators in a panel of what was ostensibly objective news reporters-Peggy Noonan or Kate O'Bierne or Robert Novak's comments given the same amount of weight as those from John Harwood or Gwen Ifill or Andrea Mitchell. Rarely do I remember seeing a similar deference given to someone from the left-while the National Review was always well represented, I don't remember the last time I saw a Nation writer given the same privilege. It was bullshit, and more than once I emailed the show's producers to tell them so.

Still, Sunday mornings won't be the same without him, and NBC will be hard put to fill those shoes with someone else with his mix of charisma and skill (I admit I am rooting for the MTP gig to go to Chris Matthews, who, absent the mandate to shout down and be rude to his guests, might be an excellent fit here). RIP, Tim. You'll be missed in this household.

A Sheep in Wolf's Clothing

Just in case you yourself didn't know, this is what George Bush and John McCain have accused Barack Obama of wanting to do. Just substitute "Israel" for "Czechoslovakia", and a Mahmoud Ahmandinejad wolf for the Hitler wolf and you get the basic idea:

I cannot say this enough times: Fuck you, George, and your whole murderous cadre of toadying liars.

Now, moving on, let's get one thing straight here: I don't like Chris Matthews usually-at least, not his style. But after this exchange last night, he gets a lifetime pass from me, ala Curt Schilling:

Talk about shooting fish in a barrel...what was great about this is not the fact that Matthews exposed Kevin James as a blowhard, because that's pretty obvious to even the most casual listeners of right wing talk radio. But Matthews, in a "you're no Jack Kennedy" moment, recognized he had an opportunity to expose not just the jaw dropping ignorance of one talk show host but the entire dogmatic culture of certainty house of cards upon which the whole right wing neocon movement is built. It's clear Kevin James-and, by extension, the rest of the Republican-sympathetic populace-didn't know what he was talking about, which is exactly what these fascists are banking on and have banked on for years-a pathetically ignorant, gullible electorate who never heard of the Munich Dictate but are lazily willing to agree that 2+2=5. If somebody had had the balls to do to Dick Cheney or Colin Powell in 2002 what Matthews did to James last night, we might not be in Iraq today.

Oh, and for the record, had Matthews pulled me off the street and into the studio...I would have known the answer to that very simple question-imagine that, Kevin, a liberal, underpaid state employee-and I don't even have my own talk show.

George's Personal Sacrifice

Keith was in rare form last night. You go, my friend.

Mr. Bush, at long last, has it not dawned on you that the America you have now created, includes "cold-blooded killers who will kill people to achieve their political objectives?" They are those in — or formerly in — your employ, who may yet be charged some day with war crimes.

You can see the rest below. (Golf, George? You gave up golf? Well, that's more than you've asked your friends to give up, for sure.)

Here's another, more direct version of what the Commander in Chief is saying to our troops:

Back at you, you miserable son of a bitch.