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Preview and Analysis for Weekend of November 3rd and 4th, 2007

Posted by Beowulf on Saturday, November 03, 2007 3:12:49 PM

Guest lineup for the Sunday TV news shows:

NBC's "Meet the Press"
  • Former Sen. Fred Thompson, R-TN
  • Tom Brokaw

CBS's "Face the Nation"

  • Sen. Joe Biden, D-DE
  • Mark Penn, chief strategist for Sen. Hillary Clinton campaign

Fox News Sunday

  • Former President George H.W. Bush
  • Ashley Judd
 CNN "Late Edition"
  • Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair
  • Sen. Chris Dodd, D-CT
  • Sen. John McCain, R-AZ
  • Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-CA
  • Sen. Arlen Specter, R-PA

ABC's "This Week"

  • Former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C.
  • Ashley Judd

So, Hillary trips over Elliot Spitzer's voter fraud plot and all bets are suddenly off.  Or are they?  Much will depend on the next round of polling which will reflect any post debate problems for team Clinton and the shows this week may either reflect or influence what those polls will say.  The reactions from the Clintonistas and the usual suspects in media land seem to indicate that they think it was a big deal and could potentially derail the inevitability express that Hillary's been counting on as her chief qualification for office.  Do they already have numbers that bode ill for Her Thighness?  And is there anyone else on the Dhimmicrat side who anyone will take seriously?  Could the Goracle be mentioned again?  Or will it all blow over and serve only as proof that Dhimmicrats are so desperate to win at any cost that they literally will vote for an empty pants suit?

The villain of the debate, Tim Russert, hosts Fred Thompson on Meet The Press.  Since at least one Hillary insider called for him to be shot for what he did to their poor little girl, the expectation has to be that he will be looking to inflict serious damage on Fred as an act of contrition.  If Fred handles the situation well it could be a major turning point for his campaign.  The immigration issue will likely be center stage so watch for attempts to paint Fred and, by  extension, all Republicans as xenophobic racists and, logically, Hillary and Spitzer as "right" on the subject.  I also expect Fred's comments on the second amendment and the UN to be used as a means of painting him as a dangerous redneck goof.  Fred has good answers to those sorts of attacks, but will he get bogged down in quoting 17th century Dutch philosophers?  I'm expecting big things from this interview for Fred (I am a supporter) but I think Russert has a lot riding on winning back some points from the left.  It could be a titanic struggle.  Watch for Lil Timmah to be in extra severe hunch mode.  On a lighter note Tom Brokaw will also be on to promote his new book on Boomers and the 60s.  I guess Tim's usual book plugging venue, now on MSNBC, isn't prestigious enough for Tom.  Perhaps some invidious comparisons will be made to Hillary and the other boomers who are running this year?  That would be truly telling.

On CBS Face The Nation The Mouth That Roared, Joe Biden, is on to take his shot at being a "credible alternative" to Hillary.  The DBM loved his debate attack on Rudy, so expect plenty of opportunities for him to repeat that as well as a broad invitation to besmirch anyone he can, particularly McChimpy Bushitler.  It's curious that he's not the only guest for this half hour show.  With him talking I don't see how there can be any time left for anyone else.  The someone else in this case is Hillary's "chief campaign strategist," Mark Penn.  His tenor and performance will be a big indicator of how Team Clinton is reacting to the events of this week.  The fact that her main spinmeister, Howard Wolfson, was originally listed for this show and then changed to Penn does not indicate that they have a good handle on this yet.  Or it could just be CBS doesn't have a good web team and it was a simple mistake.  We'll see.

Fox News Sunday goes in an entirely different direction with the first of a new series of interviews with "American Leaders," starting with former president George H. W. Bush.  Forty One has made some comments on the Hillary situation this week so they probably won't get completely away from the topic, but they certainly won't be focusing on that.  Chris Wallace will likely be fishing for quotes about Forty Three.  The roundtable is back to semi normal with Hume, Kristol, Liaison and Williams.  They will definitely be focusing on Hillary's very bad weekTM.  With Kristol on instead of Barnes I would also expect some discussion of the Republican field, particularly Kristol's contention that it's still wide open.  They'll also discuss the Mukasey hearings, but it looks like that's already settled in Bush's favor, so it likely won't be a big issue.  The FISA related hearings in Judiciary may be more contentious and I expect some fireworks there between Kristol and Williams.  The Power Player of the Week is Ashley Judd, who is promoting a new documentary on efforts to address AIDS problems in India.  She's got a twofer as she's also on the Voices segment of Steponallofus' show.

CNN Late Edition gives us four senators, two of them running for president, and the ex prime minister of Britain, Tony Blair, who is now a "peace envoy" from the "Quartet Committee" (US, UN, EU and Russia).  Blair is really getting trashed in his own country's press and he's desperate for a legacy to wipe away the damage done to him by Iraq.  The image of Neville Chamberlain is just too strong for him to escape given the kind of naïveté being displayed by him and the US State Department.  I've included two links to articles that should give an adequate portrayal of how the "Quartet Committee" is viewed by the people they are supposed to be "negotiating" with.  Somehow I don't see how you can compromise with someone whose sole purpose is to kill you.  You can't agree to let them only partially kill you, but I wouldn't put it past the brain trust at Foggy Bottom to agree to something like that.  The mix of senators is interesting, with Dodd, Feinstein, McCain and Specter. Except for Iraq McCain is usually Wolf Blitzer's kind of Republican, one who will criticize other Republicans and thwart their plans by helping Dhimmicrats.  McCain has really stepped up his attacks on his Republican presidential rivals so Wolfie is looking for lots of ammunition to use in clips in the week ahead.  Arlen Specter is also usually a RINO in good standing.  This week both Specter and McCain provided some "great moments" over the waterboarding issue, but it looks like Mukasey will survive to be AG, thanks in no small part to DiFi.  They will all likely be chastised for that act of betrayal.  To make up for it they will all likely join Dodd in bashing the "warrantless wiretapping" program, particularly the "amnesty" for the cooperating telcos.  These arm chair generals are determined to lose this war to the Jihadis and they'll do everything they can to hurt our ability to defend ourselves.  Dodd is the flavor of the month for the Kossacks and the rest of the nutroots, so I expect him to sound more and more like Dennis Kucinich as things go on.

ABC This Week focuses on the silky pony, John Edwards.  Incurious George is such a Clintonista I expect him to try to score some points on Hillary's behalf, but that might be too obvious.  I expect at least a few gotcha moments on "flip flops" by Edwards on something, Iraq at the very least.  The roundtable may actually be interesting if they spend much time on the debate and immigration.  E. J. Dionne has a very interesting column on the topic this week and it may very well be the central issue of the rest of the campaign.  I think they think it's a winner for the Dhimmicrats, but they're not 100% sure, particularly after the debacle over shamnesty and the defeat of the "Dream Act."  Michael Gerson, blamed by many for much of the course of the Bush administration that so distresses conservatives, is likely to provide ammunition for the narrative of Republicans being the party of institutionalized xenophobic racism.  The spinning will be fierce.

The Saturday shows are concentrating on Hillary's very bad weekTM.  The Beltway Boys kicks it all off at what appears to be a new time (2 PM Eastern, it's half over as I type and I missed the beginning) by explicitly asking if Hillary is in trouble because she gave evasive answers.  Mort will likely protest and point to evasive or otherwise "bad" answers by Bush and the Republican candidates.  They seem to be spending a lot of time on downside issues for Rudy, so it looks fairly typical for them.  There's no listings for Tim Russert's Show on MSNBC.  Perhaps he's too radioactive for anyone to go on a show with his name in the title?  Or could it be a surprise, maybe even Hillary or Bill?  Doubtful.  Fox News Watch will likely concentrate on the proof, absolute proof I say, that the MSM is not biased or left leaning.  After all, Lil Timmah was mean to Hillary and she's a girl!  The Journal Editorial Report also covers Hillary's troubles, along with the Mukasey hearings and the possibility of a 2008 recession.  I wonder if the Friday jobs report will change the tenor of that conversation?

So, that's the week.  The endless campaign was declared a done deal but is now back in play.  Firm conclusions aren't so firm anymore.  Perhaps we're witnessing a macro quantum uncertainty principle being applied to politics?  Might Schrödinger's cat* be named Socks?  Nah, the main stream media just got bored and decided to turn on the front runner when she stumbled.  They're like that, you know.  This week is a second chance for the other Dhimmicrats running to be taken seriously, but I don't think any of them will be.  Might the talk of a "rescue" of the party by the Goracle start again?  After all, he's already credited with saving the world.  This may also be a last chance for Fred to break out of the narrative that the MSM has been constructing for him.  I trust that today he is getting intense moot court type training to be ready for a hostile interview.  He was a trial lawyer and should still be good at that.  The outrigger issues this week are likely to be the Mukasey and FISA fights in congress, with a little bit of SCHIP peaking back around the corner.  I get the feeling that the conventional wisdom inside the beltway may be in danger of collapsing on a host of issues, starting with Iraq.  It's kind of like how it must feel just before a cattle herd stampedes.  Nothing they've tried has worked, they're nervous about it and anything can set them off.  Oh, and they haven't noticed the big cliff they're headed towards.  Sounds like fun.

This should be cross posted to my blog at Wizards.townhall.com later today.

This thread exists primarily as a heads up for who is on the weekend talks shows, what they've been invited on to push (based on their recent pronouncements) and the spin (meme) the DBM is likely trying to push based on that information. All of this is prep work for the weekly Sunday Morning Talk Show thread posted by Alas Babylon!. That thread provides a live commentary and analysis of the Sunday talking head shows, with valuable insight and exceptional fact checking. we are the Jedi Council of FreeRepublic, at least in regards to these DBM gabfests. You wanna know what was said and what it meant, as well as where they messed up? Read that thread!

Mark Kilmer has posted his excellent preview of the Sunday shows over at Redstate.COM.

Politico.COM has their Sunday Talk Show Tip Sheet

* semi obscure reference of the week

Show by Show Preview

Below are the topics and guests announced for these programs, along with my take on the "memes" that the shows are trying to push.  With each guest's name are a series of links that I found in a web search that helped me get a handle on who they are and what their likely positions will be when they are interviewed.

Saturday Shows For

The Beltway Boys (Mort Kondrake, Fred Barnes)

  • Meme:
    • You know all that "inevitability" stuff we've been pushing for over a year?  Well, never mind...
    • The would be emperors in the new congressional majority, in fact, have no clothes... who knew?
  • Topics:
    • Is Hillary Clinton in trouble after being called elusive on issues?
    • The Democrats are 'down' and the 'Beltway Boys' will tell you why
  • Beltway Boys contact information beltway@foxnews.com
  • The program airs on FOX News Channel Saturdays at 2 pm and 11:30 pm ET, Sundays at 6:30 am ET

Tim Russert's Show On MSNBC (Tim Russert)

  • Meme:
    • no listing
  • Topics:
    • no listing
  • Guests
    • no listing
  • CNBC's Tim Russert Show airs Saturday at 7pm, 10pm & 1am ET

Fox News Watch (Eric Burns)

  • Meme:
    • You know all that "inevitability" stuff we've been pushing for over a year?  Well, never mind...
    • How dare we get distracted from the official narrative by this Colbert guy?
  • Topics:
    • Candidates on Attack: Obama, Edwards gang up on Hillary, Hillary attacks Tim Russert and more...
    • Colbert for President: Is the comedian's White House bid getting the press off track as 2008 looms?
  • The program airs on FOX News Channel Saturdays at 6:30 p.m. ET and Sundays at 2:30 a.m. ET
  • Fox News Watch contact information Newswatch@foxnews.com

Journal Editorial Report (Paul Gigot) - FNC show page

  • Meme:
    • You know all that "inevitability" stuff everyone else has been pushing for over a year?  Well, now they think they may have been wrong...
    • Appeasing Dhimmicrats by giving them a "consensus" appointment will not make them play nice
  • Topics:
    • Opinion Journal web page: Obama's Opportunity
      • Hillary Clinton hits a speed bump on her drive to the White House. Can Barack Obama take advantage?
      • Democrats mobilize against Michael Mukasey's nomination
      • The odds of a 2008 recession.
    • Fox News Channel web page
      • Once seen as the consensus candidate for attorney general, Senate Democrats are now threatening to sink the nomination of Judge Michael Mukasey
  • Guests

  • Journal Editorial Report (at Fox News) contact information - jer@foxnews.com
  • The program is from The Wall Street Journal and airs on FNC Saturday at 11 p.m. and again Sunday at 6 a.m. ET

NBC Meet The Press (Tim Russert)

CBS Face The Nation (Bob Schieffer)

Fox News Sunday (Chris Wallace)

CNN Late Edition (Wolf Blitzer)

ABC This Week (George Stephanopoulos)

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