Mike Pouraryan
SP Week-End (1/17/2010): Weekly Wrap on the Sunday Talk Shows
I made the rounds of the major Sunday Talk Shows On US Networks. Every major network (Fox, CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN) featured President Bush and President Clinton talking about Haiti and putting a plug in for the Clinton Bush Fund established to help spreadhed the reconstruction of the country. I have also been continuing to review the reports out of Haiti and the scenes continue to be heartbreaking.
The only program I find fully educational is Fareed Zakaria's GPS. The analysis and reflection is what Media is at its' best:
This is the kind of insightful analysis that is needed to elevate the level of knowledge and understanding necessary for all. For instance, the panel he had (Spitzer, Kline, Frohm & others) was absolutely fantastic. I am glad to see that Spitzer is back in a big way. He has found his calling in teaching.
Beyond Haiti, I was keen to see what the "talking heads" had to say about the Obama Presidency. In about four days, it will be exactly 1 year since Barack Obama took the oath of office. There was the usual give-and-take about how Obama has done great or has been a disappointment. What I do know is that 2010 is going to be quite a challenging year for the President. I have written on this here and in SP's sister sites because I view the President as having lost the opportunity to make his impact. He has made headway on all the major challenges that he inherited. But, that's governing and he has to be able to now make his mark.
The first big test for Barack Obama is the upcoming election in Massachutes to fill Ted Kennedy's Senate seat. I agree with one analysis that noted that President Obama's intervention in Virginia and New Jersey blew up in his face. One could make the argument that the candidates were lousy candidates. But, Martha Coakley is a well known entity and has been the scion of a prominent political family in a heavily Democratic State. What I find very troubling is that the Democratic Leadership misread this as it did. How come they did not realize how troublesome this campaign was going to be? Why did not the Democrats come out strong early to crush any up and coming Republican? I also wonder why another Kennedy (especially Joe) did not run. The President went out to campaign for her yesterday. I think it is going to be close. The fate of the President's agenda hangs in the balance. I will be anxious to see what the "talking heads" and the headlines are going to read Wednesday morning.
The only program I find fully educational is Fareed Zakaria's GPS. The analysis and reflection is what Media is at its' best:
Beyond Haiti, I was keen to see what the "talking heads" had to say about the Obama Presidency. In about four days, it will be exactly 1 year since Barack Obama took the oath of office. There was the usual give-and-take about how Obama has done great or has been a disappointment. What I do know is that 2010 is going to be quite a challenging year for the President. I have written on this here and in SP's sister sites because I view the President as having lost the opportunity to make his impact. He has made headway on all the major challenges that he inherited. But, that's governing and he has to be able to now make his mark.
The first big test for Barack Obama is the upcoming election in Massachutes to fill Ted Kennedy's Senate seat. I agree with one analysis that noted that President Obama's intervention in Virginia and New Jersey blew up in his face. One could make the argument that the candidates were lousy candidates. But, Martha Coakley is a well known entity and has been the scion of a prominent political family in a heavily Democratic State. What I find very troubling is that the Democratic Leadership misread this as it did. How come they did not realize how troublesome this campaign was going to be? Why did not the Democrats come out strong early to crush any up and coming Republican? I also wonder why another Kennedy (especially Joe) did not run. The President went out to campaign for her yesterday. I think it is going to be close. The fate of the President's agenda hangs in the balance. I will be anxious to see what the "talking heads" and the headlines are going to read Wednesday morning.
