Infinite Regress

RSS Feed Homepage

Articles: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Republicans Debate on MSNBC in Florida: Romney Unveils New Cylon Expressio
2008-01-25 05:06:00
A lumpy, uneven Republican debate on MSNBC in Florida tonight - with some really boring stretches on the economy, but each of the candidates having some good moments.First, our Cylon watch - otherwise known as, Is Mitt Romney A Cylon? - a question first introduced here on Infinite Regress back in June. The Cylons, of course, are cyborgs from Battlestar Galactica who look just like humans, and, with The Sarah Connor Chronicles now on television, we might just as easily ask Is Mitt Romney a Terminator? - or, more precisely, one of the more recent, post-Arnold models.The most Cylon-like behavior in Romney tonight was his new, non-smiling expression. Take a look at clips from the debate when you have a chance. See what I mean? Since the last debate, someone programmed in a new, serious, concerned expression on Romney's face - probably found in some poll to be more effective than his more typical smile.As to the words tonight -Romney was clear in his economics, and got in a fine Re...
More About: Republicans , Debate

Talking Science Fiction in Philadelphia on Friday!
2008-01-24 20:33:00
Hey Philadelphia - Come See Me This Friday at 9PM!January 25, 2008Or by all means get yourself to Philadelphia and come by!I'll be taking a night off from the politics, and talking to the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society this Friday, Jan 25, at 9PM ... about ...SCIENCE FICTION IN THE CURRENT GOLDEN AGE OF TELEVISION ...The Sarah Connor Chronicles ... Journeyman ... Heroes ... LOST!and much more ... what I think about what's on the screen and on the page...Admission is free and wide open to the public!Where: International House, 37th and Chestnut Streets(Hey, I'll even be autographing copies of The Plot to Save Socrates, and revealing some nuggets from the sequel, which I'm currently writing.)You can read what I've been writing about the above great television shows right here at Infinite Regress - look in the Index in the right-hand column for listings...The Plot to Save Socrates"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News"Sierr...
More About: Science Fiction

Kudos to Dan Abrams on MSNBC
2008-01-23 04:41:00
In the midst of this heat-up of the Democratic primaries, and the extraordinary - and justified - attention it's getting in the media, I want to take a minute to compliment Dan Abrams for the fine coverage he just gave these developments in his 9pm in his "Live With Dan Abrams " show on MSNBC.I've been enjoying this latest incarnation of Abrams' show for a while (my wife has been a real fan since even some of his earlier shows). I like mixture of facts, humor, sarcasm - not overweening, just right - that Abrams gives to the news and the media.Tonight he outdid himself, with a three person panel (Lawrence O'Donnell, Rachel Maddow, Patrick Buchanan) joining Abrams like ringside judges in deciding five rounds of Hillary v. Obama in last night's debate.It didn't hurt that I agreed with most of Abrams' calls (in particular, awarding the "good" Republican and "present at vote" rounds to Obama). I just found the whole set-up just right - funny and informative and even passionate wh...
More About: Barack Obama , Hillary Clinton , Kudos

Bill Clinton's Statements About Obama Should Be Taken with a Big Grain of H
2008-01-23 01:16:00
Bill Clinton is clearly playing a major role in Hillary Clinton 's contest with Barack Obama and John Edwards for the Democratic nomination for President. He is certainly entitled to support his wife, and indeed speak for or against any candidate. But the media accord a lot attention to what he says, because he is a former President. And this means his record as President is germane to what he says about any candidate, and voters should keep Bill Clinton's record as President in mind when they evaluate his current statements.With that as my guide, I would like to briefly recount an episode in the Clinton Presidency that did not receive too much attention at that time, and many Americans may be unaware of today.Bill Clinton signed the Communications Decency Act into law in 1996. It was struck down as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court a year later, which probably accounts for why many Americans know little about it. But a brief examination of Bill Clinton's actions and expl...
More About: Bill Clinton , First Amendment

Obama's Record: Why Voting 'Present' Is Meaningful and Not the Same As Not
2008-01-22 20:43:00
Barack Obama's 136 "present" votes in the Illinois State Legislature - in which he voted "present" rather than "yes" or "no" about passage of bills - was a hot topic in last night's Democratic debate on CNN in South Carolina. Hillary Clinton and John Edwards both jumped on Obama for his "present" votes, and Edwards, in particular, spoke of the "present" votes as the same as Obama's just "not showing up" for the votes.I have never served in government, but I've been an active participant in academic governance for more years than I care to remember (all faculty are, and I have also been Chair of the Department of Communication and Media Studies at Fordham University for the past six years). So perhaps I can shed some useful light on this issue.In a sentence: in academic governance, abstaining (the equivalent of voting "present") is a highly meaningful type of vote, one which usually bespeaks considerable contemplation of the issues, and is therefore utterly different from not s...
More About: Barack Obama , Voting , Present

The Sarah Connor Chronicles: 3
2008-01-22 06:20:00
Episode 3 of The Sarah Connor Chronicles was excellent, and brought back most of the exciting complexity of the pilot.First, to bring these reviews up to speed - because my intro review was non-spoiler - our trio of heroes used a time machine in the bank to travel to our present. Which opens up all sort of possibilities.And the trio is Sarah, John, and beautiful Cameron Phillips (yes, homage to James), a new terminator model played fetchingly and cold-bloodedly, sweetly as in innocent and angel of death, as needed, by Summer Glau. Cameron is a fine addition to the Terminator crew, and even brings some continuing lines of humor to the story, as Sarah reminds Cameron in just about every episode to keep her clothes on when at home. (Sarah doesn't John want to get too attracted and who knows what else to Cameron. I say - go for it, John.)But don't let the humor fool you. Episode 3 and The Sarah Connor Chronicles in general are deadly serious, and grapple with profound moral dilem...

Dems Rock Out on CNN in South Carolina: All Three Excellent, But Obama Sco
2008-01-22 04:22:00
Well, all three of the Democratic candidates came out swinging in South Carolina on the CNN debate tonight, and it was a pleasure to see.Especially for Barack Obama , who has needed to be more forceful in the debates. He took on Hillary about the attack on his statements that the Reagan Presidency was revolutionary - correctly pointing out that he didn't say he agreed with Reagan's ideas, but was pointing out that his Presidency had captured something in America which was "transformative". This is important for Democrats to understand, and Obama is right that he may be in the best position to do this. Obama also took on some of Bill Clinton's more outrageous attacks, saying he sometimes wasn't sure which Clinton he was running against.But Hillary, for her part, gave another strong performance. Her finest moment came when she passionately said she wants all Americans to have health coverage. I actually agree with Obama's position on this more than Hillary's (Obama wants nat...
More About: Rock , Ronald Reagan

The Sarah Connor Chronicles: 1 and 2
2008-01-21 21:14:00
Well, I wasn't going to watch and review it. I didn't want to disrupt my recollection and appreciation of Terminator 1 and 2, which I thought were superb, or even Terminator 3, which I also enjoyed. That, and I don't think movies shrink very well to the television screen. For every Stargate and Buffy, in which the television was far better than the movie, you have tens of Alien Nation, Blade, Animal House, Dirty Dancings.On the other hand, the Terminator stories are about time travel. And that, as readers here know, is a pretty big hand, for me. And I heard some good things about The Chronicles ...So I saw the first two episodes on Fox's On Demand online website last night.And I thought they were excellent. The pilot, in fact, is one of the best hours of television I've seen in the past few months - meaning, it's right up there with the best of Journeyman and The Wire. And the second episode was powerful and appealing, too.The story in The Chronicles starts after T2. Sa...
More About: Connor , Sarah , Sarah Connor

Saturday Night at the Polls: Dems and Repubs in Nevada, Repubs in South Car
2008-01-20 06:35:00
Some short takes on the results of today's three caucuses/primaries:1. I'm less interested in Romney winning the Republican caucus in Nevada than I am in Ron Paul coming in second. Support him or not, that's a powerful, additional rebuke to Fox News, ABC News, and all other mass media that have derided and belittled the support for his candidacy. Still waiting on Fox News and ABC News, in particular, to apologize to the American people. (Fox News: you excluded Ron Paul from the debate in New Hampshire. He came in second in Nevada today. You still have nothing to say?)2. Hillary won in Nevada, but she and Obama are still just about the same in delegates. One candidate who is not the same is John Edwards - coming in with 4 percent of the vote in Nevada. That's a remarkable drop for someone who came in second in Iowa. Although there is a lot that I like about John Edwards' candidacy, I think America would accomplish something truly revolutionary with either a woman or an A...
More About: Barack Obama , Hillary Clinton , Cain

The Wire Season 5 Episode 3: McNulty and Marlo
2008-01-19 21:55:00
I saw the third episode of this final season of The Wire as soon as it went On Demand, on HBO. That was Monday. And, once again, I was going to wait until after the regular HBO showing this Sunday to talk about it .... But, hey, here am I, once again, unable to resist posting a review of this superb episode ... So,DON'T READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T HAVE ON-DEMAND, UNTIL THIS SUNDAY NIGHT ... I titled this review McNulty and Marlo - not because the two have anything to do with each other in this episode, but because they both play major, parallel roles...McNulty has picked up the pro-active make-things-happen and damn-the-consequences approach he played so well in the very first season of The Wire . It's good to see McNulty really on top of his game again.This time, he's trying to make his colleagues and bosses think there's a serial killer loose in Baltimore - the only way McNulty can think of to keep the cops focused on Marlo and the drug business. The only person wise t...
More About: Episode , Season , Season 5

In Honor of Mad Men: I Talk to Mark Molaro About Mad Men, Rich Sommer, and
2008-01-18 01:54:00
In honor of AMC's Mad Men 's winning the Golden Globe for Best TV drama (in addition to Jon Hamm getting a Golden Globe for best male dramatic performance as Don Draper in Mad Men), I'm putting up this one-minute clip from Mark Molaro's recent interview with me on The Alcove, in which I talk about the time that Mad Men's Harry Crane (aka Rich Sommer) posted a comment right here on InfiniteRegress.tv about a review of Mad Men I had just posted...Here's a link to my review of Mad Men (episode 12) with Rich Sommer's comment.And here's my 20-minute podcast interview with Rich Sommer from the end of October:And here's my complete 25-minute interview with Mark Molaro, in which we talk about many new media things...The Plot to Save Socrates"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good bookmore about The Plot to Save Socrates...Read the first chapter of The Plot to Save Socrates .... F...
More About: Talk , Honor

High Point of Dem Debate in Las Vegas: Hillary Says Bush is Pathetic
2008-01-16 06:38:00
A very satisfying debate among the Democratic big three - Clinton, Edwards, and Obama - on MSNBC in Las Vegas tonight, with the best line delivered by Clinton. She volunteered that Bush going to Saudi Arabia to see if the Saudis might help keep our gasoline prices down was "pathetic".It's not that I like to see name calling. But sometimes a single word perfectly nails a feeling. It certainly is one that I and countless Americans now have. The President's management of our foreign and economic policies, both singly and together, has indeed been pathetic.Obama and Edwards were good, too. But it's becoming increasingly clear that Hillary is the best Democratic debater. Obama's medium is the political speech, not the debate. And Edwards seems - I don't know, too one-dimensional in his debate tone.This does not by any means indicate that Hillary will get the nomination. Performance in debates is just one of several important factors in winning nominations and general electio...
More About: Barack Obama , Hillary Clinton , John Edwards

Hope for this World: Wafa Sultan on Al-Jazeera
2008-01-15 01:29:00
Check this out ... it's the kind of thing that gives you hope for this world ... Syrian-born American psychologist Wafa Sultan on Al-Jazeera , February 21, 2006... (Thanks to Neal Stapel for bringing this to my attention, over on MySpace.)listen to Light On Light Through podcast also iTunes Paul Levinson's books
More About: World , Hope , Al Jazeera

Why the Democrats Won't Be Voting in Michigan Tomorrow
2008-01-15 00:25:00
That's right. The Republicans will, the Democrats won't. Be voting in the primary in Michigan tomorrow, that is.How can that be?Democrats punish Michigan for early primaryLeaders vote to strip state of all delegates for violating party rulesThat Associated Press headline in December says it all. Michigan Democrats sought to hold their primary on January 15 - tomorrow. This violated Democratic Party national rules that only Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina could hold primaries or nominating caucuses (such as Iowa's) prior to February 5.So ... the national Dems "punished" Michigan by saying, hey, we won't permit you to have a primary this year, period. Meaning, if Democratic voters go the polls in Michigan tomorrow, their votes won't count.Excuse me?Who is punished by this? Looks to me as if it's the voters of Michigan, and anyone who thinks a primary is a better way of selecting delegates than a smoke or whatever filled room.To make matters worse, all of t...
More About: Barack Obama , John Edwards , Voting

Mad Men, Jon Hamm, David Duchovny, Atonement Win Golden Globes!
2008-01-14 04:52:00
Well, Mad Men, Jon Hamm, David Duchovny, Atonement have won Golden Globes !There are a lot of other winners, of course, but the above are the ones I'm cheering about.Mad Men on AMC was the most original, powerful new series of the year - which is not taking anything away from Showtime's The Tudors (Henry VIII) and HBO's Big Love (polygamy today), which were also superb, also nominated, and I loved. Jon Hamm was magnificent as Don Draper in Mad Men - but I wouldn't have been unhappy, either, had nominee Michael C. Hall won it for Showtime's delightful serially killing Dexter. And nominees Jonathan Rhys Meyers in The Tudors, Bill Paxton in Big Love and Hugh Laurie in House gave powerhouse performances, too. It was a great year for riveting drama on television. That's why I call this the Platinum Age.David Duchovny as Hank Moody in Showtime's Californication was fall-down-on-the-floor laughing - as hilarious a savvy, comedic performance as ever I've seen.And Atonement - whic...

Looking In on The L Word...
2008-01-13 23:11:00
Long before women were being wittily, hilariously, so coolly bedded almost round the clock by Hank Moody in Californication , they were being wittily, hilariously, coolly bedded around the clock by ... women, in The L Word , on Showtime.Californication and Weeds are often cited (by me and others) as the spear carriers of Showtime's sweep into first place as the most innovative story telling network on cable, but this leap forward really started with The L Word , which debuted its 5th Season last Sunday.The series has been and still is in a class by itself. It is more daring than HBO's Big Love - lesbian sex is more radical than polygamy. It explores more nuances in sexual relationships than HBO's Tell Me You Love Me. And The L Word of course has more women in positions of power and not in power than Weeds.But The L Word feels most like Californication. Both shows take place in California, and both are intimately intertwined with writing, movie-making, and their travails, as well...

Spirited Republican Debate on Fox in South Carolina Tonight: Fred Thompson
2008-01-11 07:10:00
A crisp, spirited Republican debate in South Carolina earlier tonight - one of the best so far, as good the Republican debate on ABC on Saturday - and Fox included Ron Paul, which it didn't do on Sunday.Fred Thompson was the best he's been so far, responding with a sharp mix of passion, clarity, and humor. He took Mike Huckabee to task for being a Democrat in Republican clothing. Even though I agree with Huckabee's "Democratic" positions about education, etc., I had to admire Thompson's performance.Huckabee, for his part, however, was also excellent. He came through again as likable and sincere, as well as vivid and saber-rattling in his response to the Iranian gunboat incident - warning Iranians and anyone that if they attack American boats, the next thing they'll be seeing are the gates of hell. (Thompson got in a good line about the Iranians being close to seeing the virgins they think await their heroes in the afterlife.) Again, I don't agree at all with this jingoism...
More About: Battlestar Galactica , Star Trek , Rudy Giuliani

The Problems with Polls: A Brief Primer
2008-01-11 04:44:00
In view of the inaccuracy of the poll projections in the Democratic Presidential Primary in New Hampshire on Tuesday - the polls showed Obama winning by 10 or more percentage points, in contrast to his actually losing by three - I thought I'd don my hat as a professor (I just finished teaching a graduate course in Media Research Methods at Fordham University this Fall), and offer a little primer on why poll projections can and do go wrong.To begin with, New Hampshire this Tuesday is hardly the first time that a poll's predictions have been wrong.The most famous example is the Literary Digest Poll of 1936, which predicted Alf Landon beating President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 57 to 43 percent, a near landslide. In fact, FDR went on to win 62 percent of the vote.What was wrong with the poll?The people polled were drawn from lists of Americans who owned automobiles and had telephones in their homes - and, in 1936, cars and phones were much more likely to be in the hands of the rich...
More About: Barack Obama , Problems , Polls

What Can Wrong in Polls?
2008-01-11 04:44:00
listen to Light On Light Through podcast also iTunes Paul Levinson's books
More About: Polls , Wrong

The Wire: Season 5 Episode 2: The Great, Dangling Conversation
2008-01-11 00:38:00
Ok, enough politics and political parody for at least this hour. Let's get back to the heart and soul of Infinite Regress: television! As in series on TV! As in The Wire ! It's good for you!Now, I saw the second episode of this final season of The Wire as soon as it went On Demand, on HBO. That would be Monday. And I was going to wait until after the regular HBO showing this Sunday to talk about it .... But, hey, you only live once, it's too good for me to wait any longer to talk about, so, here it is, with a spoiler warning:DON'T READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T HAVE ON-DEMAND, UNTIL THIS SUNDAY NIGHT ... You'll be in for a treat. Avon Barksdale is back in the game! Ok, he's still in prison, but Marlo comes to talk to Avon, 'cause Marlo needs some help with some Greek or Russian (the crooks involved in the dock business from the 2nd Season ), so Marlo comes to seek Avon's help.Now, sure, I wished it was Stringer. He was the ultimate brains of the Barksdale crew, but Avo...
More About: Episode , Great , Season 5

Obama Girl's Back! And Batman, Too...
2008-01-10 09:47:00
It might make a difference ...Ben Relles and the gang at BarelyPolitical .com are getting back in the ring, with another deftly written, delightful political video. This one picks up on Rocky ...Among the best attractions -.Obama Girl (Amber Lee Ettinger) looks at the ring, as two younger, not-quite-champion boxers are training .... One of them is Spitzer Girl....The clueless Hillary team, trying to bring down Obama Girl, laments that she denied their MySpace request... one of them also mentions "YouTunes"....The aged Truman Girl comes on as her trainer....Guiliani Girl lends a hand...And much more... With the race tightening up, this video can only help...And holy spoof, check this BarelyPolitical.com vid from just the day before yesterday!And here's Obama Girl's pithy response to New Hampshire...See also The Barely Political Revolutionlisten to Light On Light Through podcast also iTunes Paul Levinson's books
More About: Barack Obama , Batman

I'm Withdrawing My Support of Ron Paul's Candidacy
2008-01-10 00:02:00
I am withdrawing my support for Ron Paul . I have been urging, since last March, that people should support the best candidate in each of the two parties, and Ron Paul was far and away my choice among the Republican contenders.My reasons for that support remain. Ron Paul's respect for our Constitution, and his opposition to our undeclared war which follows from that, and his support of the First Amendment which also stems from his standing up for the Constitution, are still among the most crucial issues of our day. Ron Paul's positions on those issues are better than any other candidates' positions in either party (including the positions of Barack Obama, whom I am supporting for the Democratic nomination).But I nonetheless can no longer support Ron Paul's candidacy. The reasons are presented in some detail, with citations, in this Wikipedia entry entitled the Ron Paul Report newsletter controversy. This newsletter, published under various, slightly different titles for deca...
More About: C News , Fox News , Support , Candidacy

Digital, Tachyon Vids of the Future?
2008-01-09 07:52:00
beginning of time travel in 2008?See also Sierra Waters (time traveler) page ...The Plot to Save Socrates"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good bookmore about The Plot to Save Socrates...Read the first chapter of The Plot to Save Socrates .... FREE!listen to Light On Light Through podcast also iTunes Paul Levinson's books
More About: Future , The Future , Vids , Digital

Hillary Edges Out Obama in NH: Why, As An Obama Supporter, I'm Not Too Unh
2008-01-09 05:43:00
Well, Hillary Clinton edged out Barack Obama in the New Hampshire Democratic primary tonight. Although I'm an Obama supporter, I'm not really too unhappy about this, because:1. I was moved by Hillary's emotional moment yesterday - I like seeing humanity in our Presidential candidates - and I was infuriated by the small-hearted, soulless response of some conservatives such as Bill Krystol on Fox News.2. I think a woman in the White House would be almost as powerful a correction of an historic American injustice as an African-American President.3. I like seeing pollsters and pundits proven wrong in their confident predictions - it shows that, in the end, the American people not the media decide who will serve in our public offices.Meanwhile, Obama can hold his head up high. He won in Iowa and came in a close second in New Hampshire. He gave another great, inspiring speech tonight. I would be very happy with an Obama-Clinton ticket, and almost as happy with a Clinton-Obama comb...
More About: Rudy Giuliani , Fred Thompson

Bill O'Reilly and the Constitution
2008-01-08 05:19:00
You've no doubt heard about and likely seen a video clip of Bill O 'Reilly at an Obama rally in Nashua, NH on Sunday. O'Reilly took exception to an Obama staffer who was blocking O'Reilly's camerman's shot of the event. O'Reilly "gently" (O'Reilly's term) pushed the staffer out of the way. I just saw a clip of this on The Factor, and it will likely be all over YouTube soon.There's no doubt that O'Reilly did put his hands on the staffer, and pushed him out of the way. It was certainly not overly violent, but it was physical.What interests me most about this event was O'Reilly's justifcation of his actions. He pushed the Obama staffer out of the way, O'Reilly said on The Factor tonight, because he was standing up for "the Constitution ".What part of the Constitution would that be?The First Amendment, and its insistence that Congress make no law abridging "freedom of speech or press"?Well, let's allow that O'Reilly and his camerman were press, and their freedom to vid...
More About: The Constitution

Hillary's Tears
2008-01-08 00:38:00
The above video shows Hillary Clinton near tears, talking today about her campaign in New Hampshire.More than a few people have been snickering about this. In the comments attached to the above YouTube video, some graceless person said Hillary's tears are crocodile.You know what? It must be exhausting beyond comprehension to put yourself out there and run for President.And I want a President who is a human being, not a robot. Tears are human. There's nothing wrong in the slightest for either a woman or a man to cry. In fact, there's usually a lot right with it.So, although I plan on voting for Barack Obama in the New York primary, I'm glad to see that Hillary Clinton is in this race, and fighting with all of her heart.And for those of her enemies who take some solace or pleasure in Hillary's tears, because they're glad to see what they think is her weakness? Well, you people are not only not fit to be President, you're barely fit to be human.listen to Light On Light Thr...

The Surprising Secret of Obama's Success
2008-01-07 09:35:00
I've been thinking about another contributing factor to Barack Obama 's burgeoning popularity.Barack Obama has served part of one US Senate term.John Edwards served a single, full term in the US Senate, and was an unsuccessful candidate for Vice President.Hillary Clinton is serving in her second term as US Senator, and was First Lady for Bill Clinton 's two terms as President.=======Barack Obama clearly has the least experience in national public office (less than Edwards and Clinton) and/or running for national public office (less than Edwards) and/or close proximity to national public office (Hillary Clinton).And that is precisely why he is the logically best candidate to represent hope, and something new in politics and in the Presidency.If this analysis is at all correct, it means that Bill Clinton is actually hurting Hillary by campaigning for her (because he reminds people of Hillary's lack of newness). It also means that there's not much that either Hillary Clinton or Joh...
More About: Success , Secret

High Point of Fox Republican Debate Without Ron Paul: Ron Paul Supporters
2008-01-07 04:20:00
Well, I broke down and took a look at the Fox Rump Republican Presidential debate tonight - without Ron Paul , who got 10% of the Iowa vote - and I thought by far the most significant moment came when Ron Paul supporters walked by with nice big signs of protest outside the window, and Brit Hume and company analyzed what had happened during the 90-minute debate in New Hampshire.I also kept an eye on the CNN replay of the excellent ABC debate from last night, so first a little comparison of the Republicans on the two nights:1. The ABC (on CNN tonight) debate was obviously more fair and representative, since it included Ron Paul.2. It was also far livelier, and therefore better in giving the American people a good idea of what the candidates think.3. It also just looked better - the lightning, the seating, the general kinaesthetics of yesterday's debate was easier, more enjoyable and instructive, to look at.As was the case last night, I thought Romney did the best in the Republican deb...
More About: Barack Obama , Fred Thompson , Mitt Romney

CNN To Rebroadcast ABC Debates Tonight - Sticks It To Fox
2008-01-06 16:47:00
Tonight: CNN will rebroadcast last night's Republican and Democratic ABC Presidential debates. This is a brilliant move for several reasons:1. The debates were among the best so far. The Republicans often look as if they they're on life support, but we were as lively as I've seen them last night. All of the Democrats were fine. See my analysis last night.2. ABC's move sticks it to Fox, which is hosting a rump session of the Republican candidates tonight - with a shortened field of candidates that excludes Ron Paul. Bizarre and inexplicable and outrageous, given Ron Paul's 10% showing in the Iowa caucuses.Anyone who missed the debates last night would certainly do much better to watch them on CNN tonight than look at Fox's sham.Frankly, I saw the debates last night, and will likely watch CNN, anyway...listen to Light On Light Through podcast also iTunes Paul Levinson's books
More About: Debates , C News , Fox News , Tonight , Sticks

ABC Presidential Debates in NH: Analysis
2008-01-06 05:04:00
I thought tonight's Presidential debates on ABC were excellent - right up there with the YouTube debates, and in many ways the best we have seen so far. The candidates seated, the lack of strict time limits, the savvy questions all contributed in their own ways to fine discussions. Good for ABC News for putting all of this into motion (though I still strongly disagree with ABC's exclusion of Kucinich and Gravel).In many ways, the single most extraordinary part of the debate came when the Republicans and Democrats exchanged greetings in between the two debates. As I indicated in my last blog post, this was an enjoyable, precedent-breaking piece of television debate history.Here are some thoughts about the candidates and their performances:1. With all my joking about Romney being a Cylon, I thought he came through as the most relaxed and natural in the Republican debate. True, he did talk about a patient going in for "repairs," but he handled the attacks from McCain and Thompson...
More About: Debates , Hillary Clinton , Analysis , Fred Thompson