Tim Russert

Over the past, oh, year (and longer than that really) there is probably nothing I have done more then watch MSNBC. The primaries, the election news, every debate, every primary night. And there was Tim Russert. We lost Tim Russert today, and I say "we" not because I knew Tim, but because the collective "we" as a country lost an irreplaceable voice today.

I don't remember a death of somebody famous touching me so much as Tim's death. Partly because it was so stunning in its suddenness and unexpectedness, but partly because it had become second nature watching him, all the time, as I have the past year. Meet The Press, Morning Joe, NBC Nightly News, The Tim Russert Show, the weekly MSNBC primary nights where Tim was a dominant and invaluable presence. I have become so invested in this election and this Democratic primary, and watching Tim was an almost daily ritual.

A lot of people may have watched Tim Russert, but I don't think anyone truly new how large of an impact he had on this country. It is not an exaggeration or hyperbole to say that if you were a politician, and you could not pass the Russert Test, if you could not make it through a one-hour grilling on Meet The Press, you had little future in national politics, much less any chance of being President. There has been a lot of controversy about the "vetters" Barack Obama has tapped to lead his search for a Vice President. Tim Russert was America's vetter. And there was nobody better at holding those in power accountable, and there was nobody better at asking the tough, but always fair, question.

It seems too cruel that now that the Democratic Primary is over, and one of the most important Presidential elections in a generation is about to take place, Tim Russert won't be here to see it, to vet it for us, to comment on it.

Tim was a lawyer, a journalist, a former political operative. A man who loved his hometown of Buffalo and his love of city matched by his love of the Buffalo Bills. And, of course, the love of his family, both his wife and son, and his extended NBC News family. America has lost one of its most important voices today, and only in the weeks and months ahead, when we look to Meet the Press to vet the next generation of political leaders, will we truly understand just what a loss to the country this is.

No MSNBC At The Kellog Center...What Am I To Do?

So I just got into the Kellogg Center for the two day gauntlet that is the Bar Exam, and I get into my room, and what do I find? No MSNBC. CNN, Fox News, Headline News, CNBC, even networks like G4, but no MSNBC. Which means, tonight, no Hardball. No Morning Joe tomorrow morning. No pre or post debate coverage. May be the best thing that ever happened to me (I can do my last second review of my hundreds of notecards without any distractions, and I can get to bed earlier than planned, but this is very distressing). How can there be no MSNBC? At least the debate will be streamed on MSNBC.com tomorrow night, but geez, this is a major disappointment.

I don't understand this.

Obama, Clinton, and Edwards Advisors Face Off on Hardball

I love Hardball with Chris Matthews on MSNBC. During this primary campaign it has been must-see television. I know I've written before about how much I enjoy MSNBC's programming, from Morning Joe to Hardball to Countdown, but one of the top reasons to watch MSNBC is their amazing panel of pundits that they always have on. I've flipped to Bill O’Reilly's show from time-to-time and who are these Democratic and Republican "strategists" he has on? At least Hannity and Colmes have people like Dick Morris and Newt Gingrich on, people who I may not agree with but at least they know what they are talking about. Some woman was filling in actually the other night for Alan Colmes, and she couldn't get a sentence out. Had no clue what was going on. Meanwhile, on MSNBC, you have Chuck Todd, and the great Howard Fineman from Newsweek, and Roger Simon from The Politco, and Tim Russert, and Pat Buchanan, and Washington Post writers like Anne Kornblut and Eugene Robinson and Chris Cillizza (and I could go on and on and on). These are people who are great writers and reporters and really know their politics and are fascinating to listen to.

Well, today on Hardball, it wasn't any of the pundits getting into the act, but advisers to the three main Democratic campaigns for President. Chris interviewed David Axlerod (Obama chief strategist), Mark Penn (Clinton pollster and advisor) and Joe Trippi (former Howard Dean frontman and current John Edwards strategist) and they got into it over Clinton's negative campaigning. And (and this won't come as a big surprise to blog readers) I agree with Obama's campaign. It was Hillary Clinton who said that she was ready to start attacking and that "now the fun part starts." And since that time, the Clinton campaign has knocked Obama for saying he wanted to be President when he was in kindergarten, had two members of their volunteer staff resign after forwarding along e-mails claiming Obama was a Muslim who is trying to infiltrate America and destroy it from the inside, and now had one of their top people, New Hampshire co-chair Billy Shaheen resigned after bringing up questions about Obama's past drug use which Obama himself wrote about in his own autobiography (By the way -- How many times can the Clinton campaign say "this comment wasn't authorized" or "this was a joke" when these attacks keep coming one after another? Just wondering). I saw a YouTube capture of the segment on Ben Smith's blog over at Politico.com and it's must see TV for political junkies like myself.

Two comments, one was, notice how Penn, defending Clinton was still able to link the words "Obama" and "cocaine" while trying to say the comments were not endorsed by the campaign, which as rightly pointed out by Joe Trippi, was just the Clinton campaign continuing to perpetuate the Obama/drug connection even while they are trying to disclaim that they are doing that. Also, as Chris Matthews pointed out, and as I wrote at the start of December Edwards is the biggest beneficiary of this Obama-Clinton spat. Clinton's the big loser, obviously, because it's another in a series of campaign gaffes and isn't going to endear her to anyone in Iowa or New Hampshire or anywhere else, and Obama will gain, because Clinton will fall and he gets to big the grown up in the dispute, but Edwards gets to be above both, and gets to be the guy not fighting about politics, but fighting for change. It's no accident he talked about fighting corporate greed the entire debate today, and when people get sick of the political attacks of Clinton, and they lump Obama in with that even if he's an unwilling participant, Edwards is going to gain. People counting him out in Iowa shouldn't be.

And one last debate thought, Joe Biden, again, a great performance. More than anyone else, including Obama, Biden has impressed me in these debates. So much so that I'm going to write his name in and vote for him in the Michigan primary. It doesn't mean much since the Democrats have all taken their names off the ballot here in accordance with the wishes of the DNC (except for Hillary of course) so our primary is pretty meaningless, but Biden deserves it. He doesn't want to be VP, and probably wouldn't be a good electoral choice, but I'd make him Secretary of State or Defense or anything he wanted if I were the next President.

What I'm Watching - The CNN Republican YouTube Debate

I have to say, watching the CNN YouTube Republican Debate, they are a much more entertaining group, in terms of going after one another, than the Democrats are. Hillary and Barack Obama have been going head-to-head lately (and, wow, has John Edwards become irrelevant and invisible the past two weeks -- Everything is focused on Obama and Clinton, and that's good news for the Obama campaign) and added a bit of a spark to the Democratic campaign, but the way that Rudy and Mitt Romney went after each other early in the debate, and how Fred Thompson and Mike Huckabee joined in, it's intense there. Even John McCain and Ron Paul are going after each other on interventionism v. non-isolationism.

Like their last debate, CNN is allowing the crowd to be a "12th Man" and it's incredibly distracting, not just to the candidates, but the television audience. When Rudy starts talking about gun control, I want to hear his answer, not hear the crowd booing him before he's even able to get an answer out. Same with Ron Paul being booed on Iraq. And these "campaign videos" just as they were for democrats, are worthless. Mitt Romney aired a campaign ad. Fred Thompson spent his video attacking Romney and Huckabee. Rudy's was pretty good, and funny. More people need to take these videos in the light-hearted nature Rudy did. I'm waiting for Mike Huckabee's, I wonder if it will feature his endorsers Chuck Norris and professional wrestler Ric Flair.

I'm not a Republican expert, so I don't have much real "analysis" so far, other than Fred Thompson looks tired to me, and I haven't been overly impressed with Rudy tonight. Though I don't really like the way Mitt Romney has been answering questions either, he just seems too smug and too "I know more than you." Huckabee's been good, but he's a likable guy so I'd expect him to do well (though as Chris Matthews was talking about on Hardball tonight, his stance on guns, and the need for all citizens to have them in order to protect themselves against the government is nutty, but that's a separate issue). And John McCain's been solid and he said "life is not like 24 and Jack Bauer" when discussing torture, so bonus points for talking about Jack's torture techniques and history.

Jerry Seinfeld to Larry King: "Do You Know Who I Am?"

This video is making the rounds online, but it's too funny not to put up a post about. Jerry Seinfeld was on Larry King Live earlier this week, to promote his new cartoon film, Bee Movie. King, asking Jerry about the ending of Seinfeld, wanted to confirm his belief that Jerry chose to end Seinfeld, rather than the show being canceled. Seinfeld's reaction made for the following hilarious exchange:

I think my favorite part is at the end when Seinfeld says "Can I get a resume in here Larry can go over." I don't know if Larry found it funny, but I sure did.

The Lightning Round -- I Agree With Rush Limbaugh, Sports Oddities, and More

So a few random things today.

** I actually agree with Rush Limbaugh ** Now there's something you wouldn't ordinarily expect me to say. But reading TVNewser this morning, they wrote that on Morning Joe, radio talk show host (or, as Keith Olbermann likes to say, comedian) Rush Limbaugh was fawning over the great Erin Burnett of CNBC. And sure enough, when I watched some of the show when I got back from class, Rush was extolling the virtues of the CNBC anchor (I've embedded the video below). As faithful readers of Quo Vadimus know, I have written (dating back to April) time and time again about Burnett's rise to stardom and how impressed I am with her work on both CNBC and Morning Joe. Nice to see that highly talented CNBC anchors can bring the right and left together.

** Feeling Lucky? ** ESPN.com had a really interesting story today. According to a newly released study, 1 in 5 people have tried using something lucky to help their favorite sports franchise. And as someone who still carries around a half dollar with him that I found after the Detroit Pistons lost Game Five, at home, in triple overtime, in the Western Conference Finals to New Jersey and then carried it with him throughout the Pistons next two victories and on through the NBA Finals, I guess I would be in that 20%.

The survey showed no real difference by gender, race or education in whether people try finding a way to help their team win. But those who do tend to be younger and make more money than those willing to risk letting the athletes determine a game's outcome. They also are more likely to be single.

I now wonder if my sports superstition is why I'm single.

** New Blog Plug ** My good buddy and fellow law student Kurt, author of the Clever WoT blog which is home to the Law Student Blogger Directory recently launched a new project, a blog, which is the the official online companion to the Michigan Telecommunications and Technology Law Review. For all the latest analysis of the intersection between technology and the law, the MTTLR Blog is the place to go.

Morning Joe Shows Off New MSNBC Studios at 30 Rock

MSNBC officially moved into 30 Rock in New York today, joining together with NBC News in one place, and one beautiful, gigantic studio. As TVNewser reports, MSNBC and NBC have been working around the clock to put the finishing touches on the new digs.

For MSNBC employees, some of whom have commuted to the Secaucus, NJ facility for the last 11+ years, it will mean leaving the North Jersey lowlands for the high-life on the 3rd, 4th, & 5th floors of 30 Rock. For the last several weeks, MSNBC producers have been working 12+ hour days, and 6-day work weeks. They would produce live shows in Secaucus then head to 30 Rock for rehearsals.

In the combined newsroom, MSNBC producers will be working right alongside their Nightly News counterparts. Each workspace has two monitors: one for producing, writing and desktop editing; the other for monitoring multiple channels (their own and the competition).

Brian Williams, host of NBC Nightly News, will also move into a fully renovated studio tonight (Inside Cable News has a preview), and he's located directly next to his MSNBC colleagues. Morning Joe this morning became the first MSNBC show to show off the new studios (and they had a new graphics program and logo to go along with the physical move) and what we saw was very impressive.

Dan Patrick Finds New Home -- Sports Illustrated

Former ESPN SportsCenter anchor, radio host, studio host, and all around ombudsmen, Dan Patrick, has found a new home after leaving ESPN earlier this year. It was announced today that Patrick will join the pages of Sports Illustrated. Not only will Patrick pen a weekly column for the magazine, he'll write for SI.com and his daily radio show will be streamed on SI's website as well as they use Patrick to help re-launch their entry into digital media.

The move should be a good one for SI. While many may see Patrick as a broadcaster and not a writer, his book with Keith Olbermann, The Big Show which went behind the scenes of "The Big Show" SportsCenter they created was very creatively written in two different type-faces to designate when Patrick and when Olbermann was writing and his ESPN Magazine interviews were great. It will be interesting to see if Patrick writes more "sports" columns or more human interest stories, sort of like what Mitch Albom does for the Detroit Free Press (though, as Patrick's columns will appear in the front of SI, as a bookend to Rick Reilly's end-of-the-magazine column, it will likely be the latter).

In either case, I look forward to seeing his columns. Patrick was on MSNBC's Morning Joe this morning, discussing his move to SI (and discussing his old ESPN partner-in-crime Olbermann who has found success at the cable network), the video is below.

Morning Joe Discusses Fox Business "Peacock Hunting" Stunt

As has been covered extensively by media outlets and news blogs across the web, Fox launched the Fox Business Network (or is it just Fox Business? They seemingly dropped the "Channel" from their name just prior to lift-off) yesterday in an effort to revolutionize the covering of the business world just as Fox successfully revolutionized and took over the cable news network with the incredibly successful Fox News Channel. I wasn't able to check out the first day's coverage (FBN is not offered, yet, on my local cable network) but until they sign up Erin Burnett and/or Jim Cramer (the two CNBCers I watch most) they probably won't be getting my business.

Yesterday, as part of their launch, Fox Business began the day with a "shot across the bow" to CNBC, a playful stand-up by one of their news reporters in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, where CNBC is located. Saying she was "peacock hunting" (the mascot of NBC) the reporter joked around about reporting on Wall Street from such a distant location. It was obviously tongue-in-cheek (as was Jim Cramer's response on Street Signs later that afternoon which was also a playful shove, not an "on air outburst" as blogger Ian Schwartz claimed). Sophomoric? Maybe. But, it was probably something that got the Fox faithful pumped up on their first day.

This morning, on MSNBC's Morning Joe, host Joe Scarborough attacked the Fox Business stunt, calling the people behind it "dorks" and "goobers" and saying that while Fox News filled a void in cable news, allowing it to become a huge success, there is no similar void in business news, and CNBC's brand will allow it to maintain its edge over its new rival. The video of Joe's discussion of the stunt, and the start of FBN, is below.

Today's Example of Why Ann Coulter Should Have Her Michigan Law Degree Revoked

I usually don't pay much attention to Ann Coulter. Well, except for yelling at my television screen whenever she comes on the air. While I tend to be on the more liberal side of issues, I certainly don't turn a blind eye to columns and television appearances by most Republicans. I've expounded before on my enjoyment of MSNBC's Morning Joe, hosted by conservative Congressman Joe Scarborough. But, there's just something about Ann Coulter. Maybe it's her often racist, homophobic, xenophobic, and mostly outrageous remarks. Most of which are likely made to get her attention so she can sell her books and appear on even more television shows than she already does. I saw her on Tucker Carlson's show earlier in the week (hey, another Republican show I watch) and aside from hawking her latest book, she found time to plug a National Enquirer story about a politician she obviously has some sort of unhealthy obsession with. When you are citing and publicizing stories from the National Enquirer, that's one step above saying that Bigfoot exists because it was in the Weekly World News.

This makes me embarrassed to be an almost-graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, where, I'm sad to say, Coulter once attended. But this week, Coulter's really gone and upset me, and a lot of other members of the Jewish faith, by going on CNBC's The Big Idea (a very underrated show hosted by advertising guru Donny Deutsch) and claiming that the world would be better without any Jewish people in it. Excellent. There's somebody who people should be listening to and spending money to buy her books and keep her in business. Even after Deutsch gave her a chance to take back her obviously anti-semitic comments, she went further, saying that Jews needed to be "perfected" by converting to Christianity. Media Matters posted the video and transcript (And before people start, let me go on record saying that Media Matters is not perfect and gets things wrong, like the Rush Limbaugh fiasco a few weeks back, but they had the video and I wanted to post it) which I've embedded below.

I fear, though, that by even talking about her, I'm feeding the beast, so to speak. People (including me) need to start ignoring Coulter, in hopes that she'll go away. By talking about her offensive comments, it just encourages her to make more and more comments that are even more offensive than her original remarks. So, after this post, Quo Vadimus will return to being a Coulter-Free-Zone.

Until, you know, the next time she makes outrageous, offensive, anti-semitic remarks. So, in other words, check back in an hour or so.

11:00 Update: Reading TV Newser's report on Coulter-gate, I saw that somebody is taking my advice. The National Jewish Democratic Council has started a petition demanding media outlets stop giving Ann Coulter airtime. There's a novel concept.

We are writing to ask you to refrain from inviting Ann Coulter to participate as a guest on your network's news programming.

As you know, it has long been documented that Ms. Coulter takes liberties with the facts. Furthermore, her comments -- be they about Democrats, 9/11 widows, Jews, or others -- often border on hate speech.

While Ms. Coulter has her freedom of speech, you have the freedom to exercise better judgment. You wouldn't put people who claim Martians roam the earth to frequently comment on science. It is time to stop putting Ms. Coulter on the air to comment on politics, thus giving her free publicity and attention.

I think I would have written the petition a bit differently (Martians? Really?) it's the thought that counts.

Chris Matthews Discusses Controversial Comments on Morning Joe

Hardball's Chris Matthews will be co-moderating tonight's Republican debate with CNBC's Maria Bartiromo (live from the great state of Michigan) but many have called for Matthews to recuse himself from his role due to recent comments Matthews made at an anniversary party celebrating Hardball's 10th anniversary. Matthews went hard after the Bush administration and the "criminality" of conduct by Vice President Cheney.

"They've finally been caught in their criminality," Matthews continued, although he did not specify the exact criminal behavior to which he referred. He then drew an obvious Bush-Nixon parallel by saying, “Spiro Agnew was not an American hero."

Matthews left the throng of Washington A-listers with a parting shot at Cheney: “God help us if we had Cheney during the Cuban missile crisis. We’d all be under a parking lot.”

Matthews defended himself on Morning Joe this morning, in an interview previewing the debate, saying that he has been tough on both Republican and Democratic administrations during his media career and that tonight's debate should not be about him, but about the Republican candidates, one of whom may be the next leader of this country.

Hillary Clinton Never Takes a Stand and Other Democratic Debate Thoughts

Sometimes art imitates life. But, as I keep learning, a lot of times, life imitates art. And with the current fight for the Democratic nomination for President, this is really starting to look like a flashback of Senator John Hoynes' failed nomination fight on The West Wing, shown during the series second season.

Josh Lyman: Senator, you're the prohibitive favorite to be the Democratic Party's nominee for President. You have 58 million dollars in a war chest with no end in sight, and... I don't know what we're for.

Senator Hoynes:
Josh.

Josh: I don't know what we're for, and I don't know what we're against. Except we seem to be for winning and against somebody else winning.

Hoynes: It's a start.

I just watched the great two-hour MSNBC Democratic Debate, and other than coming away thinking that Tim Russert should moderate every debate, I have a few other thoughts. The first of which is, like the quote from The West Wing's second season above, I don't know what Senator Clinton is for. And I don't know what she's against. She refuses to answer anything, and unlike most of the other candidates, she doesn't even try to hide it. "I won't answer that . . . That's a hypothetical and I don't discuss hypotheticals . . . I won't put anything on the proverbial table . . . I won't negotiate against myself . . . I don't discuss the private conversations between myself and my husband."

Is it smart politics? Yes. By not saying anything, she can't get tagged later in the general election. But, as much as she wants to be the Democratic nominee for President, and as much as she thinks she already is the Democratic nominee, and no matter how many polls put her 20-points or more up on the field, she is not the Democratic nominee. And I don't understand how people can support a candidate who is running for President who doesn't tell people what they are for and what they are against.

Somebody needs to challenge her on that and it's becoming obvious that Barack Obama won't. And he's never going to win the nomination without going on offense at some point. I know he wants to come across with a "new kind of politics" and "turn the page" on the politics of the past, but he can't neuter himself. You can attack Clinton's policies without attacking Clinton the person and he can't be afraid to do that. John Edwards did a great job of that tonight.

Edwards, as well as Joe Biden, had good nights. I like Biden more and more every time I see him. Sure, he's not going to win, but he's the only one, especially when compared to Clinton, to actually answer questions, and he's incredibly knowledgeable when it comes to Iraq and foreign policy. Would he make a good President? I don't know. But he needs a prominent role in our government.

Using the West Wing quote to start this entry is a great comparison I think to this nomination fight. The start of that scene was Josh debating with other advisors to Senator Hoynes that Social Security needed to be front and center of the campaign. Senator Clinton, like Senator Hoynes, doesn't want to put any issue front and center, because she has such a big lead, that the more people learn about her, the more likely it is, they'll go to another candidate. I really believe that. She started with such a big lead because of her reputation, and name recognition, and the great work her husband did. So it allows her to take an "above the fray" approach. And unless somebody knocks her down a peg, she'll stay up there until she gets into the White House.

Josh: Mark, at 400 billion dollars Social Security represents one-fourth of the federal budget, and it's gonna be bankrupt in exactly 17 years. Right around the time you're going to check your mailbox, half of the elderly population will be living in poverty. This now, qualifies as a priority, and running for President of the United States not putting Social Security front and center is like running for President of the Walt Disney Corporation by saying you're gonna fix the rides at Epcot.

Mark: We're gonna get to Social Security, Josh. It's a long campaign. For now, we focus on the tax cuts.

Candy: It's what magicians call 'misdirection.'

Josh: Really? 'Case it's what the rest of us call bull--

Keith Olbermann Overtakes O'Reilly; Morning Joe Discusses

While the overall audience for Fox News' Bill O'Reilly remains much higher than that of MSNBC's Keith Olbermann, the gap is shrinking by the week, and according to TV Newser, Olbermann defeated O'Reilly in the 25-54 demographic on Friday night, the first time Olbermann has done so when O'Reilly was not in repeats or had a guest host. Many are crediting Olbermann's gains to his appearances on NBC's "Football Night in America" where Olbermann has become a halftime panelist, bringing over his "Worst Person in the World" bit to a much wider audience. As CBSNews.com's Matthew Felling speculated on Morning Joe this morning, perhaps Olbermann's move to NBC is paying dividends by exposing sports fans, who remember Olbermann from his SportsCenter days and are now checking out his cable news program.

To be fair, though, the Morning Joe team made it seem as if Olbermann had more viewers than O'Reilly overall, which he did not, but as Olbermann pointed out himself on Friday, all that he cares about (and all anyone should care about) are the demographic ratings. On that show, when we now know Olbermann was beating O'Reilly in that demo, Keith named O'Reilly his "Worst Person" for trying to distort the ratings, after Olbermann, earlier in the week, outpaced O'Reilly for half of his program.

'Morning Joe' Scarborough Attacks News Corp on CNBC Story

Joe Scarborough on his MSNBC morning show, 'Morning Joe,' took a shot at Fox News and its parent company, News Corp, this morning, for, as he put it, "ginning up a story" in the New York Post regarding a rivalry between CNBC anchors Maria Bartiromo, Erin Burnett, and the rest of CNBC's female anchor staff.

For those unfamiliar, the Post, over the past few months, has continuously written about a supposed "feud" between CNBC's top female anchor, Bartiromo, and its upcoming and quickly rising "international superstar" (as Scarborough calls her each day during her segment on Morning Joe), Burnett. I've written about these stories before but The New York Post upped the ante earlier this week when it claimed not just Burnett and Bartiromo were fighting, but dissension went far deeper at CNBC.

A source says reporters including sexy blonde Melissa Francis, who covers energy, have complained to CNBC suits that while they get zip, Bartiromo and Burnett are treated like princesses - with massive promotion, regular gigs on the "Today" show and "NBC Nightly News," perks such as limos and gushing quotes from network brass in newspaper articles.

"The catfight that started with Maria being jealous of Erin's rise has spread down the line. Now all of the other female reporters are getting p - - - ed off," our insider said.

"They're going to management and telling them they want equal treatment - better public relations, better placement on the air. They are all being divas now. It's gotten ridiculous."

So what was so suspicious in the eyes of Scarborough? The New York Post is owned by News Corp, which owns the cable network Fox News (which not coincidentally was promoting the story and the supposed feud on its airwaves) and is soon to own its own Fox Business Channel. So who has the most to gain by creating dissension within the ranks of CNBC? News Corp, who hopes to poach as much of CNBC's talent as possible for its new business cable channel.

If Joe is right, it's scary that sources that people use, or try to use, to get legitimate news, may be used to manipulate the news. And as Time.com's Ana Marie Cox brought up on Morning Joe discussing this topic, imagine what will happen, and how much power News Corp will have, once they start controlling the Wall Street Journal where they can really give legitimacy to these kinds of stories. Paranoia? Maybe. Probably even. But, maybe not.

This is Why I Love Jim Cramer

I'm a big fan of CNBC's Jim Cramer. Yes, he's loud, obnoxious, and a caricature of a person. But, if you read his autobiography, Confessions of a Street Addict, you'll find he's also very intelligent, thoughtful, and successful. And a self-described nutcase. Well, unhappy with the recent tumble of the stock market, Cramer went on a significant rant while on Street Signs with the great Erin Burnett. If this isn't "must see TV," I don't know what is.

The market today is up some 200 points, and Cramer is a bit more calm and collected. You can watch his calm response to Friday's tirade at TheStreet.com

Erin Burnett versus Maria Bartiromo, Take Two

Looks like I was a few months early writing about the friendly (or maybe not so friendly) rivalry between CNBC anchors Erin Burnett and Maria Bartiromo. Noticing back in March, when I was on a massive CNBC kick, how great Burnett was hosting her afternoon show Street Signs, I wrote about how underrated Burnett was compared to her colleague Maria Bartiromo. But, now, just four months later, after being profiled on Portfolio.com (a story in which this blog was quoted), Broadcasting and Cable and in the New York Post (which dubbed her the 'Street Sweetie'), Burnett certainly is "rated" these days.

Burnett has exploded on the scene to such an extent, apparently Bartiromo is none too pleased. Watching Morning Joe tonight (as I wrote last week, I tend to watch Morning Joe, at least the third hour which I miss while driving into work, at night) host Joe Scarborough, who has Burnett on each morning around 8:20, talked about another New York Post story which details Bartiromo's displeasure with Burnett's rise.

An inside source tells Page Six the Money Honey has been fuming that curvy Burnett, in addition to her duties as anchor of "Street Signs" and co-anchor of "Squawk on the Street," is getting substantial airtime on the "Today" show, which gives her a much bigger audience. "Maria is like, hey, why isn't it me on the 'Today' show? She's very jealous of all the attention Erin is getting," our source said.

Burnett's star is certainly skyrocketing. Broadcast & Cable magazine called the petite, blue-eyed brunette CNBC's "secret weapon" in its upcoming battle with the soon-to-launch Fox Business Channel, which is owned by News Corp., The Post's parent. Adding insult to injury, the trade journal quoted CNBC senior VP Jonathan Wald as gushing about Burnett, "She's a natural. She's both energetic and solicitous, but she never appears fawning."

While there may be some feathers ruffled over at CNBC, as I'm sure there are at most networks when a new anchor is quickly rising up the charts, I think Burnett's success has as much to do with her on-air demeanor as it does her looks as the Post implies. While newspapers may like to refer to her as "Sweet Sweetie" and "curvy,", and there's no doubt Burnett is very beautiful, it is Burnett's ability to interact with her guests and co-hosts, and a certain genuineness which is at the root of her success. Though, TV Newser has a source which says Burnett may be the source of the New York Post story, and may herself be fueling the rivalry, so who knows.

Actually, now that I think about it, has anybody considered that the feud may be a ruse? With the Fox Business Channel set to enter CNBC's territory sooner than later, knowing that papers like the New York Post love stories like this, what if Burnett, Bartiromo, and some CNBC people are leaking these stories to increase their publicity and hopefully ratings going into the Fox Business Channel launch? By increasing Burnett's visibility, both on Morning Joe (where she's great and has a great chemistry with host Joe Scarborough), and the Today Show, and getting these stories about her rise to the top of the business journalism world, and putting her on the same level as the already highly respected and well-known Bartiromo, CNBC suddenly has two top anchors that are household names. Hmmm...

The Democrat's CNN/YouTube Debate

I meant to blog on this last night, but in all honesty, I turned on the Detroit Tigers game around 9:30 and promptly fell asleep on my couch. Oops. So, a day late, but certainly not a dollar short, here are some thoughts on last night's CNN/YouTube Democratic Debate, which for those that missed it or haven't read about it, involved the candidates being asked questions from everyday Americans, submitted as videos on YouTube.

The format I thought was really interesting. Sure, a lot of the questions were the same ones we've seen before, some were silly (like the virtual snowman worrying about global warming) and the candidates vignettes weren't really necessary, but overall, it was fresh, and unique, and with it being so early before the primaries start, we needed a debate like this. And I do think the format was useful because it allowed questions to be asked that a normal moderator may have been uncomfortable asking (such as the question directed to Barack Obama about whether he was "black" enough). As for Anderson Cooper, who was moderator, he was hit and miss. As Chuck Todd wrote on MSNBC's live-blog of the debate, he really didn't let the candidates "debate" among themselves at all. But, on the other hand, he kept the trains on the track, not letting candidates get too far from the questions (a few times re-asking the original question after a candidate went into a stump speech having little to do with the question at issue) and even told Mike Gravel "No" when Gravel asked for more time.

And, before discussing the individual candidates (though, I guess this technically is about a specific person) but Mike Gravel has to go. He's not doing the Democrats any good at these debates, he continues to make Joe Biden look tranquil (and that takes some talent), and he's really just a punchline at this point. At least Dennis Kucinich has an issue (the War) that he really cares about and is trying to get people talking about. I have no idea why or what Gravel is doing. Other than making the rest of the Democrats look bad.

The mainstream media continues to praise Hillary Clinton performances in the debates, and in many ways, she is very polished and knows exactly what to say and how to say it. But I thought Brack Obama did very very well and continues to improve each debate he's in. His answers on Iraq (posted below) were right on the mark, both in terms of attacking Hillary for approving the war to begin with, and blasting Tony Snow for defending the Iraqi government's vacation by explaining it is "hot" in Iraq. And this whole controversy where Clinton is calling him 'naive' for saying he would meet with certain foreign leaders is just ridiculous. The obvious aim of the question was whether an Obama administration or a Clinton administration would meet with the Fidel Castro's of the world, not whether Barack and Fidel would head to a Washington Nationals game together. Was Clinton smart for answering it the way she did (by saying she would wait before holding any meetings herself to make sure she wasn't being used simply as a propaganda piece) which made Obama look too eager and inexperienced? Sure. But, the whole issue is a non-issue as far as I am concerned. Now, to Obama's great answers on the war.

Obama's answer on whether or not he would work for the minimum wage was also spot on. When the question was asked, I immedietely yelled out at my TV, "of course they would, they can afford to. That's the whole point." And that's how Obama answered the question, wisely.

As for who else really impressed me, Joe Biden continues to show that he may be the smartest candidate of the bunch. A bit angry at times, but while everyone else talks about getting out of Iraq, Biden sounds like he actually knows how to get out of Iraq. On foreign policy, there is nobody better right now than Biden, and he sounds intelligent on the domestic issues too. He has no chance to be President, but should a Democrat win in 2008, I couldn't think of a better candidate for Secretary of State. His campaign put together some highlights of last night's debate, worth checking out.

Anyways, interesting concept. Good television.

Enjoying Joe Scarborough and Company's Morning Joe

I never really watched or listened to Don Imus. I'm not entirely sure why. I'm usually up in the mornings, either for class during the school year or work during the summer, and considering how much I love keeping up on news and politics, and how much I watched MSNBC anyway, you'd have thought I would have tuned in. And the loss of the well-known and well-listened-to Imus could have been bad news for MSNBC's mornings. But, as it turns out, the loss of Imus may have been the best thing for MSNBC. At least if they were trying to get me as a daily viewer (and, let's face it, what television network isn't courting me as a viewer?)

I write this because Imus' replacement thus far (and I would assume permanently, though, for some odd reason MSNBC seems to be dragging their feet in that regard) former Republican Congressman and MSNBC prime time host, Joe Scarborough, has been terrific. While Joe has not taken over Imus' gig on the radio (which, I for one, am very disappointed about because that 8:00-9:00 drive to work would be a lot better if it were) he hosts Imus' former show, from 6:00-9:00 am weekdays on MSNBC. Joined by acclaimed writer John Ridley, news anchor Mika Brzezinski (of the now famous, thanks to YouTube, clip from Morning Joe where she refuses to report on Paris Hilton) and some other fun people (like Willie Giest) the show is smart, topical, has great guests, great commentary, and is must-see viewing for those looking to catch up on the day's headlines and stories as they brew their own cup of 'Morning Joe.'

I've started to tape 'Morning Joe' on my computer each morning, catching up on the first (on while I'm still sleeping) and third (on while I'm driving to work) when I get back home. It also doesn't hurt that a regular contributor to the third hour of the program is CNBC's Erin Burnett, talking about the day ahead in the stock market. Burnett, of Portfolio.com's recent profile (quote me and get a lot of plugs -- I think this is the lesson to be learned here) and of my praising back in March, really seems to enjoy her interactions with Joe, and their segments have been very entertaining as well as informative (a description which describes the entire morning program).

So, you need to get up early, before work, check out Morning Joe on MSNBC. Vastly superior to the other morning cable news fare, and the best thing to happen to MSNBC since Keith Olbermann came back to the network. Both liberal and conservative, Republican and Democratic viewpoints and guests, and Erin Burnett. What morning show can top that?

The Lightning Round: Erin Burnett, Curtis Granderson's Catch, and a Few Other Notes

I really need to start updating the blog more often during the summer. I liked it better when I was updating once a day, not twice a week. So let's see what's been going on....

* For those of you visiting the site for the first time after reading Portfolio.com's great profile of CNBC's Erin Burnett, welcome. The author of the piece, Claire Atkinson, was kind enough to link to my blog here and plug a post I did way back in March (okay, it's not "way back", but it seems that way) on how much CNBC I was watching and how impressed I was with the talented and personable Burnett. You can check out that story and my original thoughts on the Erin Burnett v. Maria Bartiromo debate right here.

My opinion hasn't changed much since I wrote the original post in March. I still think Burnett is destined for big things at CNBC (or elsewhere) and obviously others agree. Sadly, though, I haven't been home to watch Street Signs lately (oh the joys of being in law school and being home with nothing to do at 2:00 every afternoon) but I'll be back watching soon enough.

* Hot day at Comerica Park yesterday. And I should know, as I was there, watching the Tigers close out a sweep of the Boston Red Sox. A great series for the Tigers, and a great way to close out the first half, winning 5 of 6 against Cleveland and Boston, two of the top teams in the American League (aside from the Tigers of course). And while the Tigers had five errors yesterday (no, that's not a typo) they also had one of the greatest catches I've ever seen live, when Curtis Granderson ran what seemed like an entire football field, climbed the left-centerfield wall and absolutely robbed Willy Mo Pena of a home run. Absolutely incredible. And because of Major League Baseball apparently has nothing better to do and has no interest in growing their game by making sure as many people see the catch as possible, most of the highlights of the catch have been yanked from YouTube (longtime readers know my experience with MLB Advance Media and my law school buddy Kurt's thoughtful response) but a few are still out there, and you need to see this catch if you haven't already.

* I recently finished reading John Meacham's American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nationand I would recommend the book to anyone and everyone. It takes a look at religion from the founding of North America through the founding of the United States and through the Cold War and shows just how smart the Founding Fathers really were when they decided to promote freedom of religion for everyone. Espeically today, when religion is so often used as a weapon and those who do not believe in what others think everyone should believe are vilified, and when people misconstrue history and tradition for political and ideological gain, it's just tranquil to be able to read the founders own words and see how truly important they thought it was that people would be able to practice any religion (or none at all). And how important that ideal has been throughout the last 250 years.

Moving on to a lighter subject, I'm now reading Phil Rosenthal's You're Lucky You're Funny: How Life Becomes a Sitcom. For those unfamiliar, Phil was the co-creator, writer, producer, ect. ect. of Everybody Loves Raymond. The show is largely based on his life and his parents, and the book not only goes through some of Phil's life-story but also the story about how Everybody Loves Raymond came into being and took on a life of its own, becoming one of the most successful sitcoms of this generation. Plus, you already know Phil's a great writer, so you can't really good wrong, and the first few chapters have been really good. Plus, it's only $5.00 at Amazon for the hardcover edition. How can you beat that?

CNBC's Erin Brunett Covers Digg Revolt on "Street Signs"

I was watching CNBC's Street Signs with Erin Burnett, as I often do afternoons 2:00-3:00 and near the end of her show, she started talking about copy-protection of DVDs and the recent uprising at website Digg.com. For those unfamiliar, Digg is a social news site where news stories are "digged" to the top of the pile and "buried" to the bottom if they aren't good. What shows up on the Digg front page is whatever the Digg faithful votes for. Until earlier this week, when Digg chose to remove posts which contained a crack to the decryption of the new HD-DVD Technology after receiving a "cease and desist" letter from the HD-DVD crowd. Needless to say, the Digg folks revolted, flooded the site with posts and diggs, and eventually Digg changed their ways. Burnett had two guests on this afternoon to talk about the Digg revolt and copy protection in general, and it was a very interesting discussion. The video is below.