Beat the Press, Test #1 Beat the Press, Test #1

Welcome to the first Meet the Press blog panel. Remember, this is only a test--however we hope that you will devote your unilmited zeal and gusto to the project as if it were every bit as real as Ted Kennedy's nose. Now, ladies and gentlemen, start your engines.....

Tim Russert has a chance today to show the Bush Admistration as it founders, under siege as never before. From the mishandling of the intelligence information that took us to war, to the Indictment of Scooter Libby. From the failure of Harriet Miers nomination to the capitulation to the radical right through the nomination of Judge Alito. And in between, Congress wants to eviscerate our privacy rights by making the Patriot Act permanent.

Jeralyn has an opening statement. Just like a lawyer.

Well, I'm enthusiastic about Alito -- whereas I wasn't about Miers -- because he has an understanding of judicial process. Miers was a pragmatist. And that's dangerous in a jurist.

Sen. Kennedy makes a good point on Judge Alito. Why is the radical right so hot on him when they blew so cold on Harriet Miers. What do they know that we don't know.

Hey. Young Ted looks like William Devane. Well, Devane soaking wet.

Another question, Jeralyn: Why were YOU so hot on Miers?

Jeff, DeVane was pretty hot at one time.

Oh, Tim, what a cheap shot. Trying to trick the Senator with a comment he made in 1967....

Jeff, I liked Harriet Miers for sticking up for equal access to justice for the poor and diversity. And she's a strong advocate of the right to bear arms.

Ted is tying himself in circles trying to disassociate privacy from Roe v Wade. Anybody believe him?

Face it: the Miers dustup from the right showed that Roe is not a litmus test for the right. I believe it is for the Kennedy-Feinstein-Schumer cadre on the left.

Miers stuck up for "diversity," Jeralyn? How do you define that?

Re: Fillibuster. Not a chance. If the votes were there, the Dems would try it. But Alito is simply too qualified.

Jeff, the Senator is right about the right to privacy encompassing more than Roe v. Wade. I'm troubled by Alito's opinions on privacy.

I wish the Senator would lose the football analogies. Why do male politicians always turn to sports?

Ted wanted a sunset for the PATRIOT Act so that he could be done with it and hit happy hour.

Jeff, his qualifications are only one part of the equation. We need to know if he's an ideologue. That's what hearings are for.

Jeralyn -- Of course he's right about privacy encompassing more than Roe. But my point is, all he cares about is Roe, and that his pretending to care about privacy apart from Roe is laughable.

Laugh now, Jeff. Next time you get a traffic ticket, your credit report will show on the cop car's computer screen. The Patriot Act was an abominable piece of legislation. I'm unhappy that the Democrats went along with it.

"The Westwing has been taken over by the Right Wing." Nice way to rephrase "democratic election," Teddy.

Yeah! Karl Rove should leave. Kennedy and Trent Lott at last agree on something.

Sorry I'm late, I've been checking out this sweet 68 Olds Delmont on eBay...

Ted's was a '66 but I think they had the submarine feature perfected by the 67s.

Rove needs to step down because....well, the left thinks he should.

WHY WON'T GEORGE BUSH JUST LISTEN TO US AND CLEAN HOUSE?

Okay, now we're getting to the heart of the WMD issue. I love Kennedy's praise for Harry Reid and his Senate shut-down. What a coup that was.

Is Kennedy calling Pat Roberts a liar?

Here's the thing about intelligence misuse. The first part of the investigation concluded that the administration hadn't pushed for certain conclusions. If this is the case -- and the CIA stands by its assessments -- then the Administration has no reason to have "manipulated" anything.

Jeff, he's not calling him a liar. He's calling him negligent and derelict in his duties.

Jeralyn, Reid staged a temper tantrum. It was hysterical.

Welcome, David. Jump right in.

Speaking of coups, I just love the great value styling of the '66 Olds Delmont Coupe with its 370 bridge-jumping horses of Old Rocket power!

Hiya, Hawk.

Is Kennedy advocating a withdrawal or troop reduction? It's time for withdrawal.

Whatup G?

Wonder why Teddy is selective quoting particular military personnel. If I didn't know better, I'd guess he has a particular anti-war agenda...

Like all Americans, I had high hopes for the future of the Oldsmobile and its passengers, as we struggle against the onrushing water and its poorly-designed shoulder belts. But as claustrophobia sets in we must begin to sober up and face the truth: hope is no longer an option.

It is time for us to recognize that our continued presence in this volatile region is a hinderance to the Oldsmobile and its people. Rather than helping the situation we are further weighing down the Oldsmobile, causing it to sink faster and faster into the quagmire of Chappaquidick Bay, creating a dangerous situation for both ourselves as well as its passengers who are desperately seeking an air pocket in which to start a better life.

That is why I believe we have reached the point where we must take a deep breath and immediately depart the Oldsmobile. We must seek through the watery darkness and release the belt latch of madness that has kept us here, and reach out for a sane and honorable window crank.

Obviously there will be passengers in the Oldsmobile who do not want us to leave, and will likely try to grasp and grab at our feet as we depart. While we wish them success, it is critical that these passengers quickly learn independence and self-determination. The most effective way to teach them is through example, and with a vigorous kick-off. Let us hope they will cherish our shoes as a lasting legacy of our commitment to liberty.

Well, that was pretty mild. I wanted more sparks.

Withdrawal? Uh, hey Jeralyn -- 1968 called. It wants its poncho back.

Hi too, J.

1967, 2005, the more things change the more they remain the same.

In all fairness Jeff, we'll need those troops to liberate Paris.

Here's one: What do you get when you cross Teddy Kennedy and a desk lamp?

yeah, I don't know either.

I give, Gaston. What DO you get?

MORE GIN!

This old drunk guy is boring. When do the Cargill and boner drug commercials start?

I don't want to know where a nominee stands on Roe. I don't think it's a good indicator for a nominee's judicial philosophy. I was very critical of Miers, for instance.

Russert is trying his Kennedy trick on Sen. Coburn. Hit them with a sentence of an old speech.

You heard it on MTP first, Sen. Coburn would vote for a judge who would uphold Roe v. Wade.

I love the way these guys throw the word "stare decisis" around, as if joe and jane sixpack knows what that means.

Alito, like Roberts, is the kind of Justice any legal conservative would love.

Joe and Jane Sixpack are in bed with hangovers.

Don't be an elitist, Jeralyn. You're PROGRESSIVE, remember? You LOVE joe and jane sixpack!

Stare decisis -- Wasn't that Yes's follow up album to Roundabout?

Gay rights is the greatest threat to our freedoms and will undermine the family? What a prince of a guy.

Except when joe or jane sixpack vote for Republicans. Then they are godbothering Denny's humpers.

The Republican party needs to stop sending doctors on tv to talk about the law. It's just silly.

How is looking at the Commerce Clause and concluding it doesn't give the feds carte blanche "legislating from the bench"?

Ha! Tom Coburn doesn't know what equal protection is in the context of Bush v. Gore. Good for him to admit it, Russert had to move on.

OMG, Coburn is passing himself off as a human lie detector. He uses body language to determine if people are lying. Send him back to the ER. We don't need that in Congress.

I hate to say this, but Coburn doesn't strike me as the sharpest cheddar in the quesadilla.

Not to kill Tim Russert's mad dope crunk Beltway flow here, but is there any actual normal human being who gives a rats ass about what any of these people think?

Speaking of which, Coburn has an enormous head -- and Teddy's was still 5x the size.

Congress needs Coburn. ROOSTER Coburn.

I do, Hawk.

Coburn seem to understand the evils of the Patriot Act better than Democrats.

Why is Tim Russerts' desk so big? It looks silly.

Okay, no I don't. Good catch.

Mine's bigger, Jeralyn.

Republican talking point: There was a failure of communication from the national security agency to the White House. Sound familiar? Just like the CIA report on Joe Wilson didn't get sent to Cheney.

Well, me too Jeff, but it's mostly morbid curiosity.

Jeralyn, Russert's desk is freakishly big to enhance the host's patented dramatic body zoom-in staredowns.

Just like the CIA report on Joe Wilson didn't get sent to Cheney.

Who isn't lying? Besides Joe Wilson?

Jeff, your desk is bigger? I hope that's what you meant.

Coburn is now on familiar territory. Reigning in spending. Limited government. He even says the Republicans are at fault too.

He's so passionate on this issue, it just reinforces my prior comments that he's clueless on constitutinal issues.

Totenberg. She's very very very NPR.

Ultra-NPR, even.

Holy jumpin jebus Jeralyn. I love ya, but reading you complain about "talking points" is like hearing Big Head Ted complain about bad driving.

Yes, Jeff. She's very NPR. But I like David Gregory. He's definitely become more critical of the Bush Administration the past few years.

"some expressing doubt." I love that.

_That's_ Nina Totenberg? It looks like a transvestite Shemp Howard.

Two minute warning! If the panelists will kindly prepare their closing remarks....

Full story: "some are expressing doubt. Others? Not so much."

David, it's okay. Democrats have talking points too. And they are always too long. Both sides should cut them to soundbite length.

Ask Ron Browstein to try an eye poke on her, see if she knows the Stooge block.

Tom Elia at the New Editor did a breakdown on these polls:

the CBS News poll, which shows that Bush’s approval rating is at 35%, reports that an unweighted sample shows that 34.8% of its respondents self-identified as Democrats, while 27.6% said they were Republicans. While the unweighted sample yielded a seven-point differential favoring the Dems, a weighted sample had the spread at 11% points in favor of the Dems. This represents at least a 10-11 point swing in the electorate since the 2004 election (and perhaps as much as 14 points), when Bush won by about three points and the Repubs won the aggregate House vote by about four points.

The AP/Ipsos poll, which has Bush’s approval rating at 37%, said its respondents self-identified 49% Dem and 40% Repub, yielding a nine-point differential favoring the Dems. This represents a 12-point swing in the electorate since 2004.

Only 80% of the respondents in this poll were registered voters, while 13% of the respondents reported that they were unemployed (the current unemployment rate is about 5%-6%), and 31% said they were between the ages of 18-34 (this was the only age group that Sen. John Kerry carried in the last presidential election, and it actually voted in a much smaller percentage than that represented in this poll).

The ABC/Washington Post poll, which shows that Bush’s approval rating is at 39%, saw its respondents break down thusly: 52% said they leaned toward the Dems, and 41% leaned toward the Repubs. That represents a 14-point swing since last year’s elections.

Will someone explain how the demographic breakdowns in these polls represent accurate pictures of the electorate, given what we know about the 2004 election (and the 2002 mid-terms)?

Sorry Jeralyn, but you read like a fortune cookie in the DNC commissary.

Thus concludes our inaugural panel discussion. If you are free and so inclined, dear participants, please stick around and give us your feedback....

Social conservatives like James Dobson and Hugh Hewitt supported Miers.

This idea that Bush disappointed social cons is silly. He disappointed those who wanted a judge who didn't rule on instinct.

What's president Kerry's approval rating?

I like Nina better when she was on about Luftballoons. Powerful stuff, that.

Ginsberg is liberal? The HELL YOU SAY!

Man, these goody bags are great! I got a king size Snickers and a Yugi-Oh card!

yeah, I know we're done. But I just can't stop.

Jeff -- but Dobson said after her withdrawal he changed his mind.

Remember that Poison song - I wish I didn't know now things I didn't know then?

This was a lackluster Meet the Press. I heard Wolf Blitzer's Late Edition was the show to watch today.

The best line goes to Nina Totenberg -- The radical right think they own this presidency.

Unfortunately, they do.

I'm disappointed not one person honed in on Alito's criminal justice opinions. Half the cases decided by the court are on crime. His only job experience other than as a judge is as a prosecutor and attorney for the Govenrment. Defendants will get shafted even more than they do now once he hits the court.

Hey, think the Dems would be happy with Janice Rogers Brown? Meets most of their standards. She's, like, a perfect Dem candidate. If it wasn't for her pesky rulings, I mean.

Poison?

I just lost all respect for you.

Jeralyn -- of course Dobson said that. But do you suddenly believe him?

Jeff, we agree. Ginsberg is not a liberal. Neither is O'Connor.

DraftPrado.Org.

David, it was a song about a parapalegic Vietnam vet.

"A stain on this White House." Raise your hand if you just thought of Monica's dress.

This reporter hits the nail on the head. This will all boil down to the July 12 conference on Air Force Two. Bye, Mr. Cheney.

You're thinking of "Billy Don't Be a Hero," Jeralyn.

I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die.

Now I'm stuck in Folsom Prison, thanks to the Judge Sam Alito's extra-constitutional reading on habeus corpus.

Johnny Cash
Folsom Prison 7th Appelate Court

David, it was a song about a parapalegic Vietnam vet.

Sung by a 1993 hair band.

Are we doing a feedback thing? Or should I be liveblogging the commercials?

They might as well close the office down tomorrow, what with all the people milling around the water cooler talking about Scootergate and filling out their Karl Rove fantasy league pool slips.

(is this thing on?)

Feedback point number 1: Cathy Seipp definitely needs to write more.

Shut up Goldstein, I'm trying to hear the Cialis announcer talk about side effects.

Thanks everyone. I think we've blogged the press to a faretheewell, commercials, too.

Do you have feedback for us, Moderator?

I dunno, I think her commentary was very zen.

Some issues here are obvious, but if any of you have any specific comments on what went well and/or badly, please email me (the angry monkey) at hillary@pajamasmedia.com.

Well, GOODBYE to YOU TOO, missy!

huff huff huff

One problem would be the lag time, obviously (I am a monkey typing, and you know how that goes).

The other obvious problem being that the show itself was dull.

Test...