POLISHING TURDS

Just happened to see a condensed version of Brian Williams' "A Day With The President" on "Countdown." There was one segment that looked like it was shot in the White House portrait studio--Bush looked really good somehow. The light was soft but not gay, and he looked and sounded very reasonable. Not the things he said, but the tone of his voice.

Congratulations to NBC News for winning the bid in the PR campaign to polish the turd that is Bush's presidency.

And as I watched the end of Hardball leading into Countdown, I thought again about why it is that the same pundits, journalists and political hacks are always on such shows. Always spouting the same bullshit.

I mean, both Countdown and Hardball always have Dana Milbank on. Who the fuck is Dana Milbank? I mean, I know he's a reporter for the Washington Post, but what does he know about what is actually going on in a given situation. Aside from the fact that he too, is an intelligent human being, like a lot of people.

But I mean why are those types--not just those types, really, but always the same people--always on these shows talking their talking heads off about whatever happens to be the topic. What I'm getting at is--why doesn't some enterprising news organization talk to real people on a regular basis instead of these insular, highly-paid, politically-motivated types.

And when I say "real people," I don't mean people presented to the press by the Rendon Group or some other gigantic PR firm as a "real" person, I mean, why don't they have actual people who are affected by whatever policy issue is being discussed. And don't have them on as a token "real" person, followed by the government spokesperson to really set the record straight. Let the real people be the authorities.

And not the same stable of "real" people over and over again. Different, actual untrained people. People who aren't media savvy at all. I mean, reality TV is popular, right? What is more real than what I'm talking about?