GOP "assortment, hodgepodge, potpourri, etc."

Today’s Buzz ...
From last night’s program ...

GOP Jumble: I couldn’t have said it better myself! And you know – what’s so terribly awful about the nominee actually being chosen at the convention(s) this year – either Republican or Democrat – or – better yet – both?? Especially for anyone who entered this campaign thinking that their success was ‘pre-ordained’!



John King had a report on the ‘muddled’ GOP race in South Carolina, and then joined correspondent David Brody from the Christian Broadcasting Network for a discussion with Anderson about strategies that each candidate is utilizing in the hopes of securing an important victory in that state on Saturday.



Dems in the courtroom: Candy Crowley had a report on the Nevada lawsuit that’s been filed to shut down nine Las Vegas caucus sites that have been set up to accommodate workers who are unable to be in their home precincts on Saturday. There are so many times when I just can’t state it better than one of the best (i.e. – Candy), so here’s the ‘telling’ quote from the report: "Many of those workers belong to the Culinary Union, which has endorsed Barack Obama. A couple of days after that endorsement, a lawsuit was filed challenging the constitutionality of the at-large precincts. The Culinary Union notes that nobody objected to the plan when the Clinton campaign thought it would be getting the endorsement."



Rudy in FLA: Tom Foreman had a good piece on the “Rudy strategy” – and the ‘Florida firewall’, as it’s been dubbed. Tom ended the segment with a very accurate summary: “He is betting his political life.” Or – as an AP article today stated, it could end up being “a strategy that could be a colossal failure or a masterful calculation.” We’ll see soon enough.



Randi Kaye exclusive: I’m not sure I understand why ‘Lisa’, the Cesar Laurean ‘friend’, insisted on being interviewed with her identity hidden as it was, and then describe identity-revealing information such as the fact that she was the individual who wrote up the second military protective order given to Maria Lauterbach? It didn’t make a lot of sense. And even with as much sympathy as I have for her family, I do think they should now be given some privacy by the media, and any further reports should consist only of the capture of Cpl. Laurean.



Toobin double-duty (again): We had two doses of legal analysis from Jeff Toobin – thankfully brief (no offense to Jeff) – about OJ Simpson’s release from jail and about the SF Zoo tiger attack. I say ‘thankfully brief’ because the amount of coverage that both stories have already received far exceeds their relative importance.




Zain Verjee attack: Now this story is one that would have warranted at least a few more minutes. Zain is still in Kenya – and reporting on police forces staged in Uhuru Park in Nairobi, readying to combat opposition forces still protesting in the streets. In the midst of a police crackdown, Zain was struck in the back by a tear gas canister. The first picture below shows the canister just above her left shoulder before it struck her. I’ve included the second photo (post-strike) to show she wasn’t seriously hurt - thankfully!




Other News and Notes:

Anderson will be co-hosting “Live With Regis & Kelly” on Friday, February 1st. He’s almost becoming a regular substitute host! If we’re lucky, he’ll have another hilarious tale to tell – a la ‘drunk girls’ from last month!



Unless I really missed something last night, the interview that Anderson did with Glenn Beck yesterday never made it on air during 360°, but here is the link for the video (if you're interested). Best line from the interview – Glenn describing the communication ‘style’ of Fred Thompson: “Ambien in shoes”. Sometimes he gets it right!!



It’s not listed yet on the CNN official weekend schedule, but I understand that there is three hours of coverage planned for Saturday evening to report on the South Carolina Republican primary and the Nevada Caucuses – beginning at 7:00 PM EST!

And don’t forget about the special Anderson Cooper 360° special on Monday, January 21st – entitled “Race and Politics” - after the South Carolina Democratic Debate - 11:00 PM EST. It’ll be co-hosted by Soledad O’Brien.



Just a very brief statement to those who visit this blog and “borrow” screen caps and other material for use elsewhere: In a small way, I’m flattered. And I do try to focus on that if I ever see anything that’s obviously been ‘borrowed” from this blog or the AC360° Yahoo group. But it would be courteous to at least give credit to the blog or the group. Especially if I see something in a place that’s trying to claim “copyright” on material that clearly is not the original work of the blog or website owners. Perhaps a review of this excellent site which concisely explains what copyright protection is – and isn’t – including the caveats of the “Fair Use” doctrine – might be in order. Just a friendly suggestion – and even though I make every effort to give credit whenever possible, I’m sure I’ve fallen short on occasion. But usually not with material from individual sites – as I’m well aware of the time and effort put into those ventures and how deserving those people are of whatever credit is due to them! And for most of you reading this – to which none of this applies – thank you for suffering through my ‘mini-rant’!

And not to end on a completely “down” note – below is one of the videos available from the recent World News Now “15+1” celebration that was broadcast last week – this particular segment is called “Outrageous Moments” and it’s interesting to note that Anderson Cooper – yes, the now respectable CNN anchor, Anderson Cooper – appears in three of these ‘moments’ - not at all surprising, BTW: #13 – “Some Enchanted Evening”, #12 – “Bus Tour” and #11 – “Wassup”. Screen caps follow the video – courtesy of "WorldNewsNow" at YouTube:









And not to shirk my other ‘crediting’ responsibilities – the WNN video linked to on Monday was courtesy of “rasaiz” at YouTube, although it can also be found in several other places on the net!

tonight on Anderson Cooper 360°:


Thanks so much for visiting – updates posted as needed – have a terrific Thursday!