Going into (temporary) hibernation …

Today’s Buzz ...

from last night’s Anderson Cooper 360°:
Prince Harry in Afghanistan: Congratulations to Matt Drudge for endangering not only the life of Prince Harry by disclosing his Afghan deployment, but all who were serving with him. Good judgment there, Matty!



But sarcasm aside, Nic Robertson (in London) and Michael Ware (in Baghdad) provided additional information (based on first-hand experience) about the dangerous area of Afghanistan where Prince Harry was stationed. Nic also shared a pool video showing him carrying out his combat duties – no “royal” comforts to be found anywhere near there! Michael added a bit of his own “Drudge sarcasm” by referring to those like him as “galahs” and “drongos”, which turns out is Australian slang for “idiots”.




Crucial Tuesday: A spin-off of Super Tuesday, to be sure. Candy Crowley reported from Columbus, Ohio about the continuing battle for the Democratic Presidential nomination. She summed up the current political landscape very succinctly and better than any poll ever could: “Tuesday, Barack Obama has as much to lose as Hillary Clinton has to gain.”



Veepstakes: Joe Johns took a look at conventional wisdom when it comes to VP choices – and applied it to the remaining three viable candidates. Bottom line: Pick someone who complements a weakness (such as foreign policy experience) and don’t pick anyone that will ‘drag you down’. There have been more than enough of those examples - Dan Quayle comes to mind (although Bush 41 did win one term).



Raw Politics: Last night’s panel (David Gergen, Roland Martin, Leslie Sanchez) once again covered a ‘potpourri’ of topics, from Bush’s criticism of Obama, to the very tight race in Texas, to political reaction towards skyrocketing gas prices.



Friday preview: There was a brief segment shown of Randi Kaye’s report for tonight’s AC360° special: Debate on the Border. Randi investigated the consequences of enforcement of a new Arizona law which cracks down on employers hiring illegal immigrants.




Voice of 360°: Last night’s audition was with KISS band member Gene Simmons – yes, the one with unbelievable tongue dexterity. It was pretty good, but now that we know it’s all a joke – is it still as funny as it was in the beginning? BTW – I don’t know if CNN allows for ‘cross-pollination’ of talent, but I’d suggest none other than Richard Quest!



Wrapping it up: As I first announced yesterday, this will be my last blog entry, at least for the time being. I’m very glad that I took this step and gave ‘blogging’ a try for myself – partly because I never would have believed how time-intensive this kind of venture would be! I have a new appreciation for those who write daily ‘on the side’ – and not as part of their ‘regular’ job. It’s been suggested to me that perhaps cutting back to blogging on ‘weekends only’ may help, and I’ll certainly give it serious consideration, once I’m settled in the new job.

I also wanted to assure those who asked – that I will remain as the AC 360° / GunmetalGrey Yahoo group owner and moderator – so if you’d like to join us there, please click on the sidebar link to request membership.

It’s truly been a privilege for me to be able to work on this little endeavor, and especially to be able to conduct extensive interviews with two tremendously professional, intelligent, insightful and caring CNN correspondents – Soledad O’Brien and Gary Tuchman. I will always value the opportunity to ‘dig deeper’ into their thoughts on so many topics and I sincerely appreciate their candor and humor!

Once again, thank you very, very much to all who participated – and hopefully the adventure will begin again soon!

Straight-Talk Express Wobbles …

Today’s Buzz ...

from last night’s Anderson Cooper 360°:

McCain vs. NY Times: Talk about a bombshell. Even if none of it turns out to be true and/or “new” information. Allegations of favoritism towards lobbyist Vicki Iseman and her clients, on top of infidelity allegations, are beyond volatile. The McCain camp will be in ‘damage control’ mode well into next week, assuming that the initial analysis of this NY Times article is accurate and it’s basically a re-hash of concerns from 8 years ago and that there is no credible evidence to support it. But if there’s even a drop of figurative ‘blood’ that appears, the media sharks will attack in full force.



Dana Bash reported via phone, and the panel of David Gergen, Bay Buchanan, Jonathan Capehart (Washington Post) and Keli Goff provided further initial analysis (as the story was only a few hours old when AC 360° aired last night). DG opined that there probably more facts to be disclosed, BB was upset that this wasn’t published earlier (she’s a former Romney advisor), JC said the timing works to McCain’s advantage since he pretty much has the nomination sewn up, and KG added that McCain could have received greater damage had the NYT published the story this coming October instead of now.



Since this story has some significant ‘shelf life’ or ‘legs’, as the sayings go, I have only one question at this point – could this (perhaps) end up being the “something might happen” scenario that Mike Huckabee has kept referring to when asked why he is still in the race?



Campaign Updates: Candy Crowley had a candidate report: Obama is “rolling”, Clinton is “limping” and McCain is “getting into position” (pre-NYT story). She reported that even Bill Clinton stated yesterday that it was important for Hillary to win both Texas and Ohio. Candy also reported on the Teamsters endorsement of Barack Obama, with TU President Jams Hoffa stating that they weren’t ‘deserting’ the Clintons, but Obama “has momentum and can win in November”.




Deep in the Heart of Texas: Gary Tuchman reported on the Texas Latino vote from on location in San Antonio, and certainly surprised me with a few stats: there are 8 ½ million Texas Latinos, which is more than the entire population of 39 states! Wow – 39 states – really?? That’s what happens when you live in large states only – you sometimes forget that most of the country isn’t quite as crowded as New York and Los Angeles!! Also – 36% of Texas residents are of Latino heritage. No wonder there’s so much campaign emphasis on that population segment. Gary reported that immigration, Iraq, the economy and education are all important to Latinos, and while Hillary leads with Latinos nationally, Barack Obama is gaining support.



NIU update: There was a brief NIU shooting update, with Abbie Boudreau saying that she had spoken again with Jessica Baty about conflicting reports that she had altered her story about Steven Kazmierczak‘s medications. Anderson also talked with forensic psychologist Kris Mohandie, who stated that the drug cocktail of Ambein, Xanex and Prozac is common and that normally, a patient who stops taking Prozac shouldn’t acquire homicidal tendencies.



A direct hit: Jamie McIntyre reported that the US Navy was successful in using a missile launch to destroy a wayward satellite that was on course to crash land and potentially release highly toxic materials over hundreds of miles. There was only a limited ‘open window’ of time for this to be successful ‘hit’, and it was confirmed that the satellite had sustained a direct hit and that any remaining debris would burn up in the atmosphere before making land (or ocean) contact.



tonight on Anderson Cooper 360°:


My favorite photo from last night:



Other News and Notes:

Jon Stewart on Larry King Live: Perhaps for some, Jon’s brand of humor is an acquired taste, but for me, he once again proved why he is oh-so-charming and totally adorable!!






Thanks for visiting - upates posted as needed - have a terrific Thursday!

Erica joins the crew ...

Today’s Buzz ...



from last night’s Anderson Cooper 360°:

Steroids in the spotlight: First, I want to say once again that I am a HUGE baseball fan. Not quite at ‘fanatic’ level, but close. I’m one of those that even attends out-of-state spring training games whenever possible! And I know that there have been many explanations about why Congress is investigating the use of steroids by MLB players. And I agree that it’s a concern as to whether or not various game records may be tainted because those who surpass them may have done so with ‘artificial’ assistance – not to mention the very poor example it sets for all levels of younger sports fans. But I still can’t quite grasp why this issue rises to the level of necessitating a Congressional hearing? But regardless, it was the lead story last night, covered by Gary Tuchman (attending the hearings), Jeff Toobin (legal analysis) and Dr. Sanjay Gupta (medical analysis). Erica Hill joined in on the discussion, as she was in the NY studio last night for her co-anchor debut.






One more map: John King gave another visual demonstration of the now more-than-likely scenario for the delegate race on the Democratic side. And the idea that the odds of neither candidate winning the required number of pledged delegates to secure the nomination before the convention is getting higher each day.



One more political panel: Joe Johns, Amy Holmes and Hank Sheinkopf joined Anderson last night to discuss the upcoming Democratic Primaries (and what Clinton & Obama need to accomplish)), the possible superdelegate ‘showdown’ for choosing the party nominee, and how to resolve the ‘banished’ Michigan and Florida delegate issue.



A Brokered Convention?: Joe Johns had a more in-depth report about the possibility of a Democratic convention where, in fact, superdelegates do end up choosing the nominee. I wrote about that yesterday (Mondale/Hart in 1984), but one post-report comment from Joe concerns me. Here’s the transcript:

COOPER: So what do the Democrats, Joe, say about this notion of super delegates being undemocratic?

JOHNS: Well, the people who support it, of course, they're going to say, it's more democratic. They say you have party caucuses going on. You have primaries in the states with low turnout. And you need some balance in there with people who've been elected by large constituencies, hence the super delegates.

Well, as we saw on Tuesday night with Jason Rae, many of the superdelegates haven’t been ‘elected’ by large constituencies, or any constituencies. Outside of the DNC, that is. And I;m certainly not picking on Jason – but I do think that the public has the right to know how each superdelegate received that status – particularly since they will most likely be so critical in the shaping of a historic election. If you want read more, there's a good article here at the CNN Politics site.



HGH in Hollywood: There was a repeat of David Mattingly’s report on 1/24/08 about the increasing widespread use of Human Growth Hormone in Hollywood – I assume as a supplement to tonight’s lead story about the baseball steroid Congressional hearings.



And to close out the evening – one more round of applause for the subject of “The Shot” – none other than Westminster’s Best in Show winner – UNO!!!



tonight on Anderson Cooper 360°:


Don’t forget tomorrow’s special AC 360°:


Thanks for visiting - looking forward to AC 360° in NOLA tonight - have a terrific Thursday!!

Super Pre-Potomac Monday …

Today’s Buzz ...
from Monday night’s Anderson Cooper 360°:

A political hour, to say the least. Which was fine with me – this campaign has been THE most fascinating that I’ve ever experienced – on so many levels. And it’s so exciting that no matter what – it will be a historical election.

Unfortunately (perhaps), I don’t have time today to write very much – but there are a few items I’d like to highlight, both from the program, and a couple of “OT” items!
The political panel last night was first rate (as usual) and included Candy Crowley, John King, Bay Buchanan and Roland Martin. I say “first rate” partly because (IMO) even if I don’t necessarily agree with everything said, at this level, I want to hear what these individuals have to say – that’s what “first rate” communicators they are. Their discussions included the Clinton campaign manager change, caucuses vs. primaries, the value of electability, McCain wooing conservatives and what role superdelegates may play in the race.



Tom “Super Map Man” Foreman had two reports last night – first, a look at the upcoming state contest in the oh-so-close Democratic candidate race and second, a more in-depth look at the superdelegate “phenomenon” and why their existence is becoming more important by the day (or the hour, perhaps).




John King was able to briefly interview Mike Huckabee at an airport in Weyers Cove, VA, as the candidate was about to board a plane for another campaign stop. I think he should be allowed to stay in the race – until it’s mathematically over – or unless he decides to leave early. But he certainly seems determined, and you have to have some admiration for that level of tenacity. And when he says “Who knows what may happen?” – he’s right. Particularly this year ...



I’m glad that Anderson showed a clip from the Larry King Live interview with Michelle Obama ... what a well-spoken, thoughtful, focused, intelligent, grounded woman she appears to be ... undoubtedly, a significant asset to the campaign, regardless of the outcome.



Gary Tuchman had “360° News Bulletin” duty last night (hooray!) and I couldn’t help but think that Anderson was at least momentarily nostalgic during the “WWTT” segment. I’m sure that the names of Harry & Charlie could have easily been substituted with the names of Carter & Anderson, at least in one news anchor’s memory. It’s very tempting to post a screen cap of the very young Cooper brothers at about the same age as Harry & Charlie, but for some unexplainable reason, I’ve always felt that’s one of the lines I draw as far as respecting privacy is concerned. Odd, I’m sure, for this day and age, but there you have it. However, with that said, I certainly have no problem “showing off” AC & Gary, as well as the completely adorable Harry & Charlie!!




“Extreme Challenges - The Next 4 Years”: I also wanted to make a few more comments about the repeat of this special during the second hour last night. I had already posted last Friday about how by simply reading the transcript, I could tell that this was a valuable, relevant and necessary discussion. And now having seen it, I am thoroughly convinced that this hour is so important and so powerful that it truly should be viewed by all of the remaining Presidential candidates – so there is no further ‘miscalculation’ of what they – and we as a country and a member of the global community – will be facing during their term in office. Not a hundred years from now, not fifty years from now or even ten years from now. The time is NOW – for leadership, for vision, for courage, for integrity, for diplomacy – and for the kind of collective, collaborative action that will focus on accomplishing beneficial progress through inclusion rather than exclusion - and transform this country once again into a position of global influence through example, not through force and intimidation.




Other News and Notes:

Six Degrees: I wanted to mention a very important special airing on the National Geographic channel this Thursday at 8:00 PM EST. It’s called “Six Degrees Could Change the World”. A partial summary from the NGC website states: ” Six Degrees Could Change the World visualizes in spectacular high definition the devastating ecological impact that each single degree increase in temperature could have on our planet over the next century.” Although the promos aren’t specifically stating it, I believe that this special is based on the new book “Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet” by Mark Lynas. I say that mainly because National Geographic published this book – but the promos look fascinating (albeit a little scary) – and the book is based on the 2001 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which predicted that global surface temperatures could rise up to 10 degrees by the end of this century.

And in a brief related note, I saw a very quick entry on the Political Ticker blog entry from Jessica Yellin – about Al Gore not endorsing either Democratic candidate. Interesting ... here’s the entry:

"He's the most prominent Democrat yet to take a side in the presidential election, but two sources close to Al Gore tell us not to expect the former vice president to endorse either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama any time during the primary season.

The sources say Gore talks with both Clinton and Obama, and is on good terms with both. But with Sen. John Kerry and Bill Clinton both aligned to a candidate, Gore has a role to serve as the neutral elder statesman in the party.

If an agreement needs to be struck between Clinton and Obama down the road, Gore is in position to be the likely facilitator of that discussion.

Gore also will want to work closely with whoever wins the nomination to promote an environmental agenda.

As for two other major Democrats yet to endorse a candidate: sources close to both Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi say neither individuals have endorsement plans."

Thanks for visiting - I'm going to go watch the coverage of the Potomac primary results!!

Weekend Wrap-Up ...

Reminder ...
AC 360° special: On Monday, 2/11 at 11:00 PM EST, make sure to catch the special “Extreme Challenges – The Next 4 Years”. It’s a highly informative hour of discussion and analysis with Anderson Cooper, David Gergen and Fareed Zakaria. You can watch a preview video clip here.

Weekend Buzz ...
Well, on Friday night it was Anderson Cooper – live from Los Angeles! According to the live blog during the program, he was in LA to shoot an upcoming story for 60 Minutes. And he’ll be back in New Orleans beginning on Wednesday – with Mardi Gras and the NBA All-Star Game happening all at the same time, it shouldn’t be difficult to find several parties to choose from over the course of the time he’ll be there!

Hillary Clinton at CPAC: What?? Not in person, of course. But Joe Johns showed us that the derogatory merchandise devoted to Hillary-hating buyers was on prominent display at the event. Now, I’m obviously not a Hillary fan, but the items shown were extremely juvenile and childish. But what can one expect from such a group who revere the likes of Ann Coulter and Sean Hannity?



“Gergen, Buchanan and Goff” return: The political panel discussion was very interesting – David Gergen saying that Barack Obama is showing a marginally better “electability factor” over John McCain than Hillary Clinton, Bay Buchanan saying that John McCain’s real “problem” with conservatives is about the amnesty issue, and Keli Goff discussing the fact that McCain can’t really count all that heavily on Geroge Bush for support due to his unpopularity, particularly in swing states.



Tom Foreman and his maps: Don’t get me wrong – I like them and think they’re valuable, most of the time anyway. And Friday night was no exception, as I’d temporarily lost track of the rather large primary contests still at stake (Ohio, Texas, North Carolina, Pennsylvania) and the number of delegates still to be decided. I just hope this doesn’t end up being decided by the ‘super delegates” – there’s a genuine mobilization of enthusiasm among Democrats and that would be one of the quickest ways to deflate the entire ‘movement’.



Asian-American vote: Gary Tuchman had a report from Seattle about the why the majority of Asian-Americans seem to be voting for Hillary Clinton, according to poll data. After several interviews, the conclusion appears to be that established Asian-Americans are reluctant to support a relative ‘newcomer’ like Barack Obama, and therefore and trending towards voting for the more-familiar candidate that they remember for immigrant-friendly policies, Hillary Clinton. As a post-script, Obama won the Washington Caucus on Saturday with 68% of the vote.





Florida Prison “Mafia”: Abbie Boudreau interviewed James McDonough, who has successfully overhauled what had been an extremely corrupt Florida state prison system, headed up by James Crosby, who is now himself imprisoned. Crosby ran the prison system as though it was a typical “crime family”, with unscrupulous guards buying ans selling drugs and other prison employees taking kickbacks, among many other offenses.



City Council Shooting: Ted Rowlands reported from Kirkwood, MO about the recent shooting of 5 people at a local City Council meeting. The shooter, Charles Thronton, was killed by police officers on the scene. Thornton had a long history of animosity towards the Kirkwood city government over a number of what seemed to be minor conflicts (parking tickets, etc.) – but much to the surprise of neighbors, Thornton apparently ‘snapped’ and his shooting rampage was the result.



Voice of 360 audition: As was reported by Anderson last Friday on Regis & Kelly, Fran Drescher “auditioned” for the highly coveted role of Anderson Cooper 360° announcer. Definitely a distinctive vocal quality ... there’s no mistaking it for anyone else!!!



Other News and Notes:

Dems on “60 Minutes”: Hope you caught the Barack Obama interview and the Hillary Clinton interview on 60 Minutes. A little additional insight into their campaigns and their personas - with a touch of spin from both, just for good measure.




Hillary Clinton replaces campaign manager: Long-time Clinton advisor Patti Solis Doyle has stepped aside as campaign manager and will be replaced by former Clinton Chief of Staff Maggie Williams. Doyle will remain on staff as a senior advisor. There’s an obvious comment to make here, but all I’m going to say is that campaign managers don’t win or lose elections – and certainly not in a vacuum.

Patti Solis Doyle, Maggie Williams
Photos courtesy of MSNBC and Getty Images

Anderson returns to NOLA: As mentioned earlier, Anderson Cooper 360° is scheduled to broadcast from New Orleans on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. I’m hoping to see some in-depth reports on whatever rebuilding progress has been made since the last 360° visit in August.



Monday on Anderson Cooper 360°:


Thanks for visiting – updates posted as needed – hope everyone had a great weekend!