Envision being able to say “President McCain” …

Some are pleased about that – others are cringing in horror – and the reason for the statement? See below ...

Today’s Buzz ...
from the debut of “Election Center” last night:


Here we go again: As we watch the Democratic Party once again teetering on the brink of self-induced implosion, an alleged “truce” has been called between the candidates regarding the recent divisiveness created by various “race card” accusations. Yet, even if the candidates themselves tone down the damaging rhetoric, we’ll deal with the aftermath as stated by Candy Crowley last night: “What I think you are going to see is that the principles -- that is, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama -- will in fact dial it back. I am not sure you can stop some of the whispering, nor do I think you can probably stop the surrogates.”

I guess we’re just not past this discussion yet – in the year 2008. A few items from yesterday were of particular interest to me: (1) an article in Time about race spelling trouble for the Democrats, (2) the blog entry from Tom Foreman and (3) the Cafferty File question about race being used by the Democrats.

The most succinct example I can use is the explanation from David Gergen on last night’s program: “Here's the danger. In a place like New York City, we have seen this before in Democratic politics. You got a strong white candidate. You got a strong black candidate in a Democratic primary for mayor, for example. They run against each other. The white candidate wins, but at enormous cost in the black community, a lot of bruises in the black community. The blacks then don't vote in the same numbers as the Latino community, and then the Republican candidate comes up and wins.”

Hence – projecting out this scenario beyond NYC – which is all too likely, if this useless, destructive rhetoric continues - we end up swearing in President McCain (Giuliani, Romney, Huckabee, etc.) on January 20, 2009.



I’m not going to review what’s being reported about who said what, to whom, and when – you can’t miss it on the news, even for those only slightly interested at this point in the races. I can only hope (haven’t we heard that word before?) that the Democrats will circle back to the issues and focus on the ultimate goal. What a welcome change (déjà vu?) that would be ...

Candy Crowley, Roland Martin and David Gergen continued their analysis last night with a Republican Primary preview in Michigan – McCain slightly ahead in many polls, Romney’s “must-win” status, Huckabee trailing in third place and Giuliani still biding his time until Florida.



I had a passing thought about Rudy Giuliani’s strategy last night, and I haven’t heard it specifically mentioned in any reports yet, as everyone seems to be so focused on the closest upcoming contests. But I was thinking that – for all the time – and probably all the money – that Rudy has spent in Florida – if he doesn’t absolutely crush the competition – all of them – and not just winning by a relatively narrow margin - then he may well be “on the ropes” as well. The primary is on January 29th – which leaves just about zero recovery time before “Super Duper Tuesday” on February 5th.

Marine death investigation: Randi Kaye has been reporting on this story for the past week and I think the frustration of what so many people are thinking is surfacing – and rightly so. She has a blog entry today that questions the handling of the initial ‘missing persons’ report of Maria Lauterbach and the lack of disclosure from the Marine Corps to Onslow County law enforcement officers that could have potentially aided them in the early stages of what has now become a worst-case scenario murder investigation. Well, actually – it could get worse with any kind of ‘reported sighting’ that comes out of Mexico at this point.



Jeff Toobin also weighed in on the fact that there continues to be - in this day and age – an inherent lack of cooperation among law enforcement agencies. That’s ludicrous and endangers everyone – if they can’t cooperate in this kind of case – what happens when ‘we’ are faced with a biological or chemical weapons threat? Or worse? As has been reported so many times now, from so many different angles, perhaps the venerable “9/11” really didn’t change everything ...



Jeff ended up with ‘double duty’ last night – also providing commentary – amusing at times – about actor Wesley Snipes going on trial for tax evasion. Not much to say – he won’t be sent to jail – he’ll probably have to pay some extra penalties – and life will go on ...



Anderson also spoke with Newsweek International editor Fareed Zakaria about his recent interview with Pakistan’s President Musharraf. Not much new to report – Musharraf’s support has taken another decline since the assassination of Benazir Bhutto – down to 20% - even though he continues to deny that his government was complicit in her death. In a country where conspiracy theories abound due partially to overall incompetence of the government. And Musharraf maintains that the nuclear arsenal is secure and under control, while bristling at the suggestion of the US taking any kind of unilateral action due to that or due to continued pursuit leading to the capture of Osama bin Laden.



Other news and notes:

So – for the US readers - what are your elected Congressional representatives up to today? Passing legislation to assist with the mortgage collapse? Investigating the causes of oil price hikes? Hammering out some kind of healthcare reform? No – they’re holding hearings on the use of steroids in Major League Baseball. Yes, you read that correctly. Now, I’m a HUGE baseball fan – but is this really necessary? Right now? Read Drew Griffin’s take on the issue – from today’s AC360° blog.

Well, I’m continuing on with my ‘series’ of screen caps from yesterday’s World News Now video clip - circa 1999 – I’ll wind it up tomorrow and probably debut another video on Thursday. Also – I’ll put together a photo album of these caps for the AC360° Yahoo group. These are what I call “fond childhood memories”:








Tonight on Anderson Cooper 360°:


And my favorite shot from last night:


Thanks so much for visiting - updates posted as needed - have a terrific Tuesday!!

As 2007 comes to a close …

Today's Buzz ...


I was originally going to title this entry “One Hour in Pakistan”, as an homage (yes, I'm kidding) to Friday’s AC360°, but as the day has worn on and I've become more 'sentimental', as many do on New Year's Eve, I won't do a full-fledged "rant". That's not a good way to end the year. With that said, however, I normally try not to criticize too many decisions that CNN makes about its programming, as I consider them to be the experts and I’m the amateur. However, there are certain occasions when something happens that’s so blatantly confusing – from a viewer’s perspective, as well as sheer logic – that I must at least briefly comment.

What was the purpose of sending Anderson Cooper & Company to Pakistan on Thursday? A sixteen hour flight to get there – with most of them sent back after the Friday evening broadcast. And a sixteen hour flight back to NYC. My best guess is that they spent (significantly) more time on the plane than on the ground in Pakistan. After such a ‘build-up” both on-the-air and online about AC360° being "LIVE" in Pakistan – the one hour itself yielded nothing new – no new reporting footage, no really new insights that hadn’t already been discussed earlier in the day. Even if the group didn’t land in time to cover the Bhutto funeral, there is plenty of news to be found in a nuclear-armed Islamic country moving towards the brink of political crisis. I assume that’s why Peter Bergen remained, along with John Vause, Zain Verjee and now joined by Ali Velshi.

Well, I think that’s probably enough of my aggravation over the ‘recall’ of Mr. Cooper – ostensibly to host the NYE celebration in Times Square. As was stated several times at the AC360° Yahoo group on this issue, at the bottom line – ratings rule!!!

A few caps from Friday’s program:









Moving on ... I usually turn a little introspective on NYE, and since this is a “news-oriented” blog, I’m curious about which stories will end up being considered the “top” ones for 2007? The Virginia Tech Massacre? The Minnesota Bridge Collapse? The Crandall Canyon Mine Disaster? The Bhutto Assassination?

I'm also curious about which ones will have impact beyond 2007? Will college campus security measures be increased throughout the entire country? They have been on some campuses, but certainly not all. Will the government pass legislation to provide adequate funding for infrastructure renovation, and ensure accountability for the money that's allocated to various contractors? They haven't done so yet. Will mine safety improve, and if so, how will improvements be monitored? And will Pakistan (and its nuclear arsenal) end up in the hands of al Qaeda - or the Taliban? For the world's sake, let's hope not!

I am looking forward to tonight – it’s always nice to celebrate with friends and to join in the spirit of hope and renewal. And I’m one of those who doesn’t make resolutions, but feel free to share yours if you’d like. I always like to hear what others are planning for – sometimes I’m inspired to ‘break’ my rule and follow suit with the same or similar resolution!

As for what we can look for tonight on CNN:

From CNN.com - AC 360° New Year's Eve LIVE: We Bring the Party to you. Bring in '08 with Anderson and comedian Kathy Griffin will be LIVE in Times Square on New Year's Eve ... it's an unpredictable evening you will not want to miss! Erica Hill and Kiran Chetry will be reporting from the Times Square ‘crowd’, John Zarella will be counting down in Key West once again with the “Sushi Drop”, and Gary Tuchman will be joining the Central Park run at midnight, as he did last year, but be on the lookout for him to (possibly) rollerblade this time – that would be extra fun to watch!

Musical guests include: Earth, Wind & Fire from Las Vegas, Grammy Nominee Miranda Lambert, just nominated in the Female Country Vocal Performance category, and Widespread Panic from Atlanta.

And join in with the i-Party link – send in your videos, photos and best wishes – maybe you’ll get to see your party on TV!!

Here is Anderson’s blog entry for today:

Monday, December 31, 2007
What's Your New Year's Resolution?

Ah, New Year's Eve. Here it is once again. I was trying to remember what my New Year's resolution was last year, but the truth is I can barely remember last week, let alone a whole year ago. This year I've resolved to blog much more often. Everyday, actually. We'll see how long this one lasts. What is your New Year's resolution? Did you keep last year's?

As a kid I was never a big fan of New Year's Eve. There always seemed something slightly menacing about the event. New York City streets are packed, people are drunk, it always kind of freaked me out. Then as an adult, I didn't like it much because there was always so much pressure to have a good time, and you can never find a cab to go home in when you realize the party you're at is lame.

Now I really like New Year's Eve because I'm working and Times Square is actually a really fun place to be. When the ball drops, and the confetti descends I like nothing more than silently watching the explosion of euphoria. Frank Sinatra's voice sings New York, New York. People hug each other and cheer. There really is nothing like it.

This year should be especially fun because Kathy Griffin will be joining me live in Times Square. She'll give us her top ten moments of 2007 and who knows what else. Erica Hill and Kiran Chetry will also be in Times Square helping us ring in the New Year. As those of you who've watched before know, we like to show you how the New Year is celebrated around the world and around America. John Zarrella will once again be in Key West, Florida, for the drag queen drop, Kareen Wynter is in Vegas, and Sean Callebs is in New Orleans.

We'll also hear from Miranda Lambert in Atlanta, Widespread Panic is there as well, and Earth, Wind and Fire will be in Vegas. It looks like it may be a cold night, so break out the bubbly, or the cookies and milk, and snuggle up with us tonight starting at 11p ET.

Also we want to hear from you. Send us your resolutions, your party pictures, whatever you want to cnn.com/iparty. We'll show many of them on the air, maybe yours ....

-- Anderson Cooper
Posted By CNN: 11:26 AM ET

And don't miss the year-end special with Tom Foreman tonight at 10:00 PM EST: All the best ... and worst: AC360° 2007 .... What were the best moves in culture, business, politics, law and entertainment? More important: What were the worst? Tom will wrap them all up with a big red bow in ALL THE BEST, ALL THE WORST; a free-wheeling hour of the sideshow of life ... fistfights in legislatures, stupid
criminals, smart entrepreneurs, clueless celebrities, and hapless courtroom maneuvers. The program will feature all the year's video highlights and low lights, along with interspersed commentary from a panel of surprising observers. It will be fast, funny, and full of shockingly inappropriate assessments.

And last to be posted – but first on my mind – thank you to everyone – and I mean everyone – who has supported this “little effort” in one way or another. From those who read and comment, to those who just read, to those who contact me with comments and suggestions, to those who unknowingly (or maybe knowingly) give the blog (and our companion Yahoo group) the occasional ‘mention’ – please know that it’s all very deeply appreciated.

I don’t know if Anderson will be able to keep his ‘resolution’ to blog every day – I can certainly testify that it’s very difficult, even if it’s (sort of) part of your job! Imagine those of us that are doing it for – allegedly – FUN! But I’ve learned so much and experienced so much in such a short time – I wouldn’t trade it for anything!!

I’ll hopefully post a few NYE screen caps before midnight in the West – we’ll see how the party goes here on the ‘left coast’ – but if not tonight, then first thing tomorrow, with a review, of course!

And yes, for those wondering, we have answers from none other than Gary Tuchman!! BTW – Gary won our little ‘straw poll’ for substitute NYE hosts, if AC hadn’t made it back in time. He won by a landslide, but we don’t want to slight the others who were nominated!! :-) I’m planning on posting the Q&A in two parts on January 2nd & 3rd, so be on the lookout for it!!

Have a fun, fun, fun (and safe) celebration!! See you in 2008!!

John (Kling) filling in tonight???

Today's Buzz ...
Poor Larry (King) – another ‘flubbed’ name tonight – actually, it was his own (the one he shares with John King) - he mispronounced “King” when he was referring to the LKL website - right before the hand-off to JK – but he got John’s intro right – thankfully!

BTW – I’m actually pretty neutral about both Larry King and Jerry Seinfeld – but I thought that Jerry was a bit harsh during Friday’s LKL interview. If you missed it, Larry was attempting to clarify with Jerry that his show ended by his own decision as opposed to being cancelled. Jerry took offense to the fact that there might be anyone who didn’t already know the entire “Seinfeld” saga (in detail) and suggested that Larry should review a JS “bio”. It all got resolved (or at least they moved on), but as one of the six people in America who didn’t watch every single Seinfeld episode, I understood the context in which the question was being asked. For example, since LKL is broadcast on CNN International, and perhaps there might a few people in, say, London - who also might not have known that specific “Seinfeld” factoid. Larry has enough gaffes in the course of any given show – the questionable ones perhaps shouldn’t be elevated out of proportion ...

Anyway – moving on ...

• from last night’s program:

Pakistan “state of emergency”: Doesn’t that phrase just send chills down your spine? And why? Two words – ‘nuclear weapons’. And this brilliant Administration has been obsessing about whether or not Iran has nuclear “knowledge”. Another instance of misplaced priority. The whole situation with the Pakistan Supreme Court being suspended and the ‘round-up’ of lawyers and journalists in the country is troubling – particularly when you consider the timing of this action. Right on the eve of an anticipated SC decision that the result of the prior election was ‘influenced’ in President Musharraf’s favor. And no – as tempting as it is – no ‘lawyer jokes’. Right now – it seems unlikely that the planned January elections will go forward – regardless of today’s ‘spin’ trying to keep that hope alive.

I must admit that hearing both Peter Bergen and Reza Aslan both stating that an actual nuclear attack from Pakistan (partly for reasons outlined by Tom Foreman and his map collection) isn’t as likely as one might initially assume. However, this is both the Taliban and al Qaeda that we’re dealing with when it comes to potential ‘acquirers’ of the components, and they only need one. An arsenal isn’t necessary for their purposes. :-(




Joel Osteen interview: John King interviewed Joel Osteen – there are a lot of pros & cons to his religious interpretations. I’ve watched a number of his television broadcasts, and the part that people seem to have trouble with involve his discussions about “prosperity”. Some think that what he focuses on is ‘asking God to make them rich”. I guess that’s up to each person who knows enough about what he preaches to decide for themselves. As you could probably tell from the interview, Joel is very skilled at deflecting questions and avoiding a lot of direct, concrete answers – partly because he does try to “spin positive” whenever possible – for better or worse. I will say that his sermons are inspirational, regardless of whether or not one thinks that he’s a Bible-based pastor.


Oprah: I still have a problem hearing Oprah talk about how devastating the abuse allegations have been for her. Whenever anything happens, it happens – first – to her. It was the same story when the school first opened. Her dream was being fulfilled. That just doesn’t seem appropriate to me. For someone who has made serious money portraying care & concern for others, when it really counts, I haven’t found that Oprah portrays complete sincerity. And yes – that’s IMO – and maybe that’s part of the reason why I’ve rarely watched her show, read her magazine, etc.


Tom Foreman (live) in Iowa: how did he draw the short straw for that assignment?




Curiosity question: is the attitude of White House Press Secretary Dana Perino more annoying or less annoying than fingernails running across a blackboard? Gosh, I’ll be diplomatic and call it a “tie” ...



At last - a reason to cheer for the Dodgers again: Welcome back, Joe!! New Dodger Manager Joe Torre was part of the TV broadcast team for the Angels for 5 years – prior to that low profile Yankee management stint!!



John, John, John: You seem like a very congenial guy, but please leave the comedy for Anderson – it’s not your forte. At least not the way you were attempting humor last night. Recreating Steve Martin’s “King Tut” rap is difficult at best. And you should never surprise your “banter” partner (i.e. – Erica) by soliciting for a compliment that doesn’t really go along with the “shot” (or story) at hand.



Other quick news and notes:

Writers’ Strike: Please pay these people what should be fairly and equitably shared. And get everyone back to work. Even though I really don’t watch much TV. But 22 weeks without The Daily Show or The Colbert Report is something I just can’t face ... :-(

Brian Williams on SNL: it was great to be able to see a news anchor display a ‘human’ side of himself this past Saturday. The reviews and feedback I’ve seen are generally positive – the “Bond Theme” skit was definitely the best!!

Ivory War: hope you caught the Scott Pelley report this past Sunday on 60 Minutes about the resumption of illegal ivory trade – ivory primarily sold to China. Hundreds of elephants in the country of Chad are being killed simply for their tusks, and the photos they showed of the mutilated elephant remains was enough to make anyone ill. Efforts to quell the increase of this activity have proved to be an uphill battle.

China: Speaking of the ultimate Red State, not only are they the primary market for purchasing illegal ivory, but they also aided Pakistan in their quest to manufacture nuclear weapons. Anyone who thinks that China won’t surpass the US as the global leader sometime in this century – isn’t paying close enough attention to the proper indicators and signs.

DWTS: Good on Len Goodman (one of the judges) for exercising his right to free speech. He bagged on Bush last night, and a few jaws dropped ... I, of course, cheered ... :-)

And yes – because I bagged on John King earlier in this post – I’ll make up for it now:



tonight on Anderson Cooper 360°:

Thursday on Anderson Cooper 360°:

Send in your v-mail questions for the panel here!

Thanks for visiting – updates posted as needed – have a terrific day!