Following the historic election of Barack Obama to the presidency, the US Sunday talk shows did their best to have the definitive ‘look ahead’ for the new administration.
CBS’s Face the Nation came up trumps with Obama’s new chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, in addition to Politico’s John Harris and The New York Times‘ David Brooks. Emanuel refused to presume too much about the future other than to restate Obama’s economic plans thus far, stating he didn’t want to “get in front” of Obama, while Brooks predicted a ‘world of pain’ in the Republican party’s future. Read the full transcript here (pdf).
Fox News Sunday (with Chris Wallace’s job still intact, despite this interview) hosted Obama’s transition chief John Podesta — offering a bit more insight than Rahm Emanuel above — as well as the usual Fox talking heads. Podesta discussed Obama’s plan for a comprehensive review of all Bush’s executive orders, including stem cell research, oil drilling and “a number of areas, you see the Bush administration even today moving aggressively to do things that I think are probably not in the interest of the country.” Read the full transcript here.
CNN’s Late Edition also chatted to Podesta, as well as Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Arnold ‘Governator’ Schwarzenegger. Reid discussed his antagonistic relationship with John McCain, while Arnie said that he’s “happy with being a Republican” despite the party’s recent troubles. Read the transcript here.
CBS had the co-chair of Obama’s transition team, Valerie Jarrett, on Meet the Press, along with presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, Newsweek editor Jon Meacham and Chicago Sun-Times writer Mary Mitchell. Jarrett refused to speculate much about the future — even about the monumental decision of the First Puppy — while Mitchell discussed the way Obama’s win has inspired the black community. Read the transcript here.
One Comment
That Chris Wallace video was impressive. Regardless of what people think of FoxNews, they really have no problem talking about their peers and even throwing them under the bus. It’s almost a Laissez faire approach. I’ve seen O’Reilly similarly throw Hannity under the bus.
It’s not unlike other networks where it’s good-natured ribbing amongst peers, you almost get the impression they avoid each other in the hallways and don’t wanted to be associated with each other. A collection of driven individuals and egos all vying for attention and supremacy. Its why Fox is compulsive viewing. Don’t know what that means for news and journalism though