The American Prospect, a stalwart of American liberal thought, has a post on its site criticizing the network Sunday shows. While some of the critique is a bit hyperbolic (there is a market for political junkies, after all), the author makes some compelling points regarding the guests, who tend to be the same small group of people spouting the same party talking points and conventional wisdom. Every week. All year.
Has there ever been a single human being in America who has said, “Wow, that interview with Reince Priebus was really interesting”? Or said the same thing about an interview with Debbie Wasserman Schultz? It’s not because they’re terrible people, it’s because as party leaders their job is to come on the air and spout talking points with maniacal discipline, no matter what they get asked. And they’re good at that job. But if you listen to them for a while, it begins to feel like a virus of cynicism is eating its way through your brain.
I wonder what the producers of these shows say to each other as they’re putting together their programs. “Hey boss, we locked down Reince Priebus for Sunday!” “Awesome—the show is going to be great!” “I hope Carville and Matalin aren’t busy—they’ll bring the heat!” “Ooo, you know who we should try for? John McCain! He’s only been on our show 12 times this year, and I know people are dying to hear what he has to say.”
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What do you think? How would you change the Sunday shows?