Sunday, August 27, 2000 -- NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (AmpolNS) -- The weasely Dick Cheney showed up like a bad penny on a number of the Sunday shows this week.

The punditocracy (with the exception of John McLaughlin) had decided to make Al Gore's bounce the number one "issue" during a vacation week.

And all the shows seemed out to "mark time."

Well, it was a bizarre week of Sunday talk -- read what went down, but first, put on your thinking cap, because it's time to...

VOTE TODAY FOR THE NICKNAME OF YOUR FAVORITE PUNDIT!

Fox Schmooze Sunday
Missing in action!

Most of our pap team was on vacation, but did have access to cable or satellite TV.

The problem is, both satellite carriers we had access to are not allowed to carry a FOX affiliate due to some ridiculous regulation.  This meant that we had to forego our usual Tiny Snow fix this week.

The dismal alternatives on the other networks just made us miss our favorite conservative smart aleck all the more.

Hey Rupert -- you've got the money -- push to deregulate USSB and DSS so we can see your network's great news shows (FOX News Sunday and The X Files) when we're out of town!

The McLaugh-In Group
Is it Mad King John, Mad Pope John, John McLaugh-In or Father John?
Vote today -- and don't leave out Michael Barone, Eleanor Clift, Tony Blankley or Jay Carney!!
Girls! Girls! Girls! Mad John and his posse mark time as they prognosticate on women in politics

You've gotta love a show that makes it very clear who's in charge at the outset -- GE!

Issue one: it's a man's world! Mad John recycled video footage of Sen. Kay Hutchison from his other program, McLaugh-In One on One, whose dozens of loyal viewers must be as completely off their rockers as John. John then launched into statistics that show that men dominate legislatures nationally and worldwide -- but especially in the US.

Yep -- it's a vacation week. No campaign, no Clinton's trousers, no sunken subs. Add to that the fact that John wanted to avoid making Bush's bad week issue one and you have the formula for the most boring McLaugh-In Group so far this year.

Michael Barone talked about his experience polling the public on the gender issue -- he worked with Peter Hart on the campaign of the late Ella Grasso, the first woman governor of Connecticut. Eleanor Clift bemoaned the party-centric "class system." John brought up the more hospitable atmosphere of other free nations (everything from public financing of political campaigns to day care!), and Jay Carney said something inconsequential. Tony Blankley looked like he didn't even want to be there for this boring topic. Eleanor got center stage again, and said that there is still much progress to be made despite the presence of working mothers in Congress. John was correct when he said that politics was more important in many Western nations than in the US, and Tony called these liberal democracies "too socialized."

Will America ever give women parity? Michael and Eleanor were pessimistic; Tony said the obstacles are falling, but will women choose to run? Jay said the barriers will be nonexistent sooner or later. John forecast a woman president by 2020.

Issue two: they're still on issue one! Why is it so hard for women to run? Women can't raise as much money, domestic conflict, self-esteem! We were roaring out loud -- it's BAD to raise self-esteem in school, but now it's a SHAME that "women have low self-esteem." John, the real problem is institutionalized sexism -- not unlike that on your show, on which you perpetuate stereotypes of subservient women who prefer family over career while trying to look "balanced" by putting Eleanor Clift on your panel. The fact is, you can have both today.

There was a lot of talk from the panel about women getting into the sphere of elected office, fundraising, and observing male legislators (Eleanor pointed out that's what Hutchison did as a political journalist).

Issue three: the female monolith! Footage of Geraldine Ferraro from her days as veep candidate preceded John's ominous description of the Mondale-Ferraro ticket as a "fiasco." John then went on to call Hillary Clinton an "amazon!" We were roaring again with laughter -- Liz shouted "She can kick your overweight butt, John!" Michael Barone, sounding angry, said that Bush was about even with women and men versus Gore, then said that he'd heard from career women that they don't like Hillary because she's relied on her man!

Right, Michael -- and we'll bet they're all Republican harpies jealous of Hillary!

Issue four: mares only please! John said that both Bush and Gore focused only on "studs" to run in the veep horse race. John asked the gang to name female running mates. Barone picked Condoleeza Rice for Bush; John pointed out she's never held elected office. Eleanor named Christie Whitman -- and said she'd make a good Democratic running mate, as well as drawn swing voters to Bush. Tony had to mention "partial birth" abortion, naturally, micromanaging Whitman's choice. John: "The quality of women in political life is so low!"

Ha, ha, ha -- and the quality of Sunday morning pundits is even worse, Mad John!

What seemed like twelve minutes of warm, cuddly GE commercials touting GE volunteers and steamy seduction lit by GE Enrich light bulbs (with an interior coating that is -- we're not making this up -- a shade of blue identical to the color of Viagra) preceded pointless predictions! Michael: No peso devaluation! Eleanor: The losing party this year will nominate a woman for veep in 2004. Tony: Gender vote will not be decisive this year. Jay: The first woman president will be elected by 2024 -- and will be a Republican. John: Camp David talks reconvene prior to September 14th, the "Palestinian state" deadline.

Deface the Nation
We need a name for Bob Schieffer -- send us your nominations!!
Dick Cheney -- on the defensive again!!

Bob Schieffer welcomed Dick Cheney. Question one: Bush caused a stir when he claimed the military was in decline. Schieffer cited the "two divisions not ready for duty" claim that Bush made, and Cheney again cited a report that claimed two divisions were not ready, and added that there is "overwhelming" evidence that the military has readiness problems. He then cited numbers that even we had to question -- we thought one that he'd claimed was 60% on This Weak was suddenly down to 25%.

And Schieffer questioned the numbers that Cheney was using. Cheney cited parts shortages and morale problems -- but the truth is that there were similar parts shortages and morale problems when Cheney was Secretary of Defense. On the issue of enlistment "problems," Schieffer pointed out that all the branches said that they would meet their enlistment numbers, then said that the claims of Cheney were a "cheap shot." Cheney visibly bristled as he went into the same "it takes years" song and dance he tried on "This Weak." Cheney said -- catch this -- "...as they've shrunk the force, they've added commitments."

Ha, ha, hahaha -- just like Bush Daddy did. Remember Somalia? What a hypocrite.

Schieffer asked about Bush's claim that Clinton was "hollowing out" the military when in fact Bush Daddy shrunk the defense force size and Clinton increased the defense budget. Cheney talked about all sorts of build-down that "greatly exceeds" what he and Bush had planned -- but we will point out that the GOP Congress has fully supported this larger build-down.

Schieffer then asked if Desert Storm should have "taken out" Saddam Hussein. Naturally, Cheney said that that was not a mission objective, and that the Desert Storm initiative was an "international coalition." Ha, ha, ha -- that second point was the same argument that Clinton used when House GOPers tried to undermine America's stabilization of the former Yugoslavia!

Schieffer suddenly changed tack -- to the millions of Halliburton shares Cheney got when he left. Schieffer said that it presents a conflict of interest. Cheney then said something truly stupid -- that it's not a conflict until the day he's sworn in!

A good reason NOT to vote for Bush-Cheney, Dick -- thanks for the help on exactly WHEN you plan to have a conflict of interest.

Cheney then went into "detail" about the "complex" legal situation surrounding his ownership of the options. He then said that there are ways to artificially fix the value of the options while he has in office -- but that does NOT quell questions of the shares' present value.

It still smells like a big bribe -- and Cheney has painted himself into a corner.

Cheney then dissed the Gore tax plan, claiming that working families would get a better deal under Bush than Gore -- an outright lie. Schieffer said that people are a little afraid that a tax cut might trigger inflation and an interest rate hike. Cheney, who hardly looked reassuring, tried to say that continued prosperity was practically guaranteed. He then claimed that the beginning of the Reagan Administration was the reason we're prosperous today.

Of course, at the beginning of the Reagan Administration, there was not a five trillion dollar deficit. You've gotta love it -- the GOP is making believe that Reaganomics was a dismal failure for America that hit working families and middle-class wage earners in the gut -- and only benefited the richest 1% or so of Americans.

After the break, the Washington Post's Don Balz said that the Bush Administration is on the defensive on military issues. Richard Berke smiled as he pointed out the irony of a former Secretary of Defense being on the defensive on military issues -- and late night comics making fun not only of that, but of the Halliburton deal and even his heart!

Schieffer then asked about the Gore bounce -- and said that he did not feel that Gore made that great a speech. We think Bob's waaay wrong on that point. Balz said that the speech got a lot of criticism (right, Don, by idiots like Peggy Noonan -- even Bill Bennett said it was a grand slam -- and most of the pundit elite pronounced the Gore speech a huge success). Schieffer asked, "Did the kiss do it?" Richard Berke said the Gore people had been saying that using the speech to propel Gore into the lead had been their strategy and now they are calling it a "transformation," patting themselves on the back.

Berke's swipe at Team Gore (and the allusion to Gore "redefining" himself) is the flip side of the reality -- that Gore's people are laughing at the predictable fumbling of the Bush-Cheney ticket and know they've seized the lead.

Berke said that people are ignoring the Hillary Clinton-Lazio race. Hey, Richard, not up here in New York!

Schieffer's final commentary was on the sincerity of the president of United Airlines apologizing for bad service in a commercial now being seen in wide distribution -- and the sincerity of Janet Reno for saying "The buck stops here" after Waco.

Schieffer then admitted he had a confession -- he did not see one episode of "Survivor." We say good for Bob -- he did not give into the overhyped and entirely contrived "reality" show that we at American Politics Journal also chose to ignore (with the notable exception of Mac MacArthur).

Schieffer, who remains the most courtly, fair and balanced of the Sunday political chat show hosts (even if he thinks that Gore's acceptance speech was no big shakes), has risen yet another notch in our estimation.

Eat the Press
Is it Fat Time, Porker Tim, Pious Tim or Rin Tin Tim? Cast your vote today!

What would Fat Tim do today? Would he roast Clinton or Gore? Would he bask in the jock sweat of Baby Bush --- wishing he could soap his back in the locker room shower? Would he talk about his beloved football team -- the Buffalo Bills?

Who knows.

Let's see what the non-journalist was up to today.

John Kerry vs. John Kasich would be the featured segment...but first, House banking scandal king Dick Cheney was up.

Russert asked whether "Cheesy" and BushBaby are now the underdogs. He asked whether the Gore "power to the people" message is getting to the people. Cheney, the idiot, said that this is no way to change Washington --- meaning that we need to get rid of the Monica Lewinskys!!

Cheney again said that the military is in decline. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha -- yet the GOP-run Congress controls the military and its budget. It was Bush and Cheney that began cutting the budget. And why do we need even what we have today? Russert parroted Bush who said that morale is low because the military isn't being paid enough. Well, what can we say? The military can't even attract the under and ill-educated punks it used to. We feed them, house them and pay them to do little more than hang around waiting for World War III, which has not and will not arrive.

Russert was really attacking Cheney -- and we were amused. Cheney blamed the Army for giving Bush the information that two divisions of the army were not ready for battle --- which was a lie. The army lied to Congress last year (in order to get more funding, naturally) and claimed this -- but cured it magically.

Cheney claimed that people are leaving the military in droves. Well, why not, Dick? Would YOU like to stand around polishing your tank for the past 30 years -- and never see any action? Desert Storm, the last joke that Bush engaged in, used about four percent of our military resources -- that's one twenty-fifth of our total military resources, for those of you who got the same math grades as George W. Bush. So of course people are leaving the army!

Yes, maybe we should pay these guys and gals more -- but how much more? Aren't we already spending more on the military that on every other activity of the federal government? Bush was the one who cut the military by two-thirds even before he left the White House in disgrace. He couldn't even get reelected after his so-called "victory in Iraq" -- victory for himself and Baby Bush's oil interests -- and, by the way, Cheney's oil interests.

Dick "Cheesy" sounded like a liar. He said the armed forces are spread too thin. He said that Colin Powell helped him put together his plan for getting rid of most of the military -- yet continued to spend way too much on it. He thinks that invoking the name COLIN POWELL will cover all his lies.

Why doesn't he talk about the ten checks he wrote against insufficient funds during the House banking scandal? That's what we want to know about -- and we want to know why Daddy Bush appointed him as the Secretary of Defense in the first place. What in the world was his experience? He never even served in the military -- but he was loyal to the oil industry and could be counted on to intervene.

Cheney then said that he hasn't used the "AWOL" comment about Gore's commitment to veterans -- although he is a veteran and Bush and "Cheesy" are not. He then added that he hadn't see it and thought it "inappropriate" for Tim to attribute that term to Dick. Then Russert held up the letter on Bush-Cheney stationary that called Gore AWOL! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha -- our media room was roaring out loud. Cheney was visibly pissed off.

Cheney then said we have to insist that Saddam submit to UN inspections. Ha, ha, ha -- not Saddam again!

Then Cheesy said that he does not regret not taking out Saddam. He said no! Well, of course -- because he did not want to damage the FLOW OF OIL from Saddam, who was and IS a buddy of George Bush, and was all the time. Saddam, remember, was a very good friend of the late great King Hussein of Jordan. Did you know that the U.S. kept constructing a highway between Jordan and Iraq all during Bush's phony war? Yes, its true.

Cheney then went on with the stupid idea that Clinton has "squandered" his eight years. Ha, ha, ha. Sure, that's why America is enjoying its greatest period -- in every arena in its history and in the history of civilization for that matter.

Then Russert showed a list of Clinton's national park designations. Cheney said Clinton has approached the naming of these monuments willy-nilly. Yeah, right. He is mad because now his friends the LOGGERS and OIL DRILLERS can't log and drill. Cheney said that he thinks he should review the monument executive orders and perhaps rescind them.

Let us talk about character, said Russert -- a man famous for passing on false rumors from the Internet. Russert wanted to know whether Gore and Lieberman would fail at restoring integrity to the Oval Office. Cheney said he and BushBaby would be better at it.

Cheney said that Gore would never be able to separate himself from the shadow of Clinton. Then Russert shows him a new ad. It shows NBC's swine-ette correspondent Lisa Myers interviewing Gore back in 1994, and Gore said that he has never heard Clinton tell a lie. Of course, this was a total lie in and of itself. Gore never told the pig that he never heard a lie. Cheney said that the ad was never run -- except by people like Russert.

Cheney then said that he will run attack ads on Gore on his flip-flopping.

Then Russert talked about Halliburton's unbelievable retirement package which makes Cheney appear like the CROOK he is -- Halliburton gave him $40 MILLION and then another few million in stock options which he would put into a blind trust during his vice presidency -- NOT.

This really is a stupid issue. Who cares whether he gets 40 million or 50 million? HE'S A CROOK! He got his money by being the Secretary of Defense and kissing Bush Senior's rosy sphincter. Before that he was NOTHING -- so much of a nothing that he had to kite checks at the House Bank.

John Kerry called Cheney just FLAT WRONG about the state of the military. The two units that Bush was talking about were fresh home from Bosnia when they were deemed not ready -- but only because they were regrouping after the Kosovo incidents. FACTS: We have the best military in the history of mankind. We fight wars without any losses. Are there tensions with retention and pay, asked Tim? Yes, but we raised pay more than it has been raised for 20 years.

John Kasich moaned about soldiers on food stamps. But under BushDaddy and Cheney there were 20,000 military families on food stamps. Under Clinton Gore there are 6000. We wonder why there are 6000 families on food stamps. Why aren't all military families on food stamps? It seems that most of our military families can get along quite well on their pay. But 6,000 cannot. Is that because they are having too many children, or suffering under heavy burdens for medication costs, hospitalization, and new Corvettes?

Kasich did a poor job, and that is a surprise. He is usually honest and on his game on Sunday chat shows. But he IS leaving the government for the private sector this year -- so we suppose he can lie now and not care.

Russert claimed that the Democrats did not support the invasion of Iraq. Of course, Russert was lying again. The Democrats did not support the TIMING, not the invasion itself. But the real question was why the hell were we coming to the aid of the sinister piece of garbage that heads Kuwait -- a nation full of greedy wife-beating ignoramuses who are not living in tents today because of American know-how? We came, we taught them about oil and then they began to blackmail us in the 1970s. What Bush should have done was conquer Iraq, then attack all these ungrateful little petrofiefdoms and take all their oil!

Kasich defended cutting taxes and said that Bush's tax plan would leave an additional BILLION dollars in case it doesn't work.

What? Are you kidding, John? Not a BILLION dollars!! Ha, ha.

Kerry said that Gore not only cuts taxes but also pays down the debt.

The GOP plan has about two trillion in tax cuts -- but over 10 years!!! The GOP has already given the rich a trillion dollar tax cut -- now they have nearly four trillion in tax cuts -- which we don't have, even if this "nonstop" expansion continues -- which it will not.

Kasich used the tired Republican line about Democrats spending all the money and not giving it back. FACT: Bush intends on giving all the money to the rich -- 50 percent to the top 5 percent. 37 percent to the top 1 percent- of which Bush and his loser wife are members.

God, this is so sickening. Any tax cut should go to the poor. Period. We pay less in taxes than any advanced civilization on earth.

Kasich said that there are 16 million Americans who owe no taxes (yes, because they don't earn more than 10,0000 a year.) He said Bush will add 6 million poor to these beneficiaries. The line that "the IRS is running the Gore tax cuts" was simply a joke. Who administers the tax code? The laws passed by Congress -- yep, that's right, the IRS -- so what the hell is Bush talking about when he said that Gore is sing the IRS to run the country and the tax program?

Kasich just said that the rich pay more taxes and therefore should get more of the cuts. Then he said that Kerry is lying when he said it is unfair.

It's simple -- if you make $25,000 A MONTH -- not a year, but a month -- under the Bush tax scheme (not plan, but scheme for the rich) these people will get a whopping $45,000.00 tax cut!

Are these GOPers insane? They are the ones who are fomenting the CLASS WARFARE that BushBrat accuses Gore of starting.

Kasich was not even true to himself -- and this especially disappoints Mac MacArthur, who knows and respects him.

A stupid Meet the Press Minute -- which usually tells us how MARVELOUS Meet the Press used to be -- isn't is the last thing on the show every week. Who thought this up? No one cares, and everyone tunes out. This MINUTE was about the history of debates and when and where and who participates in them. Who cares?

James Baker -- perhaps the biggest thug in the Reagan Administration (although Ed Meese could give him a run for his money) -- appeared complete with his hair transplant -- and he's a Texan, by the way. This was in 1984. Baker rejected six debates as the Democrats wanted that year. Baker said that "Actions speaks louder than words." But of course, Reagan had entered the first stages of the horrible disease Alzheimer's -- which slowly ate away at this brain for the next 4 years. So age WAS a factor in the race against Mondale -- but none of us knew the truth. Not even Reagan himself.

This Weak
With Scam and Cocky
It is Spam, Scam or Sam? Send us your vote today!
Is it Cocky, Cookie, Kooky or Cooties? Send us your vote today!

It looks like BushBrat and Cheney Check Fraud Express are on the defensive all over the tub today. Maybe the media has finally realized what a couple of pukes they are.

Dick Cheney was on again -- he is in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Scam asked whether he was having a great time -- Cheney looked and sounded like a manic depressive and answered like a drone: "No we are having a great time."

Scam wanted to know where Cheney's evidence is that the military is in decline. He threw out some new phony statistics -- like only 65 percent of our air force is combat ready, people are leaving the army, blah blah blah. He then said we have a great military today -- but added that it is in decline.

Bush was shown in a video clip lying about two divisions that could not respond to HIM (as Commander in Chief) because they are not ready. Cheney again refused to own up to the truth -- that when the Bush Brat said what he said he was LYING and knew he was LYING.

Then Cheney said that his "friends" cannot man their aviation wings, they can't complete excersises because their equipment is breaking down. What a load of compost!

Look -- what Bush and Cheney are doing it the following: they are setting you up for a big TAX HIKE -- probably in the second year of the fantasy Bush Administration -- to pay off his biggest contributors aside from the pharmaceutical companies who want to kill you with the cost of their drugs. We're talking about THE MILITARY INDUSTRIALISTS -- the men who are losing a fortune because we don't need their stupid missiles, H-bombs, and other ridiculous items these geniuses come up with in their nightmares.

Then Scam started laughing at Cheney -- he showed a quote where Cheney, as Secretary of Defense, lists how HE and BUSH would decimate the military. This was to free up some money for the lagging Bush Administration who was the laughing stock of Wall Street at the time. It didn't work; Bush and Cheney lost the election in 1992. Cheney complained that even if he made mistakes -- Clinton didn't fix them.

That was another lie. Scam was all over Cheney like white on rice. He made Cheney look like a fool -- or a liar. Sam claimed that what Bush was saying about preparedness is terrible because it also sends a bad message to foreign nations and our enemies. Cheney answered with yet another lie -- that Gore "doesn't know anything about the military or HE is the liar."

Will someone remind Cheney that Gore actually served in the military?

Note that Cheney had a different answer for Scam about his Halliburton payoff than he had for Russert. Also, Scam's answer may have come first -- the segment was taped. He now said that he would put all his assets in a blind trust.

Sure, blind to whom?

He said "Robert Rubin got to do it -- why can't I?" -- in so many words.

Then he went into his vaudeville bullshit about how he will make himself non-interested in the value of the millions in stock options he will get. He said he will sell short against the box, he will give the extra profit he earns to charity. Then he added another dig, that Al Gore has owned a million dollars worth of Occidental Petroleum stock -- but that's another lie at its core; Gore only got it when his Dad died last year.

Cheney is then shown in an earlier clip with Scam attacking him for doing business with Iraq. Now the Halliburton spokesman said that two subsidiaries of Halliburton did IN FACT do business with Iraq. He lied and said, well, we only owned them for a short time.

Cheney continued to lie. He said he inherited the contracts with Iraq when he bought Ingersoll and Dresser. But he is lying straight out here.

Then Scam turned to drug pricing. Cheney couldn't explain how he and Bush can promise seniors a pharma price break, which he is doing. It was an embarrassment -- Cheney handed the Gore campaign the words they need to prove there's "no there there."

Scam wanted to know whether Clinton is at fault for the fires in the West. HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA! He said that there is "some evidence" that Clinton cut the budget for firefighting, and too busy trying to create the Clinton legacy by making new national parks. HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA! What a weasel.

The next segment consisted of the Governor of Wyoming -- a moron -- arguing with Bruce Babbitt and accusing the Clintons of causing the fires in the West. It was a laff-riot! Babbitt got the Governor very angry when he told Scam that the Governor just wanted to be the next Secretary of the Interior. The Governor then slammed into Babbitt for telling the truth.

George Will then interviewed Zbigniew Brzezinski -- a pretty smart guy who said that Russians have not changed. Brzezinski said there is the official and the people's Russia. Putin screwed up the handling of the submarine accident. The US press was making a big deal out of someone injecting a hysterical woman with tranquilizers. However, the press does not know whether they were doing this from some insidious purpose -- or are they?

Will started quoting Brez to himself. That 20% of all Russian babies are born retarded, and that 60% are born with some other problem. Good grief. Old Brez, who should know better, is up to fomenting a new cold war for George Bush and his Boy.

Brez said that Russia must opt for the West, not the East. They must turn to the West. We must help the Russian people, without helping the Russian regime.

Well, how do we do that, Zbig?

Oh, great -- next up is the Ground Round Table -- with George Staphylococcus, Derek McGinty (we thought he was dead) and George Will. Can't wait.

Derek has a BIG smile. Gore is still ahead. Will said this is the "volatility of the tranquil." Gee, I wondered how long it took him to come up with that. Staph said that this was Gore's best week. Derek said that Bush's entire platform is "I'm a nice guy and I'm not Bill Clinton."

Scam somehow managed to mention Dukakis in the tank. Huh?

By the way, we'd like to see more of Dukakis on television -- he is bright.

Derek said people are saying "Why should we change?"

Leave it Will to bring up the kiss between Gore and Tipper, and to link it with a Gore commercial that starts with the words "Al Gore, married for 30 years..."

Huh?

Scam brought up the debate over debates. Dubya wants unstructured debates -- he just "wants to go at it with Gore." We think he just wants to have a fist fight with Gore. Derek said that maybe Bush is smarter than we think he is. The others -- proving their Bush-butt-kissing personalities -- defended the Shrub. San said "What do you mean kemosabe?" (Derek is Black -- great move Scam -- quoting a racist line from a racist joke to McGinty).

Scam said he wants them to debate on This Weak. Yeah, right.

Then they talked about the evil guy who won the million on that worthless program, "Survivor," that our own Mac MacArthur watched every week! Mac said he would have loved to catch the winner on film trying to hit on one of the other men on the island -- THAT would have been a ratings coup, and a lot more fun than Ellen DeGeneres's kiss! By the way, the winner, an openly gay man, is the father of an adopted son. The redneck state where they live has now accused him of "child abuse." Let's see if Scam mentions this...

He didn't.

Toward the end of This Weak, the group argued about sending troops to help Columbia fight the drug lords who now control that nation.

Well, it was better than we expected. Cheney, with a little help from Scam, looked terrible.

The bounce continues?  More like Cheney sandbagging Team Bush!

As we said at the outset, Gore's bounce was practically the first thing out of every Sunday host's mouth. All the programs mentioned but downplayed Bush's week and verbal fumbling (CNN's Tucker Carlson, who of late has been more outspoken and critical of the Bush campaign, called the candidate a "walking malapropism.") And there was talk about Cheney's platinum parachute and the feud over readiness on all the shows.

Cheney was the obvious point man for the Bush team this week -- but he found himself on the defensive on all of the programs, and mounted a less than vigorous defense. His lies, half-truths, and de facto ADMISSION that his Halliburton holdings would be a conflict of interest in the event he became vice president hurt the Bush campaign, and badly.

Over the next few days, we are going to be keeping an eye on the weekday political shows to see how much follow-through on the blunders of the now-foundering Bush campaign there really is. Today, the pundits played a tiny bit of hardball on Cheney, but the proof of the pudding will be to see how hard big corporate media and, by extension, their sponsors are on Bush.