We get your Sunday TV news programmes a bit delayed here in Australia, but I just saw Arnold Schwarzenegger give an absolute dynamite interview to George Stephanopoulus on the ABC’s This Week.

Sure, he’s not running for President and thus can be a little more open and honest, but I have to say it was one of the most impressive top-tier Q&A interviews I’ve seen from a sitting politician in a long time.

Apart from about half-a sentence thanking Bush - obligiatory in the world of Republican politics – he absolutely tore into the administration. And he did it with real alliterative panache.

I was so impressed (and a little shocked) to quietly realize, while still a Republican, he was able to articulate the position on a plethora of BIG D Democratic issues with such understanding...keeping it simple and real.

The panel on "This Week" managed to infuriate me even without Cokie or George Will.  It was composed of Mark Halperin (no intro necessary), Jonathan Capehart (of the WaPo), Michelle Cottle (archtypical TNR "liberal") and no less than Ted Koppel (who in his post-Nightline phase is nothing more than a fount of conventional wisdom).

Here's what I learned:

Obama's "refining Iraq policy" statement is a turning point inthe campaign because it obviously shows he won't pull troops out. (Halperin)

The more this issue comes up (Iraq) the more John McCain benefits (Steph).

Obama has flip-flopped on a number of issues (Capehart!)

We can't leave Iraq because the price of oil will skyrocket (Koppel!)

McCain is right that Obama is coming close to McCain's position on Iraq (all!)

Looks like Gibson and Stephanopoulos are after Obama again since their hatchet job disguised as a debate:

http://abcnews.go.com/...

They neglect to mention that 90% of Obama's war chest IS public financing.  90% is from donations of $1000 or less!  Count on Olbermann to make that point tonight on Countdown.

Charlie whines like a little two-year old asking if Obama's decision is "fair."  Was it fair in '04 when the Repugs were flush with cash?  Was it fair when they stole Ohio and before that Florida?  It's our turn, bitch!  Deal with it and stop spreading your whiny little propaganda.  This isn't a question of unfairness.  It's a question of justice.  Now bite me!

I hate Disney.

For the first time I feel a little concerned about Obama's campaign. Maybe there's nothing to be concerned about yet, but the way he's handled his opting out of public finance thing seems needlessly hurtful to him.

Every commentator on every network, except Olbermann, seems to be flatly stating that this is a flip flop - a breaking of a promise. But it is NOT. We all here at this site have seen the qualifying language Obama made when he checked that "yes" box. Obama tried to encourage McCain to rein in the 527 groups, McCain refused, so Obama can say he tried to work out an agreement with McCain but couldn't. Opting out of public financing is 100% consistent with what he promised.

South Carolina Senator and John McCain water carrier Lindsey Graham did his man no favors on the Sunday talk shows.  Just five days after McCain pleaded with voters during his disastrous "green screen" speech not to believe that he represents a third term for George W. Bush, Graham agreed that "John McCain is calling for an extension or maybe enhancement of the Bush policies."  Amazingly, Graham's pronouncement came just one month after he dared the media and voters to equate McCain with his predecessor by proclaiming, "Good luck making him George Bush."

Last week the House Judiciary Committee subpoenaed Karl Rove, who has refused to appear before the Committee to answer questions regarding the investigation and prosecution of the former Democratic governor of Alabama, Don Siegelman. Rove is alleged to have improperly directed the Justice Department to pursue the Siegelman case for political purposes. Rove, who still appears on Fox News as Senior Political Contributor, despite his position as an "informal" adviser to John McCain (which Fox does not disclose to their viewers), was interviewed today by George Stephanopoulos on ABC's This Week. Let's just say that Rove doesn't fare very well.

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When, years from now, hindsight-benefited historians look back on the primary elections of 2008, especially during the weeks in April and early May, one thing will appear crystal clear: flag lapel pins didn’t matter.

Nor did bowling scores, nor renegade reverends, nor harsh adjectives used to describe the mood of small-town Americans harshly abandoned by big corporations, and the big government that served them.

No, flag lapel pins did not matter to voters, who agreed with and voted for the man who was not afraid to campaign in the patriotic nude, the man who eschewed the venerable American flag pin in favor of letting his words and deeds demonstrate his patriotism, rather than a two-cent chunk of recycled Chinese metal with a fresh paint job.

Here we go, the Clinton surrogates have started making the case for Hillary as Vice-President. Personally, I don't like the idea. Her Campaign was run in a way that is against everything Barack Obama stands for. It's that simple, so no mas!

Hop, Step, Jump (sorry I'm still giddy from last night) oveeer the foooolllld! hehe....

What a wonderful morning.  It was the kind of night that I will remember for the rest of my life.  My favorite moments:

1. Chris Matthews looked rough.  It was obvious that his conscience was finally catching up.  He said earlier in the week that the archaic media's Pastor Flap was Obama's "Iraq".  That's gotta hurt in hindsight when you see yourself stoop that low on tape, especially when you are proven wrong by Indiana!  His face was pale, dried up, and deflated.  He kept reading Daily Kos on his monitor.  He used two of our memes directly during the show, and the second time he actually gave us credit on the air.

2. George Stephanopolous broke into Jeopardy (!) to announce the immediate call on North Carolina, and set the tone for the realization that we had finally won.  

3. James Carville spent the night trying to wipe the cajones off his face.

Now it's your turn.  What were your favorite moments?

(More pics after the break.)

There is a central question those of us who follow the media closely tend to ask: Are the DC elites with the magaphone getting duped, or just playing dumb? Well, on this Sunday's This Week with George Stephanopoulos, we may finally have our answer.
we may finally have our answer

(NOTE: I voted and caucused for Obama in the Texas primaries, so the fact that I hate George Stephanopoulos lying about Hillary has nothing to do with my political leanings. I just hate lying, scumbag journalists).

Give George Stephanopoulos his due. In his interview with Hillary Clinton yesterday, his questions about her proposal to extend a nuclear umbrella not only to Israel but to Iran's Sunni Arab neighbors exposed the incoherence of the scheme.

Clinton cast the NATO-like alliance as a way to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. When Stephanapoulos pressed her on the logistics and the practicalities of a multi-state alliance, she explained:

We have all heard that old maxim that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.  ABC found itself in a lot of hot water during the presentation of its last debate for many reasons, one of which was having a moderator who played an active part in the administration of a former President, the wife of whom was one of the candidates.  You would think most organizations would learn from such a mistake, just like the little kid who grabs the hot pan would learn to never put himself in that situation again.  If you were counting on ABC to have that same learning ability, you would be wrong.

Dear ABC
This Week with George Stephanopoulos can only be described as an hour long paid campaign advertisement for Hillary Clinton.   When he did find the "testicular fortitude" to dare to ask Senator Clinton about some of the scandal that is once again swirling around the Clintons, he is brushed aside like petulant child.  To use Mrs. Clinton's words, if the boy "can't stand the heat" get him out of the kitchen.  Whether it is a sense of loyalty to the Clintons or something more sinister, he is inept at dealing with a Clinton interview.  Even the "town hall" questions were so scripted that it was like being at a George W Bush press conference without NBC's Gregory.  One of the two questions from supposedly Obama supporters was about Reverend Wright.  Now if that doesn't sound contrived, what does.  

We all know that General Clark has been an enlightened voice for policies that respect culture and diversity. Even in the face of George W Bush's mindless saber rattling and fear mongering, General Clark was the person who spearheaded the http://www.stopiranwar.com initiative and told us that Iran is a multicultural country of 70 million people and that one person (Ahmadinejad) does not speak for a diverse country of seventy million.

General Clark warned us in Congressional testimony in 2002 what would likely happen if we were so foolish as to invade Iraq as a "preventive" strike and Wes's worst fears were realized and thousands of our soldiers and millions of Iraqis have born the terrible brunt of what Clark described as a "strategic blunder of monumental proportions". Senator Clinton at the time did not heed General Clark's warnings and then stubbornly refused, for years, to acknowledge how terribly wrong she was to vote for the war while she continued to defend its rationale. This went on while Clark was telling us that the war had made us less safe, undermined our democratic principles and decimated our leadership position in the world.

The resurrection of Mickey Cantor's controversial comments about Indiana spurred me to watch the documentary The War Room the other night. What struck me was how old and out of date the movie was; it was like looking back in time. It made my heart ache that so much promise had come to naught. Seeing the film did open my eyes though and made me appreciate why Hillary Clinton has such strong support among her rapidly aging generation. Older folks love nostalgia and Hillary's Golden Oldies Reunion Tour is a hot ticket.

George Stephanopoulos may have been against NAFTA, but he sure did all he could to pass NAFTA.

In his book All Too Human: A Political Education, on page 227 he says:

It appears as though George Stephanopoulos’s plan for Hillary’s townhall meeting was to try and repair some damages she’s created for herself the past few weeks and possibly get more access for himself down the road.

Steph pushing her on gas tax.  She doesn't answer question on who is supporting this among economists.  I tuned in late, and she's already said elite 3 times.  An Obama supporter pushes her on this issue again.  She doesn't answer straightforwardly.  Pushes for the long distance commuter and truckers.  Total unreality.  This isn't going to happen this summer in Congress.