Posted on 06/20/2005 11:23:42 PM PDT by soundandvision
Okay, so last Monday night I'm flipping through the channels and 9 O'Clock rolls around. I think to myself "why not give Tucker's show a chance...hell he sweated it out for years in the belly of the beast over at CNN -- I can give him 5 minutes of my time".
Five minutes went by..then ten...then thirty..then before I knew it I had watched the whole first show of "The Situation", MSNBC's news Primetime shot at catching FOX in the ratings.
Now, I know this is going to rub a lot of you the wrong way but I've had a growing resentment of Fox's Primetime lineup for some time now. Ever since last fall when the story about O'Reilly broke -- it was very hard to take the man seriously. Is he amusing to watch at times, yes. But... come on.
Sean Hannity. I started listening to Hannity's radio show via the web during the 2000 election campaign and was a minor fan at the time and enjoyed watching "Hannity and Colmes" from time to time. However, it's increasingly grown obvious to me (why it took 5 years to kick in, I have *no* idea) but watching "Hannity and Colmes" is tantamount to viewing the Harlem Globetrotters play the Washington Generals. The outcome is clear, everynight. Not to mention the fact that Sean seams to be stuck on talking points on both the radio show and the TV show -- in between Ruth's Chris plugs.
Greta. If I wanted wall to wall coverage of freak shows and local stories on steroids I would watch -- well, On the Record with Greta. Nevermind...
That brings me back to MSNBC and my disillusionment with Fox, in general. While I must say I occasionally find Keith Olberman amusing (am I allowed to say that here?) And also that as much as I think Joe Scarborough is a good guy, his show is as much fun to watch as, I imagine, Mario Quomo's radio show was to listen to. Get it, both former politicians trying to do commentary... eh.. no.
I say all this to circle back to Tucker Carlson. No one will ever accuse Carlson of aping William F. Buckley's astute conservative commentary from the days of "Firing Line". But, given the options..I would listen to the middleweight Carlson over the RNC talking points deliverer Hannity any day at this point.
I want honest thought and debate, not nondescript exposition.
Watching Carlson's show practically every night since its week old inception, I feel like I'm getting that. Carlson has had on the same two commentators with him the majority of each show: Rachel Maddow (from Air America Radio) and Jay Severin (Libertarian Talk Show Host). The discourse isn't really fiery but instead funny and at times coy. The great thing about the show is the lack of saturation of any one topic. Granted, that doesn't leave much room for in depth analysis; it's advertised as "fast paced" and it indeed is that.
So, fellow Freepers...I ask you...give Chatsworth Osborne, Jr a fighting chance.
I don't listen to Rush on the radio. I can catch him on the computer radio through the online site Los Angeles KFI. I did often read transcripts (most often via FR posts) of Rush's broadcasts during the primary and presidential campaigns.
My MEDIA idol, if I must declare one, is David Horowitz. If I want to know what the Democrat party's groupthink of the day is, I go to original sources where its prescripted: the WORLD SOCIALIST WEB SITE and the Communist Party USA online.
My cat is named Tucker. I'll watch Tucker the cat instead.
Jay Severin broadcasts on FMtalkradio 96.6 which airs only in New England.
Savage is just too obnoxious for me. I think his voice probably grates on Southerner's nerves more than anything. I love Rush even though he can be obnoxious too, but his is tongue in cheek.
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