Saturday's Scoop

The Huffington Post has an article from Bill Schneider called "Stuck In a Moment You Can't Get Out Of." In it he talks about President Obama and the Democratic Party's ratings as well as healthcare reform.

Jeffrey Toobin has a new article in The New Yorker called "Kennedy and the Court." The article talks about the effect Senator Edward Kennedy has had on the Supreme Court.

My Urban Report posted a video interview they had with TJ Holmes.

The Packer has a Q&A they did with Paul Begala about agriculture. Click here for the link.

Twitter Pictures:

@joneskay posted this picture of David Gergen in Hyannis Port

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Saturday's Scoop

ShoreviewPress.com has an article on Heidi Collins and how she balances her career and family. Click here for the link.

Bill Schneider has joined Third Way, a think tank that works with politicians to develop new ideas. Click here for the press release.

Ed Henry took place in a celebrity tennis match held by The Washington Kastles to benefit the American Red Cross. Click here for the article and video of the event.

Wolf Blitzer was on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on Wednesday. Here's a video of his appearance.

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A Few Strands of Tinsel

This was one of those weeks when not a lot caught my eye to clip (could be because I was preoccupied with the holidays and the crazy weather outside my window!) ... and half of what I did clip was already posted!

But I did get this piece by Zain Verjee, talking about the "bling" given to SecState Rice (which she can't keep):

Gary Tuchman fixes our Little Red Wagon (okay, not really, but how could I resist a line like that?):

This is the newest incarnation of the "Let's Go" promo:

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Two special year-end reviews air Sunday:

Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer: Best of 2008 will examine a remarkable year in news and look ahead at what is in store for 2009. CNN lead political anchor Wolf Blitzer will be joined by members of the “Best Political Team on Television” to look back at newsmaker interviews during the year of a historic election and a global economic crisis. Interviews with key political and business leaders including New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Sen. Hillary Clinton, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Sen. John McCain, President-elect Barack Obama, Gov. Sarah Palin and CNN founder Ted Turner. Airing Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. (ET), Blitzer and the panel will look ahead at the incoming Obama administration and discuss the future of the GOP.  [This will also be Wolf's final Late Edition.]

Howard Kurtz hosts Reliable Sources: A Year in Review to examine coverage of the 2008 presidential campaign and changes in the news business. Kurtz will be joined by Amy Holmes, CNN political contributor; Bill Press, radio talk show host; Terence Smith, former PBS media correspondent; and Jessica Yellin, CNN national political correspondent. The one-hour program will air in its usual time slot, Sunday at 10 a.m. (ET). 

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Where in the World...?

SATURDAY: Randi Kaye was in Atlanta to host two hours of NewsRoom both days this weekend.

SUNDAY: Ed Henry was in Honolulu covering Obama; Bill Schneider was in Los Angeles; Jessica Yellin was in Washington; Susan Roesgen was in Denver to cover the plane that caught fire during takeoff; Arwa Damon was in New York.

MONDAY: Matthew Chance was in the Kaluga Region of Russia (south of Moscow); Carol Costello was in for John Roberts; Betty Nguyen was in for Kyra Phillips; TJ Holmes was in for Rick Sanchez; Suzanne Malveaux was in for Wolf Blitzer; Lisa Sylvester was in for Lou Dobbs; Erica Hill was in for Campbell Brown.

TUESDAY: Carol was in for Kiran Chetry; TJ was in for Rick; Suzanne was in for Wolf; Lisa was in for Lou; Erica was in for Campbell and for Anderson Cooper.

WEDNESDAY: Carol was in for Kiran; Betty was in for Heidi Collins; Richard Liu in for Kyra; TJ was in for Rick.

CHRISTMAS DAY: Joe Johns was in for John; Carol was in for Kiran; Alina Cho was in for Heidi; Richard was in for Tony Harris; from 1pmET on, all repeats (with the exception of Larry King Live, which was new but pre-recorded.) Zain Verjee was in the studio for news breaks.

FRIDAY: Nic Robertson was in London to report on the Pakistani troop movements; Peter Bergen was in New Orleans and also discussed the situation; Joe = John; Carol = Kiran; Alina = Heidi; TJ = Tony; Richard = Kyra; TJ = Rick; Suzanne = Wolf; Lisa = Lou; Campbell aired a pre-recorded special; Larry = himself; Erica = Anderson.

Hope everyone had a great Christmas week... now let's make plans for New Year's!

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Thanksgiving Leftovers

Bill Schneider recently spoke at a luncheon in Staunton, Virginia. Below is an excerpt from an article on The News Leader.com about the appearance:

Barack Obama's ability to convince voters he can unite the country and end the nation's "cultural civil war" was a key reason for his election victory, CNN's senior political analyst Bill Schneider told a crowd Friday in Staunton.

"In this year, it was all about looking for a uniter; someone who could end the red-blue divide, just like the Progressive Era ended the North-South divide," he said. "And what we are seeing is that (Obama) is determined as president, even as president-elect, to reach across barriers to end this divide."

As part of the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum's annual Luncheon Speaker Series at the Stonewall Jackson Hotel and Convention Center, Schneider discussed the recent election, how he sees the new administration will govern and how the media will cover Obama's presidency.

Eric Vettel, executive director of the museum, said Schneider was perfect for the speech, calling him the "nation's election maestro" and the "most consistently intelligent analyst on television. "

A native Virginian and alumnus of Woodrow Wilson High School in Portsmouth, Schneider said he has observed firsthand the shifting nature of politics in the state. He recalled growing up in 1952, when the state was predominately Democratic, being dismayed that no one saw Virginia as an important battleground state.

"But when we voted for Eisenhower in 1952, Virginia led the way as one of the first Southern states to vote Republican," he said. "Then look what happened this year: Virginia was one of three Southern states that voted Democratic."

Schneider said, based largely on the state's shifting demographics, he predicts there is a good chance Democrats will keep power in the Senate and governor's seat for years to come. But the growing Democratic base in the state will not ensure a successful presidency for Obama. Schneider said coming into power at a time of financial crisis gives Obama a real opportunity to create change. However, even with an expected "honeymoon" period from the press, he will have high expectations to meet.

Just in time for Thanksgiving, Bill Schneider announced his Political turkeys of the year. You can read his top ten on CNN.com or watch the top five:

Andy Plesser from BeetTV spoke with CNN's Soledad O'Brien earlier this month about the election.

One last note tonight. Tis the time of year where journalists frequently get asked what they are thankful for. Here are a few of the responses that I found from some of our favorites on CNN:

From Politico.com:

John King, anchor, CNN: "I am enormously grateful for the opportunity to visit 31 states in the past 20 months meeting dozens and dozens of the ordinary people that made this such an extraordinary election cycle. I am most grateful that I can focus now on the leaves changing colors, not states changing colors; that I can spend time with my wife, not my map; and for this, to borrow a phrase, Change I Can Believe In: more time with the remarkably patient Noah and Hannah King."

James Carville, political consultant and former strategist for President Bill Clinton: "The thing I'm looking forward to most about Thanksgiving is going back to Louisiana as I have 62 people coming over, so I won't be lonely. "

Gloria Borger, contributor, CNN: "That my twenty-something sons will be home with my husband and me to partake in our Thanksgiving Day tradition of staying home in our sweats and/or jeans, watching football — and that no presidential recount will get in the way!"

From TVNewsers:

CNN's Candy Crowley: "First, last, evermore, my children."

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'Election Night in America' Wrap-Up

David Bohrman, CNN's Washington, D.C., bureau chief, and CNN/U.S. President Jon Klein watch the monitors. Photo courtesy of CNN
What an amazing job CNN did covering Election Day 2008. The Best Political Team on Television outdid themselves working long hours with spectacular results. The new technology was beyond anything I'd ever seen, Although it has been, and I'm sure will continue to be, mocked I think we have glimpsed the future of broadcasting. As someone mentioned in ATA's comments, maybe someday we will have hologram newscasters appear in our homes to deliver the news.


Screengrab courtesy of CNN
What do you say to a hologram? Wolf was unflappable as usual and quipped "Jessica, you're a terrific hologram, thank you so much".

Anderson Cooper had to test drive the new 'beam me down' technology also. Here's his interview with Black Eyed Peas frontman Will.i.am, an Obama supporter, who was in Grant Park in Chicago.

screengrabs courtesy of CNN
Not to be outdone by the Wolfman and AC, John King had his own new technology......the virtual Capital. On it's first appearance it crashed but the second attempt was a resounding success.

photos courtesy of CNN


Soledad O'Brien and Bill Schneider again brought us the exit polling results, this time around with the aid of a brand new, spiffy analysis board. The touchscreens of the Voter Analysis Center showcased exit-polling data simultaneously from all 50 states with demographic comparisons. By using two 103-inch interactive plasma screens, they were able to display a state-by-state breakdown of polling data according to any number of demographic and political groups.

And not all the CNN action was confined to the NYC studios. They also hosted an Election Day viewing party at Times Square.
photos courtesy of Jacob Silberberg/Getty Images/CNN

It was a memorable night, an historic night and a night that CNN chronicled as only they can.

Until next week. ~Phebe

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Night Vision

Miles O'Brien did a piece this week that looked into the many crashes of air ambulances lately. One big way to help avoid such disasters would be to equip the pilots with NightVision goggles. The NTSB has recommended that this be done, but any law requiring that is passing very slowly through channels. (The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are also already putting those goggles in high demand.) But the difference in visibility -- literally night and day -- makes this a vital part of any rescue:

On Wednesday, the 2009 troop deployments were announced, and Barbara Starr reported on what's happening:

Cal Perry also reported on the Iraqi national soccer team, which brought some of the few moments of joy and national pride to the country. It's amazing to see people in the stadium at all, let alone without kevlar:

On Friday, a look at some world reaction to the VP debate from Reza Sayah in Islamabad, Cal Perry in Baghdad, and Kyung Lah in Tokyo:

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The ATC team would like to send wishes for a full recovery to Bill Schneider, who recently had a health scare. This from Friday's TVNewser:

VP Debate: Bill Schneider, Back In Action After Denver Hospital Detour

St. Louis really is a long way from Denver. Just ask CNN's Bill Schneider.

"I am feeling better," he told TVNewser last evening while in St. Louis covering the Vice Presidential debate. "I am doing better." Much better than he felt in the Mile High City when he was there in August for the Democratic National Convention.

He went to Denver for the convention, but ended up in the hospital. With a bleeding ulcer. Schneider missed two days on-air, but got back in the swing of things in rapid fashion.

And none too quickly, because Schneider values his role as a political analyst. "I get feedback, which I absolutely love...people come up to me on the street...and they say, 'I'm not sure I know your name, but I love your stuff because you're very clear.'

"My response is, 'Thank you. That's my job.' That's what I'm here to do, to make things clear." It's second-nature for Schneider, who has taught at the college level and has a Ph.D. in Political Science from Harvard.

But even though he's a political junkie, Schneider says he's ready for a new President to be chosen already. "It feels like I've been covering this campaign for years," he says with a laugh. "Oh wait, I have!"

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Where in the World...?

A pretty quiet week in WITW...

SATURDAY: TJ Holmes, Suzanne Malveaux, and Dana Bash reported from Oxford, Mississippi, scene of the Presidential debate the night before; Roland Martin and John King both hosted shows in New York to critique the debate, and Michael Ware appeared on both shows.

SUNDAY: Jessica Yellin was in Detroit with the Obama campaign; Dana was on Capitol Hill; Wolf Blitzer was in New York; John King was in Washington.

MONDAY: Suzanne was in Denver with Obama; John Roberts hosted Election Center.

TUESDAY: Richard Quest is in Los Angeles and discussed the financial meltdown; Miles O'Brien was in New York; John Roberts hosted The Situation Room, as he also would on Wednesday.

WEDNESDAY: Cal Perry (above) is in Baghdad; John Zarrella was in Fort Pierce, Florida to cover Bill Clinton campaigning for Obama; Suzanne was in Washington; Dana was in New York.

THURSDAY: Candy Crowley, Suzanne, and Dana were in St. Louis for the VP debate; Wolf was in New York, as he also would be Friday.

FRIDAY: Nada! Everybody stayed put!

That's it for me today... I will be off next Saturday, so WITW will be back in two weeks with twice as much globe-trotting to cover!

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Best Political Team in Jeopardy?

Friday on American Morning, John Roberts interviewed Bono about his experience at the United Nations last week. I've clipped the interview in two parts and also posted the text from the CNN transcript:

ROBERTS: Welcome back to the most news in the morning. And time now for an AMERICAN MORNING exclusive.

U2 front man Bono was one of the most recognizable faces at the United Nations general assembly this week. As leaders from countries around the world attended the general assembly, Bono and his ONE Foundation were lobbying for aid to fight disease, hunger and poverty in developing nations and quite successfully as well.

He joins us now for an exclusive interview. It's great to see you this morning. Thanks for joining us.

BONO: Good to be here.

ROBERTS: So, you know, all this talk has been about the economy collapsing, $700 billion bailout. Congress is absolutely absorbed with that.

Did that, in any way, affect what you were trying to do this week? Are people more focused on this economy than in helping out developing nations?

BONO: Well, we got good news this week. I know normally I'm on your program you have bad news, the wingie (ph) rock star, but it's great. You know the disease malaria, it's 3,000 African kids die every day of mosquito bites. Sounds mad, but it's true.

And people have committed and looks like the funds are on the table so that disease will be no more by 2015. That makes people like me punch the air and everyone who wears the ONE T-shirts and all our white band campaign in college campuses all over the country.

They -- it was a great day for them yesterday. So we're celebrating that. I know it's extraordinary, that while you're having this meltdown on the markets that this -- you know that people could even concentrate on this stuff, but I'm really grateful that they did.

We have both candidates make, you know, very powerful statements about the necessity for, you know, nonmilitary tools, for instance, in foreign policy. And that this is an America that both candidates want to show to the rest of the world, the greatness of America.

ROBERTS: So you're hearing what you want to hear from these candidates?

BONO: Yes. And you couldn't imagine a few years ago that you would have candidates so close to the election talking about this stuff, so yes.

ROBERTS: Yes. You were talking to Christine Romans outside the studio, who just did that piece for us a few minutes ago on what else could you do with $700 billion?

What could you do with $700 billion?

BONO: We wouldn't be asking for that kind of money. I mean these are serious matters. People lost their jobs. But for -- I think the world, the bill for the whole world so America would be like about a third of it.

For $25 billion, you could absolutely change the world. So you could put kids in school, most kids in school. You could eradicate diseases like malaria, as we're saying. We could change the water supplies.

But what's important is -- you know, is that people who want to change the world want to see their country -- want to be -- they see it as a patriotic act to show the world the -- you know, innovation of America, technology of America, pharmacology of America.

ROBERTS: You -- for $25 billion, you could put every kid who's out of school in the world into school?

BONO: Yes.

ROBERTS: That seems like a lot of people for $25 billion.

BONO: Yes. Well...

ROBERTS: That's a pretty good return on your investment.

BONO: It's a great return on investment. You heard me on your program before talking about debt cancellation? Strangely Americans don't know that because of debt cancellation there are already an extra 29 million African children in the school.

That's unbelievable. And because people got out on the streets in the Red campaign and stuff like that, there's now, I think, 2.5 million Africans on AIDS drugs, which are expensive.

So your country's -- it's turning for me in the right direction on these issues.

ROBERTS: So you're hearing some of what you want to hear, particularly on malaria issues.

BONO: Yes.

ROBERTS: But European Union had promised to increase aid by $50 billion between 2005 and 2010. Looks like they're going to fall $40 billion short.

BONO: They are, but they're still ahead of America. That's the bad news. You don't want to get me into the ring.

ROBERTS: Oh yes, absolutely. Come on. That's why you're here.

BONO: No, no, no. We've meeting with Sarkozy this week, as well as, you know, talking with the McCain and Palin and as well as always talking with the Obama campaign.

We do keep up the pressure on the Europeans, but the Europeans are way ahead of America on these aid -- on aids, so just to put it in context. But you're right. They're not coming through on all of it. And we will torture them, too. That's our job. ROBERTS: You talk a lot about these United Nations Millennium Development Goals.

BONO: Yes.

ROBERTS: Let me just go over a couple of those. It was supposed to cut global poverty in half by the year 2015, universal access to HIV/AIDS treatment by 2015, begin to reverse the incidence of malaria by 2015.

How far along that road are we?

BONO: The Millennium Development Goals are in a bit of trouble. And it is astonishing to me...

ROBERTS: And whose fault is that?

BONO: Well, you know, politicians, they love signing checks, but they don't love cashing them. They love the photographs. And, you know, these G8 meetings, you'll see myself and my partner Bob Geldof, you know, arm wrestling and, you know, politicians up against the wall.



ROBERTS: You're really effective in doing that.

BONO: Yes.

ROBERTS: You get access to a lot of places.

BONO: Yes, it's true. And...

ROBERTS: I remember that I was on a -- I was on a trip with President Bush once, and you walked on Air Force One, and the (INAUDIBLE) watching you do it.

BONO: Well, it's the absurdity of celebrity. You know I don't consider myself a celebrity in this sense, I think I'm an activist who knows what he's talking about.

But yes, we get access, and we use it. And it's true that there was a very ambitious plan signed up in 2005 that further committed what was decided in the year 2000, that we could actually, across eight goals, completely change the face of poverty and hunger in the world.

And there was a $25 billion bill by 2010 that would enable them to do that. They haven't come through on that. And another day I'll tell you why, but today I'm punching the air because malaria will be no more by 2015.

And it's Americans, people from the private sector, Peter Chernan there, you know, Ray Chambers -- all kinds of people, Bill Gates. Your mayor of this city, you know...

ROBERTS: Bloomberg, yes. BONO: Bloomberg is an amazing guy. He's working on this stuff. I just want Americans to know that side of their country because I'm a fan of America. And, again, that you have candidates, you know, like John McCain taking time out this week to talk to us. Barack Obama before. This is fantastic.

ROBERTS: I was reading your blog on Financialtimes.com.

BONO: Yes, I'm a reporter as well as you right now.

ROBERTS: You've been writing all week, doing a great job, too. You mentioned in one of your pieces that you've been writing some lyrics. And I'm wondering where the lyrics are going.

BONO: The lyrics. Statistics don't rhyme. I -- you know, songwriting comes from such a different part of my brain and such a different part of my -- just who I am.

ROBERTS: And are you writing about all this?

BONO: No, it's strange. It's very strange. I used to work in a garage when I was a kid, you know, pumping gas, and I used to dream when I was -- pumping the gas about getting to rehearsals on a Saturday, you know, so I could be with my band and write songs.

The work that I'm doing now, as we say, we're working like a dog, living like a Shih Tzu. We're like spoiled people. We travel well, but we work on these issues.

ROBERTS: Yes.

BONO: Because you're working for the world's poor, we work like dogs. But I find myself at times, sometimes, I just wake up in the morning, and I just want to be back with my band in a rehearsal room.

ROBERTS: Right. And you will be soon. New CD coming out next year.

BONO: I'm not complaining about the work. This is the most inspiring thing I've ever been involved in my life, and it's working. It really is working. And that's why I'm on your show this morning. I just want to thank Americans really.

ROBERTS: And we want to thank you for coming in this morning.

BONO: Thank you.

ROBERTS: It's really great to see you. Good luck on the new CD coming out next year, right?.

BONO: Thanks.

ROBERTS: Looking forward to it.

Bono, good to see you. Thanks for coming in.

BONO: Thank you.

If you are a frequent viewer of CNN, you may have developed the impression that the Best Political Team On Television has all of the answers. Well, on Thursday night, they will have the answers as they provide the clues on Jeopardy.

It looks like Anderson Cooper, Bill Schneider, Campbell Brown, Candy Crowley, and Wolf Blitzer are among those delivering answers. Here's a look at promo that ran yesterday afternoon on CNN:

The Metro ran an article by Tom Forman on Friday: Selling off the rest of the Wall St. rubble. No surprise that this week's article would be about the impending bailout.

Let’s say you walk into an office building filled with busy people doing all those things that people in offices do, and suddenly a guy appears with a big fat wallet.

"Listen,” he says in a money-filled drawl, “I’ve got $10 million for you if you can just make sure nothing bad happens here in the next 30 minutes.”

You start walking the floors, and 29 minutes later you smell smoke. What do you do? If you are a caring human being, you pull the fire alarm and say goodbye to your almost fortune.

Or, if you bear no direct blood ties to Mother Teresa, you say nothing, collect the money and tell the fire crews, “Hey, it wasn’t burning when I was in charge!”

That’s why Congress spent much of this week arguing for limits on CEO pay as part of the bailout package. For decades now, Wall Street has been moving deeper into a realm where rewards are based on fast bucks and blind eyes toward future problems.

In the 1970s, the average CEO made only 35 times as much as the average worker, according to the Economic Policy Institute. Back then, the big boss still had to keep the place running, the income flowing, the widgets selling for 15 or 20 years before he could safely afford three houses, six cars, and a year-round vacation schedule. Today, that same CEO makes about 275 times as much as his employee. At a paltry $25 million a year, he can work two weeks and retire with as much money as the average American family will make in 20 years.

That trend promotes, by the reckoning of many analysts, a really weird way of looking at business. Long-term survival of a company? Who cares? Being a good corporate citizen interested in the stability of your workers’ lives or careers, their neighborhoods, or your country? Are you kidding?

If we were talking about just the dealings of private businesses, perhaps we could all shrug and go back to hemorrhaging our own money at the gas pumps. But what we are talking about now is us, the American taxpayers, picking up the tab for the bad decisions these highly paid professionals have made. A $700-billion tab.

The funny thing is, everyone on Wall Street could smell the smoke years ago. So even the slowest politician knows, voters are not going to be very happy if part of the payout goes to the guys and gals who did not pull the fire alarm.

CNNPolitics.com | Catch Tom Foreman on CNN every Saturday at 6 p.m. on This Week in Politics for a look back at the presidential campaign trail.

The Election Express Bus is on the move! Here's the latest on where it will be stopping:

10/2	Vice Presidential Debate St. Louis, MO
10/3 – 10/4	Oktoberfest St. Louis, MO
10/7	Presidential Debate Nashville, TN

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Specials, Books and Clips

For all our readers who get CNNInternational. After negotiating 10 months for a visa to gain access to the war ravaged Darfur region of Sudan, CNN’s senior international correspondent Nic Robertson presents a half-hour special documentary "Darfur: Out of Control" which will be airing Sat. July 5: 0600, 1400, 1900 Sun. July 6: 0600 (All times GMT). To see more information about the special, you can check out the Darfur - Out of Control page on cnn.com

For all the Morning Express with Robin Meade fans, you probably noticed that Robin has not been on this week Well Robin posted a blog post on the new Morning Express blog about her "working vacation".

Hello from my “working” vacation
Posted: 11:15 AM ET

Hi guys…

Many thanks to our fellow blogging viewers. YES! I do read all of your comments!
I’m not exactly on vaca this week…I’m actually working on my book, due out next year. A publishing company came to me and asked if I’d do it.
What subjects would interest you for this non-fiction/motivational/inspirational/how-to/autobiographical book? I already have a working plan, but would love to hear from you too.
So, keep posting your comments!

Alrighty…back to the working “vacation.” Miss ya!


Looking forward to seeing the end result of Robin's upcoming book.



What post would be complete without some fun clips on Thursday.

On Thursday June 26th during a segment of Anderson Cooper 360, Anderson Cooper asks David Gergen if he had a new side job.

During Friday June 27th Situation Room, Wolf Blitzer, Abbi Tatton and Jack Cafferty discuss so anti-Obama websites including PUMA.

For all the Poppy Harlow fans out there, Don Lemon and Kyra Phillips got the facts on Poppy during the afternoon edition of NewsRoom on Monday June 30.

On Tuesday July 1st, CNN pulled the ever running Pedegg ad from it's airwaves. Going into commercial Kyra Phillips, Don Lemon and Chad Myers had a quick preview of the story coming up after the break during NewsRoom . A few ewwws were certainly involved.

During Tuesday July 1st, Election Center Soledad O'Brien and Ali Velshi do a demonstration with falling Domino's to get the point across.

At the end of Wednesday July 2nd American Morning, John Robert forgot he would be back later in the day to host Situation Room. Kiran Chetry was happy to remind John that being on air for 6 live hours can do that to you. John considered a quick nap to which Tony Harris seemingly agreed.

To all our American readers, have a fun and safe Independence Day. Happy 4th of July to all!!!


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Graduations & Ratings

On Sunday's Reliable Sources, Howard Kurtz interviewed Kim Dozier, the CBS correspondent that was seriously wounded in Iraq, about her recovery and her new book, Breathing The Fire.

She also appeared on American Morning earlier this month. The interview with John Roberts has been posted on CNN's website.

James Carville spoke at the Tulane University commencement ceremonies in New Orleans on Saturday, May 17, 2008. Mary Matalin, his wife, introduced him. WWLTV has posted a write up on the speech. To view the commencement ceremony, click here.

Bill Schneider spoke at the recent Brandeis University commencement ceremony. Schneider graduated from Brandeis in 1966. Max Pearlstein spoke to him about coming back to his alma mater.

Ratings for the week May 12 - May 16, 2008

	8PM^Adults 25-54 FOX 488,600 CNN 251,7501 MSNBC 475,250 1
	9PM^Adults 25-54 FOX 352,600 CNN 270,250 1 MSNBC 240,500 1
	10PM^Adults 25-54 FOX 315,200 CNN 335,400 MSNBC 181,5001

FOX won the Adult Viewers 25 - 54 ratings for the 8PM and 9PM time slots. CNN took 10PM. CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 also had the highest number of viewers Adult 25 - 54 on Tuesday (5/13) with 530,000 (FOX (GRETA) followed behind with 325,000) and on Wednesday (5/14) with 380,000 (FOX (GRETA) followed behind with 321,000 and MSNBC(COUNTDOWN) with 155,000). Another interesting note on Tuesday's numbers, during the 10PM hour of AC360 the Adult 25 - 54 demographic represented 46% of their overall viewers. That percentage raised to 50% during the 11PM hour of AC360.

¹ 4 day average. Tuesday primary coverage excluded.
^{^} Courtesy Nielsen Media Research; Demographics where noted; Live + Same Day (LS) Fast Track Nationals.

For those of you in the United States, have a Happy Memorial Day!

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