SUNDAY SHOW BOOKERS REFUSE TO READ POLITICAL ANIMAL…. Maybe I should start taking this personally.
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has been booked for yet another Sunday talk show appearance this weekend — this time on CBS’ Face The Nation. Despite a “wildly unsuccessful presidential campaign” last year and his comparative irrelevancy in the U.S. Senate, this will mark the 15th time McCain has appeared on a Sunday talk show since January.
For crying out loud. As of this weekend, there will have been 40 Sundays since President Obama’s inauguration in January. With his 15th Sunday show appearance, McCain will have been a guest on one of the programs every 2.6 weeks. No other official in the country comes close.
Since the president took office, McCain has been on “Meet the Press” twice (July 12 and March 29), “This Week” three times (September 27, August 23, and May 10), “Fox News Sunday” three times (July 2, March 8, and January 25), and CNN’s “State of the Union” three times (October 11, August 2, and February 15). His appearance on “Face the Nation” this weekend will be his fourth appearance since February (October 25, August 30, April 26, and February 8).
And who, exactly, is John McCain? He’s the one who lost last year’s presidential race badly, and is now just another conservative senator in the minority. He’s not in the party leadership; he has no role in any important negotiations on any issue; and he’s offered no significant pieces of legislation. By all appearances, McCain isn’t even especially influential among his own GOP colleagues.
Now, I suspect producers for “Face the Nation” will point out that U.S. policy in Afghanistan is a very important topic right now, and argue that McCain represents the conservative Republican perspective on the issue. Perhaps.
But let’s not forget a) McCain has already discussed his position on Afghanistan on other programs very recently; b) his understanding of U.S. foreign policy is tenuous at best; c) we already know what he’s going to say, making the interview dull before it even happens; and d) there are plenty of other Republicans who agree with McCain who aren’t on every 2.6 weeks.
In other words, there’s just no reason for the media’s obsession with McCain. It’s as if the bookers are addicted, and as a first step, I’d encourage them to admit they have a problem.
