Charles, don't despair.  Politico viewers will always have their spin served up.  But most 60 minutes viewers don't read Politico.

What Obama is doing by going on Leno, 60 minutes, etc. is precisely to bypass the chatter.

Of course there are plenty people who like their yellow journalism.  But most will prefer a grown up conversation, if given the choice.

Look for O to continue the interviews.  I wouldn't be surprised to see him on the Today show soon.

http://tinyidea.wordpress.com/2009/03/21 a-different-kind-of-great-communicator

I was freaking out all week, but as I watched this speech live I was getting fired up!.  Them were fighting words... mocking the whole 'this is a spending bill not a stimulus bill' meme, his perfect crash metaphor ('I don't care if you're driving an SUV or a hybrid, if you're heading for a cliff, you better change course').

I'm a little frustrated that after reading every article I could find today, I still can't figure out who these 'centrist' senators are, so I don't know who to call.  I will be calling Nelson and Collins' offices tomorrow for sure, but that should only be the start.

Even though I'm not their constituent, I will be very clear that after spending about 1K to get Obama elected, I will be very liberal with my wallet to help their opposition in '11 or '13 should they vote NAY.

Guys, one thing I never hear anyone say is how so many viewers have no choice in the matter. If you have a good cable plan you get multiple news channels, but if you have one of the cheaper plans you probably only get one, probably Fox.

I had one of the better plans with Dish Network for several years until 8 months ago I decided to get my shows mostly through my Apple TV, so I called to cancel the dish.  Well they talked me into keeping the most basic plan for $25, just so I could still have the local network channels.

Imagine my surprise when I found out that plan only included Fox News!  Yes, I was forced to watch Fox for six months until I gave in 3 months ago and upgraded.

What percentage of Dish customers do you figure have that plan?  10%, 30% ?  Well, however many they are they are likely to be some of the poorest viewers.

Here's the dish channel plan lineup:
http://www.dishnetwork.com/content/whats _on_dish/programming_packages/comparison /default.aspx

Last thought:  To me this is not just an issue of product placement and tiering.  It is very suspect when a whole segment of your viewers is forced to watch one news outlet based on their socioeconomic status.