AA is 24 hours of shrill, mostly unlistenable liberal talk. Al Franken's show is opposite Limbaugh and O'Reilly in much of the country and it gets beat badly by Limbaugh in even heavily blue cities. It's easy to see why. Franken is a manifestly unfunny guy. The money guys who launched AA are nuts if they think Franken is the franchise guy to build a winning team around.
Ed Schultz, a former "Righty", follows Franken in the lineup and is probably the most successful talker on AA. But Schultz isn't likely to be able to move opinion like Limbaugh does. Limbaugh's worldview, like it or not, is coherent. Schultz's politics are hermaphroditic. He loves SUVs, hunting, fishing, guns and NARAL and way Left pols like Barbara Boxer and Hillary (Feminazis to the average belching everyguy in the Heartland)-- it just doesn't follow.
I don't see how the vegan, gun-hating base of the Democrat party could ever be wooed by Schultz. He's the Wesley Clarke of talk radio. He's a Lefty come lately who isn't at all sure why he's a Democrat. Schultz's bumper music playlist is as confused as he is. Clapton's "Layla", Jennifer Paige's "Crush" and Mandy Moore's "Candy" all make Big Eddie's song list. Maybe it makes me an ass for saying so, but an old, husky guy listening to Mandy Moore's "Candy" (a disposable song made during Mandy's tween years) is pervy. I think Ed would be a lot less creepy if he just played CCR and the Dead like everyone else on AA.
The Morning Sedition is a show hosted by two pretty unmemorable dudes who are only worth listening to when they go wall to wall Rove. To the Left, Rove is Bush's brain, Nixon and Richard Mellon Scaife rolled into one. Jim Moore, the guy behind Bush's Brain, is the most hi-larious anti-Rove operator amongst the liberal commentariat. I hope he becomes to AA what Newt Gingrich is to the Sean Hannity show. I want more Jim Moore.
Much to my chagrin, Rhandi Rhodes is unawesomely bad. She is dreadful, but unfunny. The AA bigs would be wise to get rid of her and give Jim Moore his own show.
Garafalo's "Majority Report" (an inaptly named show given the election returns) is the AA show I like the best. Garafalo and her co-host Seder are horrible talk show hosts-- Garafalo should probably get rid of Seder-- but their guests are fantastic. I got into MR when Seder was on his honeymoon--Thank God-- it's not worth listening to since he came back. When Seder was on vacation, Garafalo had nutsy guest hosts. One guest host blamed the conspicuous Christianity displayed by players during the College football bowl games for creating Republicans. He especially thought the players on the undefeated Auburn Tigers (a team from that deep red Deep South state of Alabama) were too flamboyantly Christian and that they would turn passive viewers into GOP- voting Christers. And they make fun of Falwell....
Most of the MR guests are OCs --original Communists. The other night a CPUSA type described the crowd in Washington for Bush's Inauguration as overwhelmingly anti-Bush. Needless to say, he was using Pravda math. God, I love unchecked kookery.
Michael Savage-- a kook to be sure-- and Laura Ingraham are the best talkers on radio right now. Savage's Swiss America spots are more compelling than 90 percent of AA's programming.
Despite moments of awesome badness, AA isn't even as listenable as Limbaugh whose excessive time on golf courses has made him increasingly ponderous. All in all, AA is pretty much the Ishtar of talk radio.
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