*GAG!!* Has PBS lost its mind?

[Thomas Veil]

Tucker Carlson (http://www.pbs.org/tuckercarlson/) on PBS?

Apparently the recently-released-from-CNN twit has a new show on public television, Tucker Carlson Unfiltered.

(I presume "unfiltered" means he contains more carcinogens. Anyway.)

Check out the kind of class he's going to bring to PBS. From his show's web page:

Regina (Woodbridge, VA):
Does Howard Dean really have an honest chance at DNC chair?

Tucker:
Yes. The odds are, he's going to win. Which means, 1) the Democratic Party really does have a death wish; and 2) it's going to be like Christmas for those of us who cover politics. Dean is a gift that keeps on giving.

.....

Danielle (Plattsburgh, NY):
Back on Crossfire you mentioned having seen John Kerry naked, but you never delivered on the story! We're all still wondering what happened - or is it too traumatic a memory to share?

Tucker:
I can't talk about it. Sorry. Even now, three years later, the memory is painfully, sleep-disturbingly fresh. Classic PTSD. With help I'll recover. But it's going to be a long time before I can relive it. Oy veh. Perhaps it's PBS that has the death wish.


ADDENDUM

I found a link about this show at Media Matters (http://mediamatters.org/items/200406170002). I guess TCU actually premiered on PBS about eight months ago.

Can't believe I've never heard anyone talk about this show until now, though. You'd think people would be upset to find that Little Lord Fauntleroy was on PBS. Perhaps back in June we were all too preoccupied with the election.

[IJ Reilly]

Nobody is talking about the show because nobody is watching it.

[Xtremehkr]

Sign o' the times. I guess PBS is thinking along the lines of if you can't beat em join em. RIP PBS, the market is chock full of the opinion little Tucker is repeating.

[solvs]

And here I thought PBS was a bastion of the Liberals. If this is their attempt at trying to look more balanced like CNN did with people like Tucker and Bob Traitor Novak, I think it's going to go just as well. Which is... not very well. Here's a hint, an extreme Liberal and an Ultra Conservative do not fair reporting make.

I don't see this lasting much longer, but I'm sure he'll still find work. Unfortunetly. Maybe they'll have Jon Stewart on his next show. :D

[IJ Reilly]

PBS a bastion of liberalism? Pah. Who ran William F. Buckley's program "Firing Line" for decades? They also ran his debate series for year and years. And Buckley isn't the only prominent conservative to be featured on PBS. The only objection I've got to them running Carlson is that he's so low-grade. He's no Bill Buckley, that's for sure.

[Taft]

PBS a bastion of liberalism? Pah. Who ran William F. Buckley's program "Firing Line" for decades? They also ran his debate series for year and years. And Buckley isn't the only prominent conservative to be featured on PBS. The only objection I've got to them running Carlson is that he's so low-grade. He's no Bill Buckley, that's for sure.

I hear that. They've put many a conservative host on PBS. Here in Chicago, we've got good ole' Jeff Berkowitz selling the "Republican Party=Party of Freedom" line for years now on PBS.

Matthew

[solvs]

Perhaps I should have added a :p to that. I hear that argument a lot. Someone here even tried to make the same case for NPR. Despite all evidence to the contrary.

[Sayhey]

PBS a bastion of liberalism? Pah. Who ran William F. Buckley's program "Firing Line" for decades? They also ran his debate series for year and years. And Buckley isn't the only prominent conservative to be featured on PBS. The only objection I've got to them running Carlson is that he's so low-grade. He's no Bill Buckley, that's for sure.

Exactly, IJ. Buckley was easy to hate for his far right elitist views, but at least he was intelligent. Carlson is a buffoon with a bow tie. There is no greater example of the lowering of standards at PBS.

[IJ Reilly]

Exactly, IJ. Buckley was easy to hate for his far right elitist views, but at least he was intelligent. Carlson is a buffoon with a bow tie. There is no greater example of the lowering of standards at PBS.

Buckley always presented an interesting challenge. He took sophisticated positions that were nearly always (IMO) wrong, but rebutting them required the application of equal and opposite brain power. And although he often made (again, IMO) intellectually dishonest arguments, he was never shy about inviting formidable guests onto his show to debate those points. Buckley was always the master chess player who didn't get any joy out of beating inferior talent. This made his show stimulating fun to watch, no matter your political persuasion.

The hiring of Carlson by PBS isn't simply a matter of declining standards on the network, it's a sign of the declining standards in the political debate overall.

[iGary]

His show has been on for a good bit of time, actually.