Politicians make great criminals, and criminals make great cable news anchors.

So...

Today CNN announced that disgraced Governor Eliot Spitzer will be getting his own show on their Primetime lineup, wedged in with Larry King and Anderson Cooper. The word that comes to mind is pathetic. I'd heard CNN's ratings were in the crapper, but are they so desperate as to tarnish their reputation as a legitimate, independent (as opposed to Right Wing Fox and Leftist MSBBC) news organization by hiring a criminal to push his viewpoints and agendas on viewers. Honestly, whatever he has to say will be clouded by his scandal involving using public money to fund his prostitution fueled adventures. Do viewers really have that short of a memory. And what happens when the next political sex scandal inevitably boils to the surface? Does Spitzer refrain from commenting or does he simply invite the offender on his show to give him some good publicity, the way CNN has done with him. In a sense, CNN is as much of a whore as the hookers... er, I'm sorry, "escorts", Spitzer hired while in office, paying him for a little ratings attention and quick income from new commercial opportunities.

I guess controversy and criminal charges is the way someone gets a job in news these days. But be careful, politicians thinking of going into the news field, and make sure you "step out" with a bonafide female hooker or you could end up shunned like Larry Craig or Mark Foley, who cheated with men instead of women. Apparently, there is a line someone in news has decided it is or isn't acceptable to cross. I guess it's okay to have an affair if you are a Democrat, but not a Republican. In the case of Republicans, however, it is acceptable to be a racist. Just ask Pat Buchanan, who is now a commentator for MSNBC news. Speaking of MSNBC, what about Rod Blagojevich, who is currently standing trial for attempting to sell President Obama's vacant Illinois Senate seat to the highest bidder? He's now a pundit for the network. I have to wonder, since NBC has been courting him so heavily for their reality programming, are they attempting to legitimize him for viewers - after his name has been so heavily tarnished - by putting him on MSNBC, just so they can score ratings points on their man network, NBC, which features him on its reality shows? I also find it both disgusting and ironic that after MSNBC had countless news stories about what a crook he was, they now use him as a go-to speaker about some of the most important political issues. I guess it all depends on what sells. At the time they needed him to be the bad guy because that's what was selling ad space. Now, they decide the guy they turned into such a controversial figure could be a ratings boon for them. But wait, if he is going to be on Celebrity Apprentice, we don't want to tarnish that brand by putting on a crook... I know, let's put him back on MSNBC, only this time cast him as a political insight with a unique viewpoint on various topics!

I guess the easy solution is to not watch. But darn it, if this trend keeps up I won't have anywhere to turn to for actual news.