12.04.2010 10:03 AM

Power and Politics, Dec. 3: “We’re talking heads! We don’t have any power!”

Pictured: Warren boxes, on-air, with newbie Mike, as Peggy chortles and calls for another FPT conference. Linkage at 1:20 mark.

3 Comments

  1. Namesake says:

    Yeah, there was a surreal quality to that segment, with Mike Storeshaw (whom Rosie should have done a better job of introducing, as Jim Flaherty?s former communications director (and started as an assistant to Ezra, who was Stock’s comm. dir. back in the Day*) sounding for the life of him like a senior MP, and acting like you two were party whips or something, too.

    Reality check, Mike: you & your co-panelists have no power: you’re just hired spokespeople… Spin Doctors, as in your Hill Times column, except that on the “Firing Line” segment, you’re not even supposed to be wearing THAT hat, but are supposed to speak directly to the substance of the issue, even if it’s not the official party line. (Tho’ you’re probably incapable of that, now, having been ‘on the job’ too long)

    It’s pretty much a failing of all those Talking Head shows that they seem to just assume that the audience knows all the “Inside Baseball” stuff about who their panelists are, & to what extent they’re actually still on a retainer & speaking quasi-officially for the Party vs. just winging it on their own, on spec, hoping to be hired for future ads or damage controls or campaigns.

    And there’s also that same Delusions of Grandeur / Dungeons & Dragons quality to a lot of the “debates” of the political blogosphere, with various commenters critiquing each other as if they were really senior operatives setting the policies or strategies for the parties in the PMO or OLO or something, rather than just being in the amateur rec. league chattering class.

    * http://www.deltamedia.ca/news/newsArticles/MikeStoreshaw_e.asp

  2. Brian says:

    “And there’s also that same Delusions of Grandeur / Dungeons & Dragons quality to a lot of the “debates” of the political blogosphere, with various commenters critiquing each other as if they were really senior operatives setting the policies or strategies for the parties in the PMO or OLO or something, rather than just being in the amateur rec. league chattering class.”

    LOL

    “Dungeons & Dragons.” Nicely put, Namesake. Or as an old friend of mine used to say to similar people, “you’ve been watching too many spy movies.”

  3. JH says:

    Since it is a National CBC program – it’s also perhaps a tad over zealous to think that folks are interested in what is going on at the center of the universe i.e. Ontario and it’s internal political debates. I know it may shock a few – but many of us don’t care. If we did we’d watch the news & talk shows from hog town.

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