Fred Thompson appeared tonight on Hannity & Colmes. The Caucus Blog’s Katherine Q. Seelye blogged about the program… (photo credit: REUTERS/Yuri Gripas)

While Fred Thompson, the former senator from Tennessee, wasn’t among the Republican candidates on stage at the G.O.P. debate, he appeared just afterward on Fox News Channel’s “Hannity & Colmes.”

First off, let’s deal with one of the issues of the day that hovered over the Republican debate, too. Mr. Thompson has long been a defender of I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, who was sentenced today to 30 months in prison after being convicted on obstruction of justice in the Valerie Plame Wilson case. Again tonight, he called the case a fiasco, a witch hunt and a gross injustice. And unlike the candidates who hesitated on stage about whether Mr. Libby should receive a pardon, Mr. Thompson emphatically reiterated his position that were he president, he would pardon Mr. Libby. “I would absolutely.”

UPDATE: The New York Sun’s Rryan Sager writes about it as well…

One might call him the 6′5″ elephant in the room — but he wasn’t in the room at all. He was in Fox News’s Washington, D.C., studio, waiting to go on “Hannity & Colmes” for a softball interview that would serve as his own personal post-game show, free of such petty distractions as a moderator or, say, his opponents.

Sean Hannity tried to get the former Tennessee senator to weigh in on the just-concluded melee, but Mr. Thompson was having none of it. “I don’t want to talk about other candidates,” he said. “I’m sure that they’re good guys.”

Post your reactions to the debate and the coverage thereof here…

Cable News Ratings for June 4, 2007

P2+ Total Day
FNC – 840,000 viewers
CNN – 457,000 viewers
MSNBC – 276,000 viewers
CNBC – 217,000 viewers
HLN – 207,000 viewers

P2+ Prime Time
FNC – 1,835,000 viewers
CNN – 823,000 viewers
MSNBC – 546,000 viewers
CNBC – 243,000 viewers
HLN – 378,000 viewers

25-54 Total Day
FNC – 234,000 viewers
CNN – 171,000 viewers
MSNBC – 120,000 viewers
CNBC – 89,000 viewers
HLN – 87,000 viewers

25-54 Prime Time
FNC – 408,000 viewers
CNN – 238,000 viewers
MSNBC – 221,000 viewers
CNBC – 135,000 viewers
HLN – 118,000 viewers

Morning programs P2+ (25-54)
FOX & Friends – 799,000 viewers (310,000)
American Morning –390,000 viewers (164,000)
MSNBC Live (7-9 AM) – 257,000 viewers (76,000)
Robin & Co. –187,000 viewers (116,000)
(more…)

Well I thought this story had been put to bed earlier but apparently not. Now after a Conyers aide earlier appeared to suggest the issue was resolved, a subsequent statement comes out blasting FNC. Read between the lines and it seems to me like Conyers’ camp is trying to take advantage of the situation with the jacked up second statement which in my opinion is nearly a 180 in tone from the first statement. The Washington Post’s Mary Ann Akers blogs about it…(via TVNewser)

First statement:

“They indicated that they had a staffer in New York who just hit a button and ran the wrong B-roll. They were very contrite about it and we take them at their word,” the aide, who asked not to be named, said.

Second statement:

“Fox News has a history of inappropriate on-air mistakes that are neither fair, nor balanced. This type of disrespect for people of color should no longer be tolerated,” Conyers said in a statement issued today. “I am personally offended by the network’s complete disregard for accuracy in reporting and lackluster on-air apology.”

UPDATE: TVNewser has an FNC insider talking about today’s events. It seems my read on the dual statements was dead on target.

Public Eye’s Matthew Felling criticizes Keith Olbermann over a segment on the JFK terror plot bust up on last night’s Countdown.

The segment went through chapter and verse of how curious the timing has been of many Bush terror alert announcements and arrests – how they frequently seem to follow, and swallow, news that isn’t friendly to the White House. There has been rampant discussion of the consistencies of these coincidences in the media over the years.

It’s a concern. But Olbermann stretched that concern to a very thin and tenuous extent last night.

His point? That Saturday’s press conference announcing the JFK terror plot occurred the day before the Democratic debate to take away from its impact. Also, that the arrests were announced by a Bush-appointed US Attorney amid the current scandal surrounding the apparently politically-motivated firings of US Attorneys. And – hold on to your seats – also present was the New York City Chief of Police … the father of a Fox News Correspondent!

__________________

Hammering away at things that aren’t there – or barely there – is a surefire way to dilute your message. Though he likes to point out this political tendency whenever possible, Keith Olbermann is beginning to make the same mistake.

I’ve been keeping my distance from inter-network sniping lately but when two hosts from one network attack the same person on another network on the same night I can’t ignore it. Last night, MSNBC hosts Joe Scarborough and Keith Olbermann both unloaded on Bill O’Reilly over his comments regarding the Andrew Speaker TB case. (video via NewsHounds)

Demonstrators have gathered outside the debate site for tonight’s Republican Presidential candidate debate on CNN…
(more…)

Following up on this, the New York Sun’s Josh Gerstein writes about FNC apologizing for the gaffe…

“Yesterday at this time, news of the indictment of Congressman William Jefferson came down. We mistakenly ran the wrong video to accompany this story and we apologize for that error,” a Fox anchor, Martha MacCallum, told viewers at about 1:20 p.m. today. The 10-second apology made no reference to Mr. Conyers and did not explain why or how the erroneous video made it to air.

An aide to Mr. Conyers said the network had called to express its regret over the incident. “They indicated that they had a staffer in New York who just hit a button and ran the wrong B-roll. They were very contrite about it and we take them at their word,” the aide, who asked not to be named, said.

All those live mic problems CNN was having during the debate Sunday didn’t just happen during the debate. One such moment involved an unknowingly live mic’d Larry King talking about some private things and showing some jealousy of Anderson Cooper’s air time. YouTube has the audio…

CNN put out an update on its Fisher House Memorial Day drive…

CNN Worldwide’s spotlight on the on-going needs of the Fisher House Foundation over Memorial Day weekend helped the organization raise the equivalent of more than 8,000 airline flights through the donation of frequent flyer miles for its “Hero Miles” program.

In addition to passenger donations, participating airlines donated matching miles over the holiday weekend.

The Fisher House provides temporary residence for families of patients receiving major medical care at military and Veterans Affairs medical centers. CNN has supported Fisher House through various other events over the last year, including auctioning off one of CNN’s Hummer used in the Gulf War to raise money for the organization.
(more…)

FNC was first to break the news of Scooter Libby’s sentencing. Caroline Shively reported on it from outside the courthouse…

Breaking times:

FNC- 11:50:59:11
MSNBC- 11:51:06:23
CNN- 11:52:24:24

GretaWire blogs about it…

We taped the Karr interview Monday, aired about a minute of it last night, but have much, much, much more to show you! Karr had lots and lots to say. More of our interview will likely air tonight… or tomorrow night (that is a decision made not by me, but by my senior producer.)

What was odd about the Karr interview for me is that I felt like Karr was trying to convince me throughout the interview that he is guilty. Usually someone being interviewed wants to convince the interviewer that he or she is not guilty. There simply is no evidence that I am aware of which links Karr to the crime of murder of Jon Benet Ramsey. I am not sure why he wants to be suspected of such a terrible crime. I suspect if there were evidence he were involved in the murder, he would not have been released.

FNC was the first cable news network to cut to President Bush’s speech from Prague this morning at 5:40am. CNN International followed at 5:49am and MSNBC cut to the speech at 5:56am.

MSNBC won the primetime Demo Saturday. CNN, with its debate airing, easily won the primetime Demo and Total Viewers on Sunday.

Cable News Ratings June 2, 2007

P2+ Total Day
FNC – 614,000 viewers
CNN – 450,000 viewers
MSNBC – 364,000 viewers
CNBC – 199,000 viewers
HLN – 270,000 viewers

P2+ Prime Time
FNC – 646,000 viewers
CNN – 516,000 viewers
MSNBC – 482,000 viewers
CNBC – 271,000 viewers
HLN – 261,000 viewers

25-54 Total Day
FNC – 196,000 viewers
CNN – 166,000 viewers
MSNBC –159,000 viewers
CNBC – 65,000 viewers
HLN – 118,000 viewers

25-54 Prime Time
FNC – 160,000 viewers
CNN – 134,000 viewers
MSNBC – 193,000 viewers
CNBC – 84,000 viewers
HLN – 80,000 viewers

Cable News Ratings for June 3, 2007
(more…)

CNN notes the numbers Sunday’s debate generated for the network…

CNN Delivers Most-Watched Presidential Debate of the Season

CNN’s Democratic Presidential Debate on Sunday, June 3, averaged 2.8 million total viewers - - more than any other presidential debate of this election season.

The CNN debate, co-hosted by WMUR-TV and the New Hampshire Union Leader, aired on Sunday, June 3 from 7-9pm ET. The Republican Presidential Debate airs tonight from 7-9pm ET.

CNN 6/3/07 New Hampshire Democratic Debate - 2,783k total viewers
Fox News 5/15/07 South Carolina Republican Debate - 2,551k total viewers
MSNBC 4/26/07 South Carolina Democratic Debate - 2,261k total viewers
MSNBC 5/3/07 South Carolina Republican Debate - 1,762k total viewers

The Chicago Sun-Times’ Robert Feder has an writes about comments former CNN mainstay Bernard Shaw made recently regarding his old network…

Calling himself “very straitlaced [and] very old-fashioned,” Shaw said: “When anchors are reporting the news, they should report the news and allow the viewers at home to decide what they think about issues.

“I don’t want to hear an anchor’s personal opinion about anything. Just report the news.

“But CNN continues to ape many of the on-air mannerisms of the Fox News Network, and I don’t like that,” he said.

USA Today’s On Politics blog gets MSNBC to comment…

A spokesman for the news network said this afternoon, though, that the comment has been taken out of context and that it is “irresponsible” to suggest Scarborough was employing sexual innuendo. “Works the pole” could have been a reference to poles that some strippers use in their acts. MSNBC says it was a reference to an exercise routine that a growing number of women are performing.

UPDATE: The context…

Yesterday during The Live Desk, someone in the control room got their B-roll confused when discussing the William Jefferson case. YouTube has the video though it could do with out the TPM commentary…