Tonight on Hardball with Chris Matthews, Sam Brownback was interviewed regarding his John McCain endorsement. Transcript follows…

CHRIS MATTHEWS: Senator Brownback, you ran a tough campaign. You were in there for the longest time. Now you are supporting one of the guys who survives you
in this contest, John McCain. Why him, among all your rivals, have you chosen him to endorse?

SEN. SAM BROWNBACK (R), KANSAS: You know, there`s a number of good
candidates on the Republican side, Chris, but I think John is the full package. He`s a fiscal conservative. He`s got a 24-year pro-life voting record. He`s a pro-life candidate that can beat Hillary Clinton in the fall. He has foreign policy experience, which I think is important. And the guy is clearly ready to be commander in chief. I had real questions about the surge, but this is the McCain surge. It`s working in Iraq. And I think that full package is such that I think I ought to support him. And, on top of that, he`s a legitimate American hero. He put his life on the line. He was in a Vietnam prisoner of war
camp. He`s done it all. And I think he deserves my support and I think he deserves the support of the country.

MATTHEWS: Is this a personal endorsement of a man you respect, as you
have said, or is it an endorsement of his policy on Iraq?
(more…)

Radar Online’s John Cook fisks Keith Olbermann regarding his Special Comment on Waterboarding…

According to the ABC News report Olbermann cited, Levin did not decide that waterboarding by the U.S. is torture; he just thought we were doing it wrong. “Levin, who refused to comment for this story, concluded waterboarding could be illegal torture unless performed in a highly limited way and with close supervision,” wrote ABC News’s Jan Crawford Greenburg and Ariane de Vogue (emphasis added). “And, sources told ABC News, he believed the Bush Administration had failed to offer clear guidelines for its use.” In other words, the man whom Olbermann believes “should have a statue in his honor in Washington right now” for making a liar of Bush about torture apparently thinks that, in principle, waterboarding is perfectly legal.

Which makes him any different from Dick Cheney how, exactly?

TVGuide’s Stephen Battaglio has some new information on the framework of a Rosie/MSNBC deal; information which makes the idea even more remote than it already was…(via TVNewser)

MSNBC has already sold much of its ad time for 2008 based on the low ratings that it currently gets in the hour. So it would take another year before the network would see a boost in its ad rates and revenue from any ratings growth that O’Donnell might deliver. And if she were only around for one year, it would be tough to turn a profit on a megabucks star salary.

Update: A knowledgable emailer comments…

In the framework of the Advertising UpFront there is room for complete program changes, just as there is for an advertiser have some room for opting out every quarter under certain accepted business guidelines. This story assumes that the channel sold the majority of its ad inventory in the UpFront and can’t make adjustments with advertisers in the spirit of cooperation. You can’t let an advertiser suffer, but they do understand drastic program changes do happen and will work with the sales department to an amicable arrangement. It’s a two way street with the advertiser and the sales department. There is give and take in the industry - that is why relationships are so important. You just have to take care of the advertiser, and they can be there for you as a sales department. It isn’t always adversarial.

Today during Studio B with Shepard Smith, FNC’s Major Garrett interviewed Barack Obama. Highlights follow…

On Senator Hillary Clinton:

“I think there’s no doubt we represent the kind of change that Senator Clinton can’t deliver on and part of it is generational. Senator Clinton and others, they’ve been fighting since the sixties, and it makes it very difficult for them to bring the country together to get things done.”

On bankruptcy reform:

“I’m happy to talk about my record in fighting on these issues compared to Senator Clinton. In fact, she’s directly on record as having supported a bankruptcy bill that was precisely the kind of thing we’re fighting against in this proposal.”

Cable News Daily Live Ratings for November 6, 2007

P2+ Total Day
FNC – 886,000 viewers
CNN – 498,000 viewers
MSNBC – 268,000 viewers
CNBC – 239,000 viewers
HLN – 225,000 viewers

P2+ Prime Time
FNC – 1,725,000 viewers
CNN – 789,000 viewers
MSNBC- 550,000 viewers
CNBC –247,000 viewers
HLN – 371,000 viewers
25-54 Total Day
FNC – 255,000 viewers
CNN – 155,000 viewers
MSNBC – 101,000 viewers
CNBC – 67,000 viewers
HLN- 102,000 viewers

25-54 Prime Time
FNC – 510,000 viewers
CNN – 218,000 viewers
MSNBC – 191,000 viewers
CNBC – 97,000 viewers
HLN – 164,000 viewers

Morning programs P2+ (25-54)
FOX & Friends – 948,000 viewers (354,000)
American Morning- 433,000 viewers (142,000)
Morning Joe – 215,000 viewers (93,000)
Morning Express w/ Meade. – 224,000 viewers (128,000)
(more…)

The Washingtonian’s Nadya Sagner and Mary Clare Fleury have an interview with Norah O’Donnell and it’s all related to her babies…

Update: Ok, this interview is from August. But it’s the first time I’ve seen it so I’m leaving it up…

Any advice in general for buying maternity wear?
Don’t feel like you have to wear maternity clothes. I bought a couple of Diane von Furstenberg wrap dresses at Saks. I just got them a couple sizes bigger than I wear normally, and they looked great.

Where have you found good baby clothing?
There are two stores in Georgetown I regularly visit. Piccolo Piggies has darling clothes, and there’s a new store on M Street called Dawn Price Baby. I’ve also found that Lord & Taylor has great baby clothes.

How about cribs and other furniture?
I found the best crib gear and furniture for the nursery at BuyBuy Baby in Rockville. The one thing nobody tells you is that it takes 8 to 12 weeks to get a crib and dresser, so you have to order in advance.

CNN is noting its ratings on the day that The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer’s 7pm hour switched places with Lou Dobbs Tonight’s 6pm hour…and a few other ratings bits as well. (all numbers are Live+SD)

The Situation Room at both 4pm (224k) and 5pm (198k) won their respective hours against the cable news competition among P25-54 viewers.

In its first night in its new time period, Lou Dobbs Tonight at 7pm was the 6th most-watched cable news program of the day with 326k P25-54 viewers.

CNN Newsroom at 10a (204k), 11am (222k), 1pm (163k), and 2pm (172k) all won their respective hours against the cable news competition among P25-54 viewers.

Glenn Beck at 9pm (140k) beat MSNBC Live w/ Abrams (123k) by 14%.

Prime News w/ Erica Hill at 6pm out-performed MSNBC’s Tucker by 28% (153k vs. 120k).

HLN’s Morning Express w/ Robin Meade (116k) out-delivered MSNBC’s Morning Joe (76k) by 53% among P25-54, and ranked as the 2nd most-watched morning cable news program.

FOX News Radio’s Middle East correspondent, Scott Heidler, has been covering the situation in Pakistan for a while and when he was in New York this past summer, he decided to arrange his visa just in case he should have the opportunity to go there. Last Thursday, as the situation in Pakistan began to deteroriate, Heidler got on a plane and was on the ground in Pakistan the next day. He has been providing live coverage for both FOX News Radio and FOX News Channel from Islamabad, Pakistan since then. This morning, Heidler reported on the protests which broke out in front of the Parliament building in Islamabad. Heidler noted “Why this is significant is because it’s the first time protesters have come out into the streets of Pakistan, nonetheless in front of the Parliament building here in the capital, that have been opposition members. Not from the judiciary, not lawyers, so this signifies a shift that now the opposition leaders are calling their people out to the streets and it’s happening.”

Big Head D.C. talked to Tucker Carlson who again said it’s all news to him…

Tom Browkaw will be Tim Russert’s guest this weekend on MSNBC’s Tim Russert program Saturday at Noon ET…

Tom Brokaw, former “NBC Nightly News” managing editor and anchor and current NBC News special contributor, will appear on this week’s edition of “Tim Russert.” Brokaw will discuss his new book, “Boom!: Voices of the Sixties Personal Reflections on the ’60s and Today.”

“Tim Russert” features interviews with the country’s most intriguing policymakers, authors, journalists and others, and provides in-depth discussions on politics, entertainment and the media.

Tim Russert is host of “Tim Russert.” Barbara Fant is the executive producer.

Tonight at 8pm CNN’s Drew Griffin will anchor a CNN: Special Investigations Unit special called “Death Grip: Inside Pro Wrestling”…

It’s been an open secret that anabolic steroids and painkillers are a part of professional wrestling, but the murder-suicide of WWE wrestler Chris Benoit’s family focused a new spotlight on the consequences of the excesses. In an in-depth look into the world of the WWE, CNN investigative correspondent Drew Griffin reveals that over the last decade, wrestlers have died from heart attacks, drug overdoses, suicides and cerebral hemorrhages – at rates much higher than for the general population. Including an interview with Vince McMahon, the chairman of the WWE, Griffin reports on what the life of professional wrestlers is like inside and outside of the ring – and how some wrestlers gamble with their health to win a chance at stardom in the profession.

Portfolio’s Jeff Bercovici blogs about Michael Eisner’s comments to Neil Cavuto at the Dow Jones/Nielsen Media and Money conference this morning. In particular is one comment that Eisner’s CNBC boss, President Mark Hoffman, might not be to thrilled with reading…

Eisner, who hosts a show for CNBC, on arch-rival Fox Business Network’s chances: “It’s not crazy if you have [Rupert] Murdoch and [Roger] Ailes. it’s probably crazy if you have two other people, but those guys are pretty good. So you can’t bet against them.”

Johhny Dollar has the audio from this morning’s Brian and The Judge radio program where Tom Brokaw is prodded into talking about MSNBC, NBC, FNC, and Rosie O’Donnell. Also Brokaw announced that he would be on Hannity and Colmes for the first time, though he didn’t specify an air date…

Update: Brokaw will be on tonight on Hannity & Colmes…

CNN announced this morning that Fareed Zakaria has joined CNN as the host of a new weekly international news program…

Fareed Zakaria, editor of Newsweek International and one of the world’s leading journalists and commentators on international affairs, has joined CNN as the host of a weekly international news program that will air both on CNN/U.S. and on CNN International around the world, it was announced today by Jon Klein, president of CNN/U.S.

With Americans growing increasingly aware that their most pressing concerns – including prevention of terrorism attacks, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the security of jobs and retirement nest eggs, the safety of their families’ food and toys and the health of the environment – are intertwined with events around the globe, Zakaria will draw upon his vast experience and extensive Rolodex to bring thought leaders and world leaders together to make sense of it all on a global stage.

In addition to anchoring the new weekend program, Zakaria will contribute analysis to other CNN programs across CNN Worldwide. He is based in New York.

“Fareed is the best in the world at boiling down – without dumbing down – complex issues,” Klein said. “His weekly global get-together on CNN will be invaluable to viewers who are beginning to realize that, for their own personal and financial security, they urgently need to know what’s really going on in their world.”
(more…)

Cable News Daily Live Ratings for November 5, 2007

P2+ Total Day
FNC – 869,000 viewers
CNN – 432,000 viewers
MSNBC – 280,000 viewers
CNBC – 245,000 viewers
HLN – 223,000 viewers

P2+ Prime Time
FNC – 1,747,000 viewers
CNN – 582,000 viewers
MSNBC- 560,000 viewers
CNBC –141,000 viewers
HLN – 342,000 viewers

25-54 Total Day
FNC – 234,000 viewers
CNN – 158,000 viewers
MSNBC – 114,000 viewers
CNBC – 83,000 viewers
HLN- 96,000 viewers

25-54 Prime Time
FNC – 428,000 viewers
CNN – 162,000 viewers
MSNBC – 185,000 viewers
CNBC – 62,000 viewers
HLN – 134,000 viewers

Morning programs P2+ (25-54)
FOX & Friends – 1,012,000 viewers (342,000)
American Morning- 399,000 viewers (113,000)
Morning Joe – 210,000 viewers (76,000)
Morning Express w/ Meade. – 209,000 viewers (112,000)
(more…)

TVWeek’s John Lafayette writes about Animal Planet signing up to rebroadcast CNN’s Planet in Peril…

“Planet in Peril” is co-hosted by Animal Planet’s Jeff Corwin. The two-part, four-hour series will run Dec. 2-3 on Animal Planet, about a month after it premiered on CNN.

“Collaborating with CNN and sharing the talent of Jeff Corwin is a win-win for both networks that are so passionate about communicating the critical environmental and conservation message,” said Marjorie Kaplan, president and general manager of Animal Planet and Discovery Kids Media. “Animal Planet viewers are keen to see how environmental issues affect the world around us, including wildlife. More importantly, they want to get involved and make a difference.”

The New York Post’s Linda Stasi writes about Rosie and MSNBC…

In Miami, her performance was all the talk. And if they can reach an agreement, that’s what MSNBC would be buying from her. Talk. No - not just the talk she’ll have with guests, but the talk she’ll generate right after she talks to guests.

It’s the kind of talk that caused civil unrest - or at least civility unrest - when she was on “The View.” The stories she generates on blogs and news sites is what makes her valuable to a channel like MSNBC which couldn’t get noticed if every other channel turned to running crop prices 24/7.

And she can deliver that to them - as long as they lawyer-up and learn to take a punch. She ain’t easy - but she does get noticed wherever she goes.

But because MSNBC can’t get out of their own way, they’ll screw it up. They’re already on their way just by talking about putting her show on prime time instead of late night where she’d shine - and where using the f-word, no matter how often it’s bleeped, won’t cause heart attacks. Primetime, aka “dead time” at MSNBC, isn’t the place for her. She’ll never last if she has to be muzzled while kids are still up.

Late night needs a funny new, politically-motivated big mouth and it needs a woman with one. Like Rosie.

How about a Rosie O’Donnell version of Red Eye?

The New York Observer’s Felix Gillette profiles CNN’s Lou Dobbs…

Over the past several years, Mr. Dobbs and his head-shaking outrage—alternately focused on illegal immigration, amnesty advocates, corporate honchos and government bureaucrats—have transformed his program from a buttoned-down business broadcast into a nightly showcase for Mr. Dobbs’ own populist opinions. Since the start of the year, according to figures provided by CNN, Lou Dobbs Tonight averaged 866,000 viewers, and 236,000 in the crucial 25-to-54–year-old demographic—both increases of 12 percent over the same period last year—making it the second-highest-ranked show in CNN’s nightly lineup.

Those numbers have made Lou Dobbs Tonight a crucial chess piece in CNN’s ongoing effort to catch up to Fox News. To wit: Monday night’s telecast marked Mr. Dobbs’ arrival in prime time. Henceforth, his powdery populist mien will appear at 7 p.m. rather than 6 p.m. By moving the show back an hour, CNN executives have sandwiched their two most popular broadcasts, Lou Dobbs Tonight and 9 p.m. fixture Larry King Live, around their most problematic time slot: the 8 p.m. hour, previously occupied by Paula Zahn. CNN hopes that when Campbell Brown kicks off her new show in that time slot in February, she will benefit from the so-called programming “hammock”—with Mr. Dobbs and Mr. King pulling up her numbers from either end.

CNBC noted yesterday that the next episode of its Business Nation will air tonight at 9pm ET…

An investigation into the controversial practices of drug companies and their sales reps; boom and bust in the real estate market; billionaires seek to private space exploration.

FTVLive is reporting that Tucker Carlson’s show on MSNBC has already been cancelled. Is this why we had that strange sign off last Friday?

Update: FishbowlDC has Carlson’s reaction…

We decided to ask Tucker, who said that, if the report is true, he’s not been told of any such news by MSNBC.

Yesterday, I didn’t write about the possibility of this because it just seemed so obvious that it would happen it was a slam dunk. Bill O’Reilly commented last night on the idea that Rosie comes to MSNBC…

Now all this madness is the responsibility of this guy, Jeffrey Immelt, the CEO of General Electric, which owns NBC. Mr. Immelt also had no comment on Rosie O’Donnell. But GE stockholders should have a comment.

On Immelt’s watch, the NBC network is in dire trouble. Coming up, “Talking Points” is spot on when we told you that NBC News has embraced the radical left agenda in pursuit of ratings. There is no doubt any longer.

Rosie O’Donnell…the gift that will keep on giving…to Bill O’Reilly. And, for a change, he’ll be right about NBC News.

For the second week in a row, MSNBC’s ticker clock is once again two minutes fast. I don’t know where the problem is but obviously it’s not fixed permanently otherwise it wouldn’t have happened again so soon…

Update: It was fixed by 11 am ET. Let’s see if it stays fixed this time…