More Saddam Execution Fallout, Pensions For Congress Criminals, Crazy Pat Robertson, More Trump/Rosie, And A Subway Hero (Wednesday's First Hour)

Hi everyone. We begin tonight with a Ryan Chilcote piece on the continuing Saddam execution debacle. The Iraqis are now playing the blame game (Hey, they really are copying aspects of our democracy!) and a guard has been fingered. However, others say it was a government official with a cell phone. An investigation is underway, but that's probably not going to matter to Sunnis who are now blaming the US. In the piece we're told that this whole mess could bring the country to "the point of civil war". Um, that "point" is in the rearview mirror, people. We are there! After the piece Ryan joins us live and says that everyone at the execution was screened. Hmm. Well, who screened the screeners?

Next up we have a Tom Foreman piece that basically lays out how much al-Maliki sucks. But this is nothing new. Anyway, al-Maliki quickly pushed the execution through so there would be no chance of a reprieve. He is, of course, a Shia and though he talks of unity, not everyone is buying it. A big problem is that he is either unwilling or unable to distance himself from Muqtadar al-Sadr. In the piece Tom tells us that al-Maliki "could find himself in a civil war." Okay, what are you people not understanding about this? There is no "could" or "might". It is a civil war! Ask Michael Ware. Why is NBC the only one with balls anymore? Grow a pair, CNN.

On now to an interview Anderson did with Dr. Mowaffack al-Rubaie, the prime minister's national security advisor. As you might recall, Anderson did an interview with him mere hours after Saddam's execution and he said that everything was done by the book and with dignity. That was before the cell phone video. In this second go-around al-Rubaie downplays the cell phone video, saying it wasn't humiliation. He also says that that's how Iraqis act and if people don't like it, "tough to them." Well! This guy is a winner. He's so shady he should be used as a sun umbrella. Al-Rubaie then goes on to put Iraqis down for being into conspiracies, yet he puts forth the idea that an Iraqi tv station might have paid for the video. Uh huh. That may well be true, but isn't that a conspiracy? Basically the guy thinks the whole incident has been blown way out of proportion by our media. But that's not what my favorite Iraqi blogger Riverbend says. Of course what would she know? She's only lived in the country through the whole war. This was a good interview. It was long enough to actually get into the issues and Anderson pressed pretty hard.

Next up we have a taped interview with John Burns of the New York Times who has just stuck his finger in a light socket. The hair. Oh my. I know, I'm being shallow, but seriously...why? I've actually seen him before. Know how I remember him? The hair. Anyway, if you think his hair is scary you should get a load of his theory on the Saddam execution. He thinks the Iraqis perceived the hanging as honorable because they wanted to believe it that way. Now they're trying to reconstruct it in the face of the video. Well now, that sounds frightenly familiar. We all still remember the WMD thing, right? The sad part is that now Saddam comes off as a man with dignity and the Shia come off as bullying thugs. Really not the way this was suppose to go down.

Transitioning now to a Drew Griffin piece that confirms that crime actually does pay, and pays pretty well too. Apparently former members of Congress who have plead guilty to or been convicted of a crime are still able to draw their pension. Duke Cunningham is sitting in prison, but we're still paying him $64,000 a year! I don't have enough outrage left for this story. Drew takes us to the outside of a Chicago building where Daniel Rostenkowski, the criminal with the biggest pension, lives. The guy won't talk to CNN, but Drew shows us his car and then in a fit of moral outrage, totally keys the whole side. Okay, I made that last part up, but wouldn't that have been awesome? The bright light at the end of the very long tunnel is that watchdog groups are pressuring democrats to change the system. Fingers crossed I guess.

On now to a Mary Snow piece on the latest craziness from Pat Robertson. Seriously, why does this guy matter? CNN could have just gone outside and gotten a quote from the first ranting guy on the street. No difference besides money. So anyway, God has apparently told Robertson that evil people are going to kill millions in the US after September and Israel is in trouble too. So, uh, don't wait until fall to take that awesome vacation. What's funny is that God told me that Pat Robertson was dropped on his head at birth and shouldn't be listened to.

Transitioning to an Anderson piece on more The Donald/Rosie fallout. Oh, you've got to be kidding me. Look, I loved the little popcorn gag and snark is always good, but there's a line, you know? Please stop giving these fools PR. This story is about how Barbara Walters has weighed in. The Donald says Barbara hates Rosie, but Barbara, (Stop the presses!) does not regret hiring Rosie. Good Lord.

On now to a Randi Kaye piece on the totally awesome heroics of Wesley Autrey. Wesley actually jumped onto subway tracks to save a man that had fallen after having a seizure. And there was a train coming! He couldn't get up in time, so he ended up pulling the man into the gutter and four trains rushed over him, so close that they grazed his hat. OMG. Now he's getting lots of attention and people are even giving him money. That is one cool guy. What's hilarious about this piece is that Wesley kind of reenacted the whole thing using Randi. He was all over her! The looks on her face? Priceless. The Shot tonight is some cops in Hungary getting down to Marky Mark. As they do their thing to the Funky Bunch, Anderson, with a delivery all his own, tells them to "break it down." And I burst out laughing. But that's not the best part. The dancing reminds him of, you guessed it,...Seaman Ship! That may never get old. Pretty solid show tonight. B+

Screencaps by stillife.

What do you think about al-Rubaie? Are you over the Donald/Rosie stuff too?