Anderson Cooper 360 Review: BP Obviously Smoking Something, The Corruption Of Charlie Rangel, Our Unprotected Border, And Warren Jeffs' Conviction Overturned

Hi everyone. Perhaps the 360 kids listened to my bread crumbs idea because Anderson Cooper has found his way back to the New York studio. Do you think they had to give him a tour, reacquaint him with the place? Anyhoo, it's time to get reacquainted with those bullet points!:

Tony Hayward may be out as BP CEO, but he apparently has decided not to give up saying demonstrably stupid things. He said the following in a conference call: "BP's response to this tragedy has been a model of good social corporate responsibility. It has mounted an unprecedented response." I might be a cynical, cynical person, but even I was completely boggled to hear such a blatant lie being uttered.

As you might imagine, Anderson Cooper is all over this mofo, even marching over to the Magic Wall (it's back!) for examples of just how bad BP's corporate responsibility track record has been.

Saint Bernard Parish President Craig Taffaro Jr. and Ed Overton of Louisiana State University joined us (mixing up the guests--yay!) to talk oil spill related subjects, including, like, where's the oil? It seems the Coast Guard isn't finding very much on the surface. Earlier tonight, I flipped on Rick Sanchez and he was covering this story, trying to claim that not many others would tackle it because people (especially, apparently, liberals) were afraid to ask these questions. Isn't Rick a brave journalist?! Yeah, I had to turn that WTFery off after about 30 seconds. Not that Anderson doesn't frequently climb on his high horse, but good lord. Props to him for keeping it sane and, uh, not so narcissistic. Anyway! The worry, obviously, is that everyone's going to declare "mission accomplished" and leave the Gulf...and then it'll pretty much turn out like the last time someone infamously uttered that phrase. (Video below.)

The bell! It followed our anchor home and is now trying to get to him through other people's live shots! Oh the humanity!

Drew Griffin continued reporting on BP in Alaska, this time regarding drilling on Liberty Island:

For our politics portion of the night, Brianna Keilar joined us for the reminder that hey, Charlie Rangel is still pretty corrupt. He's currently trying to avoid a public hearing on Thursday regarding his alleged violation of ethics rules. The Republicans have decided to step back and let him destroy himself, while the Democrats aren't exactly being as supportive as they could be. Somebody stick a fork in him, folks. I think he's about done. Also? Hey Anderson, don't you feel the need to remind us that there are also Republicans who violate ethics rules? (Yes people, that would be ridiculous. And it's also my point.)

I had to chuckle at Tom Foreman referring to all those gators as a "flash crowd." Okay, I'm sure that term has been used too, but I think he was actually looking for "flash mob." It's so cute when they try to be hip and just don't quite get there.

Beat 360 has returned! And the cast of "The Jersey Shore" opened the New York Stock Exchange? WTF? Clearly this is all a conspiracy to get my head to explode. I don't get it, people. What is the appeal?! I have to say, I'm slightly horrified by how much the newsers mention Snooki, especially on Twitter. And I'm not talking about PA's; I'm talking about White House correspondents. Somebody explain this to me! As for our anchor, he made this confession: "I caught "Jersey Shore" for the first time -- like, they had a marathon this weekend, and I sadly watched it." Noooooo! You were doing so well! Sad face.

That lovely--some might say racist--immigration law takes effect in Arizona this weekend, so now it is time for some border coverage! Tom gives us a little history lesson on the subject, and then we get some clips of our former (and current) leaders making pledges about fences. Props to the Daily Show-style honesty-keeping.

Our intrepid correspondent Gary Tuchman and his equally intrepid producer Ismael Estrada (plus an intrepid camera person--I hate to leave people out) are on the border right now to cover the story. You can read their blog post on the subject here. Is it just me or does the whole immigration debate feel like one big circle of deja vu? We keep talking about the same things year after year and nothing changes.

As for the piece, the story seems pretty familiar: an incomplete border fence that may make crossing the border more risky, but doesn't keep people out. Gary demonstrates for us just how easy it is to get into the U.S. I liked him showing us how to cross at the chain-linked fence. Apparently it takes "very little ingenuity." Heh. Also? Bah. This problem is never going to be solved. Watch below:

If you thought the immigration stuff felt like deja vu, just wait for what I'm about to tell you. Remember Warren Jeffs? FLDS leader, creepy singer, and shunner of Gary Tuchman? They overturned his conviction (accomplice to rape) on a technicality. What is this mess?! That poor girl who testified. We're joined by Carolyn Jessop, Jon Krakauer, and Jeff Toobin, who finds the judge's opinion "a disgrace." Understatement.

The "shot" has returned as well. Meet one ticked off ibex. Anderson tells us the video has been around for a couple of days. Uh, try at least a couple of weeks (but who's counting!). Actually, I only nitpick because I first saw it when it was tweeted by Brett Erlich of Current TV and I would like to take the opportunity to suggest to our anchor an alternative viewing choice to "The Jersey Shore." Anderson, you will totally love the show infoMania. It's like "The Soup," but even better. I'm addicted to Brett's "Viral Video Film School." Seriously people, check it out.

The show was fairly good. Anderson didn't make me want to strangle him, so that's definitely an improvement. Perhaps it'd be better if he just didn't report on politics very much, especially when he clearly has no idea what he's talking about. I always like the field work from Gary. And good on them for following up with the Jeffs story.

This bullet point contains the same video I posted last night because I think the CNN video (about 5 mins in) of Anderson's career is worth watching. It's very nicely done and must have taken a lot of time and effort...and I have no idea why they're not using it in some way to help promote the show.