Why Sunday Morning Political Talk Shows Blow

For years I have made it a habit to watch the various political talk shows that are broadcast on Sunday mornings. When I lived in Massachusetts I even bought a walkman that could pick up television signals just so I could continue to listen to these shows while walking the dogs. But as time goes on, and as I become even more cynical and curmudgeonly in my outlook, I find I am paying less and less attention to them.

The buzz on these shows is even worse now, because the woeful state of the economy is the predominant topic. I learned early on – particularly on ABC – that economic matters would always be part of the itinerary for the Talking Heads. And why wouldn’t they be? The panelists were full-fledged or wannabe members of the economic elite. When they discussed the economy, they started and ended with Wall Street. If someone was interviewed, that someone was (nearly always) a member of the current administration, or a congressman, or a fellow from the Cato Institute. On a rare occasion, a union chief would appear, but he (can’t remember a woman head of a union on these shows) would still be talking the language of politics, and would therefore be acceptable to the nodders on the panel.

Never would you see a true representative of the working class sitting at the table with George Will or Cokie Roberts or Tim Russert. No, the collars at the table were invariably of the whitish variety, never a blue tint in evidence.

The same situation exists today. This past Sunday, the person who spoke most eloquently for the plight of the middle and working classes was Arianna Huffington, hardly a scion of paycheck-to-paycheck living. Still, I was impressed by her insistence on bringing the conversation down from the lofty heights of New York financial district high-rises to the closed shops and boarded up store windows of Main Street.

But the lesson I learned still applies: the only voices welcome at the political debate are those that emanate from steam-pressed Armani suits, not machine-soiled t-shirts and jeans. They’ve tuned out 95% of America (and 99% of the world); I suppose it’s for that reason that I tune them out.