TVSquad

Now that the Democratic party has decided to present the final night of their convention from Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium in Denver before as many as 80,000 enthusiastic voters -- a venue that will underscore Senator Barack Obama's skill as a speaker -- the networks are deciding how they want to cover the event. Will the big three give the Democrats the entire night? One hour, two hours?

Will ABC and CBS be compelled to cover the night, when NBC and Fox have the option of using their cable outlets and keep entertainment on the broadcast side?

(S19E10) "To Springfield!"

"Which one?"

"The one where The Simpsons live."

My oh my, was this a jam-packed episode of The Simpsons or what? I haven't seen this many sight gags in one installment of the show for the longest time. Not only that, but this was probably the first episode of the season where Homer and the rest of the family took a back seat to the rest of Springfield's citizens.

By now many of you have probably heard about the upcoming presidential debates put on by CNN and YouTube. The first one is on Monday night, where the democratic presidential candidates will debate in South Carolina. CNN is soliciting questions and asking people to upload their questions to YouTube. So far, CNN has received 1,400 questions via YouTube.

It took me a few moments before I knew what was going on, because I hadn't heard this tuberculosis news yet. I've been busy, okay? Anyway, I Googled the news and, I must say, that is terrifying. Sigh... Now Greece hates us, too.

Clusterfuck to the White House: There was another Democratic debate and, this time, Wolf Blitzer decided to try some new things, including vague details about specificity and fun hand-raising activities.

MSNBC has just announced that they will air the first debate of the 2008 Presidential campaign. The network will have the first Democratic party debate at South Carolina State University on April 26. A few weeks later, on May 15, FOX News will air the first Republican party debate from South Carolina.

Um...wait a second. The election isn't until November of 2008 but the debates are already starting this April? More than a year and a half before the election? Has this always been done? I usually pay close attention to these things but I can't remember them starting this early before.

Then again, all the supermarkets and drugstores had Christmas candy on the same shelves as Halloween candy a few months ago, so I guess everything starts early these days.

[via TV Newser]

"Mess O' Potamia": Of course, we've been stuffing our fat faces full of turducken or participating in Black Friday (or Cyber Monday and it's buddy, Identity Theft Tuesday... the mention of which caused me to do the weirdest little laugh) to really know what's been going on in the Middle East, so here's a quick update... Iraq just experienced its bloodiest week since the beginning of the war. Matt Lauer says it's okay to call it a civil war now. We've been in Iraq longer than we fought in World War II. John Oliver is still awesome. That is all.

"Mess O' Potamia": Call for a new Secretary of Defense... The administration is looking for someone with fresh eyes and open ears (the picture of the perfect candidate was actually really scary... like, scarier than Rummy, heh). Senior White House Correspondent John Oliver briefly talked about all the ways that Congress may or may not be Bush's bitch. Oliver's attempt to be snippy was absolutely hilarious... I loved hearing "Know what I'm saying?" in his crisp, British accent. Okay, um, yeah. I think I may be falling in love with John Oliver. That is all.

David Zucker, one of the men behind Airplane!, The Naked Gun, and, probably my favorite, Top Secret! created a hysterical campaign ad for the Republican party that features a faux Madeleine Albright making nicey-nice with evil dictators and terrorist while they continue to wreak havoc on the world. Drudge reports that the ad was rejected by the GOP for being too over the top. I find it hard to tell if the ad is really meant as a slam against Democrats, or his own satirical view of how Republicans see anyone who's opposed to them. Did Zucker really think this would be used, or was he just having some fun? I don't really know, I just sit back and enjoy it, because it is really funny. Check it out after the jump.

[via Best Week Ever]

"Truculence!": FOX News' Chris Wallace was being a real douchebag (lack of a better word... except maybe "prick") to Bill Clinton during his interview. Surprisingly enough, Clinton fought back really aggressively and really let Wallace have a piece of his mind. Clinton also said some really solid, informative things, but, no no, the media wanted none of that and focused solely upon Clinton's outburst. Jon did a really good bit here. I suppose he felt even more compelled to back up Clinton because the man was a (really great) guest on The Daily Show just last week. Senior Media Watchdog Samantha Bee briefly elaborated on the issue.

We -- and by "we", I mean "I" -- interrupt this post to mention some nifty news: America: The Book is now in a paperback teacher's edition! Burn your hardcovers and buy these new ones (Amazon.com has a nice clip of Jon talking about the paperback).

Jon Stewart attempted to summarize Bush's speech, despite taping The Daily Show a few hours before the speech even aired. Bush has decided to tap Mexicans' phones. Donning his ever-accurate Bush impression, Jon said, "Jose hasn't been using his phone... I think he might have made the move North."

Jon started with a congratulations to former Daily Show correspondent, Steve Carell, for his Golden Globe win (The Office). Yay for Steve! We learned that Steve's last words to Jon before leaving the show were "Adios, douchebag". Aww... Best friends forever!