tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19392360673876597212012-01-01T13:40:27.870-05:00Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comBlogger3691100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-61645340282026661382012-01-01T10:10:00.000-05:002012-01-01T13:40:27.882-05:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]While you sometimes have to convince skeptics that politics matter, it's even harder to get people to see that the decisions the media make when it comes to pop culture are important. But they are. We live in a time in which celebrity is not only something that often comes without being earned by any

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-22821428324197627982011-11-13T16:16:00.007-05:002011-11-13T19:45:00.760-05:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]The minute the clock strikes midnight Monday night, signifying that November 14 has turned into November 15, the effort to recall Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin will begin.The organizers of the Walker recall have some wind at their backs. They were able to recall two GOP state senators in August. And

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-85871501999939706322011-10-25T21:48:00.005-04:002011-10-26T00:14:29.578-04:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]"I don't care about that."That is what Rick Perry said in the New York Times when John Harwood told him his tax plan would increase income inequality. Give Perry credit for his honesty. After all, he just articulated out loud what is the accepted dogma of the modern Tea Party-owned Republican party,

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-55531858187184920832011-09-21T20:31:00.005-04:002011-09-22T00:06:37.424-04:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]When I read that Jerry Brown was "bewildered and stunned" at how ideological and uncompromising the GOP had become in California, I was surprised and dismayed, all at the same time.I was surprised because I had to wonder if the governor had been paying attention to national politics. I've discussed how

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-32946042130995850592011-07-31T17:46:00.007-04:002011-07-31T20:13:20.165-04:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]Imagine this scenario: You're pro-choice and you attend a debate between two candidates for office on the issue of a constitutional amendment to criminalize abortion. The first candidate argues that abortion is murder, and if a doctor performs an abortion on a woman, both of them should be charged with

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-72586086693004937832011-07-24T13:40:00.011-04:002011-07-24T15:49:49.121-04:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]If one message has emerged from the negotiations to raise the debt ceiling, I think it's this: The Republican Party, at least in the House of Representatives, has been captured by far-right ideologues who are either ignorant of, or indifferent to, the practical effect of their insistence on ideological

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-79531515083681934432011-07-06T10:13:00.005-04:002011-07-06T12:20:38.607-04:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]David Brooks's New York Times column on Monday created quite a stir, getting major play on cable television news and online (at least between Casey Anthony reports).Most of the discussion turned on Brooks' assertion that "the Republican Party may no longer be a normal party. Over the past few years, it

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-6657850257101331342011-07-02T11:39:00.007-04:002011-07-04T10:23:11.653-04:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]When Tea Party darling Herman Cain announced his candidacy for president in May, he decided to cite words from the U.S. Constitution to underline his key points. Unfortunately for Cain, he got his documents wrong. The passage he chose was from the Declaration of Independence, not the Constitution.Cain is

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-84906832694825814622011-06-12T18:57:00.008-04:002011-06-12T22:34:46.482-04:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]I was speaking to a friend of mine who lives in Anthony Weiner's district, and we both had the same reaction to the congressman's Twitter scandal. Oddly, though, the element of Weinergate we both zeroed in on has been largely unrepresented in the news media's coverage.Specifically, we were upset that one

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-62924343591283976312011-05-23T09:30:00.000-04:002011-05-23T10:37:06.503-04:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]When Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels announced he would not seek the Republican nomination for president in 2012 (a week after Mike Huckabee also chose not to run), he said it was because of the "interests and wishes" of his family.And while I have no reason to doubt Daniels's claim, I can't help think

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-71918690738390849942011-05-07T16:46:00.006-04:002011-05-07T21:09:40.351-04:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]A study came out this week demonstrating, not surprisingly, that pundits and politicians tend to be consistently wrong with their predictions. (As an aside, I was not surprised but quite happy to see that Paul Krugman was rated as the most accurate prognosticator, with former Pennsylvania

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-71985325569070713322011-04-07T21:15:00.005-04:002011-04-07T22:51:01.685-04:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]As I write this, we are hours away from a government shutdown, as, for the time being, the Democrats and the president have failed to cave in to the far-right, potentially catastrophic budget demands of the Tea Party-owned Republicans on Capitol Hill. (And if you think I'm being unfair in

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-20621248050052881732011-03-25T10:13:00.004-04:002011-03-25T11:50:18.903-04:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]There seems to be a growing tide of GOP buyer's remorse sweeping the country.Republicans campaigned in 2010 on creating jobs and cutting spending and the deficit. But once in power, both in the U.S. House of Representatives and in numerous states, all those promises went out the window. Instead

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-4571499098580791442011-03-03T18:11:00.007-05:002011-03-03T19:36:51.118-05:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]I wrote two weeks ago about how Gov. Scott Walker's so-called budget repair bill was part of a larger Republican war on the working class. And the events of the last two weeks have backed that up.Walker's proposed budget, released yesterday, cuts taxes for the wealthy while drastically reducing

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-80892070641498427742011-02-18T10:25:00.004-05:002011-02-18T11:51:01.370-05:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]As I made the 10-minute walk up W. Johnson Street from the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus toward the Capitol on Tuesday, it never occurred to me that anyone outside of the state would know or care what was going on.I was headed to participate in a rally in opposition to new Republican

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-51667754164387862532011-01-25T23:16:00.006-05:002011-01-26T00:41:52.267-05:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]Rep. Paul Ryan's Republican response to President Obama's State of the Union address was, in my humble opinion, a low moment for our democracy.Ryan is not the first Republican to be less than honest about an issue (in this case President Obama's handling of the federal budget deficit) to push

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-85334016629992588722011-01-23T11:55:00.000-05:002011-01-23T14:03:05.514-05:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]Black and white is easy; nuance is hard. Which is why it's much easier to just lump media outlets and personalities into simple boxes: left v. right, or partisan v. objective, for example.So if you want to play that game, it's easy to dismiss Keith Olbermann, who broadcast his final episode of

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-64776697035522318172011-01-14T13:59:00.005-05:002011-01-14T22:01:03.316-05:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]The tragic massacre in Arizona has pushed the issue of gun regulation, which had seemingly disappeared off the national radar, back into the spotlight.There have been essentially two types of responses to the shooting. Many, like Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg,

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-83836836255012206642011-01-13T14:01:00.008-05:002011-01-13T17:33:47.592-05:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]In the days since the massacre in Arizona, the mainstream political media (and much online discussion) have zeroed in on one question: Did the uncivil political discourse (with violent imagery) of the Glenn Becks, Rush Limbaughs and Sarah Palins of the world create an environment that

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-16507854422270444502010-12-19T12:49:00.000-05:002010-12-19T13:50:44.488-05:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]Don't Ask, Don't Tell has been repealed (once President Obama signs the bill). Finally. We are a better, stronger, safer country than we were before the vote. But let's not break our arms patting ourselves on the back.Why am I so grumpy? No, it's not because I'm Scrooge. (By the way, Happy

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-13137098775290605712010-11-26T14:32:00.006-05:002010-11-27T11:01:44.491-05:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]Sarah Palin provided prime material for news outlets and comedy programs when she said on Glenn Beck's radio show Wednesday:"But obviously, we've got to stand with our North Korean allies."If she hasn't already, I'm sure Palin will say that the "elitist," "lamestream" media is doing her wrong,

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-77250438088692295742010-11-02T23:50:00.000-04:002010-11-03T00:54:00.646-04:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]It's been apparent for some time that Election Day 2010 would not be a good one for the Democrats. Midterm elections generally don't go well for the president's party, and when you throw in high unemployment and a sputtering economy, it becomes an especially tough hill to climb.So I had no

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-36785393434460742942010-10-29T09:29:00.005-04:002010-10-29T11:06:44.152-04:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]It seems that Tea Party-dominated Republicans are going to make gains in the midterm elections on Tuesday. Prognosticators from Nate Silver to the Huffington Post are forecasting the likelihood of a GOP takeover of the House and a very closely divided Senate.The president's party traditionally

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-49154532428343984302010-10-10T22:49:00.021-04:002010-10-11T02:02:50.417-04:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]Noted football coach Bill Parcells once said, "You are what your record says you are."Parcells' quote jumped into my mind when I was thinking about the slate of Tea Party-influenced Republicans running in November. I feel like we've become immune to the stories about the extreme and,

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-51308529979437067052010-09-14T23:15:00.001-04:002010-09-15T01:45:41.486-04:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]With the primaries now complete (and Republican voters in Delaware giving the Democrats a huge gift by nominating the East Coast version of Sharron Angle over the popular--and probably unbeatable--Mike Castle), the races are set for the midterm elections in November. With many forecasters

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-67467236045674668632010-08-31T18:09:00.003-04:002010-08-31T19:49:53.321-04:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]With the midterms just over two months away, we are inundated with daily media reports on the election, most of them predicting doom for the Democrats. But what jumps out at me is how telling so many of the proposals and actions from Republican officeholders and candidates are, since they

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-13794488578126814142010-08-16T17:54:00.000-04:002010-08-16T18:55:48.499-04:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]Given how far to the right the mainstream of the conservative movement has moved in the last few years, it is not often that I read a piece from a right-leaning columnists that actually adds to the national discussion of an issue. Which is why I was pleasantly surprised by Ross Douthat's column

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-60097895612959972642010-08-08T11:43:00.007-04:002010-08-08T13:51:43.956-04:00

[I was asked to contribute a piece to Huffington Post on the decline of the middle class. This is what I came up with. It can also be accessed via my Huffington Post author page.]Conservatives routinely paint Barack Obama as a socialist looking to redistribute wealth in the United States. (Or worse, as Rep. Bob Inglis (R-S.C.) reported that tea party leaders, during a meeting, espoused paranoid

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-24869055368178612652010-07-26T21:10:00.000-04:002010-07-26T22:11:16.564-04:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]In light of this week's bombshell revelations about the course of the war in Afghanistan, I read an interesting commentary that grabbed my attention:"To say that we are closer to victory today is to believe, in the face of the evidence, the optimists who have been wrong in the past. To suggest

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-35734696560320048762010-07-16T10:15:00.000-04:002010-07-16T10:24:33.037-04:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]As the partisan cable networks breathlessly discuss what will happen in the midterm elections in November, there is much talk about how Americans are angry and, as a result, the Republicans are set for major gains in Congress. But the connection between these two assertions--Americans'

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-16167328103096681672010-06-28T11:34:00.010-04:002010-06-28T17:07:26.646-04:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]I was tailgating with my wife and two friends in the parking lot of Miller Park before a Brewers game yesterday, when a guy with a pasted-on, plastic, local-news-anchor smile approached our group. He wanted us to sign a petition to get his "buddy" on the ballot for state treasurer. Of course,

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-22014226080217944102010-06-10T14:07:00.007-04:002010-06-10T15:50:32.064-04:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]Nero, it is said, fiddled while Rome burned. When they write about the early 21st century United States, maybe they'll say Americans blustered as oil ravaged the Gulf.As a country, we seem to have lost the plot, with grandstanding, strategizing and even lying taking center stage while real

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-38207136670810486992010-05-28T10:50:00.009-04:002010-05-28T12:16:29.888-04:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]As I read about President Obama's press conference yesterday addressing the government's plans for the cleanup of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, I was reminded of two of the major ills affecting our modern democracy.The first has to do with the political blame game. For the 16 months, the

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-57411787419974238302010-05-03T22:38:00.006-04:002010-05-03T23:53:16.967-04:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]While the attempted SUV bombing in Times Square was the big news this weekend (rightfully so), two smaller stories, taken together, highlight another risk to our democracy.On Sunday, Geoffrey Dunn discussed on HuffPo the latest lie to come from the Sarah Palin camp, as she claimed her ethics issues

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-73580502652007410122010-04-10T18:06:00.012-04:002010-04-10T19:45:55.392-04:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]The highlight of my three years in law school occurred on an elevator. Sounds odd, but it's true. During my second year, I spent 10 seconds traveling up one floor with the then just-retired Supreme Court justice William Brennan (he was teaching a seminar for third-year students).It wasn't anything

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-37481040091502311012010-03-20T12:06:00.010-04:002010-03-20T13:28:08.061-04:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]With a historic vote on health care reform set for tomorrow, this is how far the right has stooped: Rep. Paul Broun of Georgia said on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives:"If ObamaCare passes, that free insurance card that's in people's pockets is gonna be as worthless as a Confederate

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-2811657113893762242010-03-12T11:58:00.023-05:002010-03-12T13:36:43.597-05:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]You might have missed an AP article on al-Qaida that slipped nearly unnoticed through yesterday's news cycle. The piece reports that the terrorist operation is moving towards smaller-scale attacks like the Christmas Day attempted bombing of a flight to Detroit. Why? For a reason the Republicans will

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-1869766521048516282010-03-03T10:30:00.010-05:002010-03-03T10:50:18.709-05:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]I have been known in some circles for my lousy analogies, so I'm going to bust one out now. I have a message for the president and the Democrats in congress: The house is on fire. So the question is: What are you going to do? Here's a hint: If you stay in the house, you will burn to death.Let's take a

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-47207472958559591122010-01-26T11:35:00.007-05:002010-01-26T12:51:41.681-05:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]Dear President Obama:I know you are a very smart guy. After all, not only have you graduated from Ivy League universities like Columbia and Harvard, and taught a heady subject like constitutional law at one of the top law schools in the country, but you have had real-world success, reaching the highest

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-66071252268551913912010-01-23T13:05:00.019-05:002010-01-23T16:56:37.814-05:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]Shortly after George W. Bush was re-elected in 2004, a friend of mine said, "Well, at least we'll be rid of him forever in four years." My response was, "I wish." Although it's a tiny part of any presidential campaign, presidents leave a lasting impression on the future of America through their

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-15308910664223915902010-01-19T21:35:00.009-05:002010-01-19T22:31:38.393-05:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]Democracy worked tonight in Massachusetts.The citizens of the Bay State, in which Democrats outnumber Republicans three-to-one, which doesn't have a single Republican in its U.S. House delegation, and whose citizens just 14 months ago voted for Barack Obama by a margin of 62 percent to 38 percent,

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-73926813460027150692010-01-14T14:28:00.014-05:002010-01-15T15:50:08.635-05:00

[NOTE: The following article will also appear as my regular television column for WILDsound.]Publications and websites are filled with previews of the bevy of new prime-time television shows to be launched over the next month. While I have a few I'm looking forward to checking out (The Deep End looks fun, and, as a Gilmore Girls fan, I'll have to give Life Unexpected a try, although I expect to

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-89395480760118090372010-01-11T13:11:00.009-05:002010-01-11T14:25:38.122-05:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]Republicans are out in force calling for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's resignation over remarks he made in 2008 about Barack Obama. The argument goes that Trent Lott had to step down as majority leader after making a race-related comment in 2002, so what's good for the Republican is good for the

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-66648087546123698352010-01-10T18:37:00.006-05:002010-01-10T20:07:18.510-05:00

[NOTE: The following article will also appear as my regular television column for WILDsound.]Yes, I know. I have regularly criticized NBC in this space, so much so that I wrote a column promising to be nicer to the downtrodden network. So it is not surprising that I would now come out of my grad-school-imposed temporary sabbatical to rip NBC over the Conan O'Brien-Jay Leno debacle. But, really,

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-74782007526376228162010-01-05T14:32:00.016-05:002010-01-05T15:48:51.302-05:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]Remember when Republicans portrayed themselves as tough guys? The party of John Wayne? Hard to picture now, right? Ever since an Islamic fundamentalist tried to blow up a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit, Republicans have, as Steve Benen eloquently put it, engaged in a "collective display of

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-677625952756706012009-12-28T12:42:00.007-05:002009-12-28T14:16:01.896-05:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]Looking back on 2009, much of the discussion on TV news shows is whether President Obama and the Democrats in Congress correctly handled the problems facing the country. Somehow, a narrative seems to have emerged that the Democrats failed and would pay the price in the 2010 midterm elections.But where is

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-33071512232065494232009-12-23T10:50:00.010-05:002009-12-23T13:04:39.210-05:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]I am a big believer in open political debate. While my views may be solidly progressive, I have the utmost respect for anyone interested in making honest arguments as to how to proceed on the issues of the day. I admire Jurgen Habermas's view of democracy requiring a public sphere in which citizens come

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-4272770764357243302009-12-10T17:29:00.015-05:002009-12-10T19:03:13.937-05:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]According to reports yesterday, a group of 10 Democratic senators, five centrists and five progressives, has reached a deal to allow health care reform legislation to proceed. We don't know much about the compromise yet, as the senators aren't talking about it pending receiving cost estimates from the

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-70968713305521719512009-12-03T18:12:00.005-05:002009-12-03T20:29:02.770-05:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]But now I need a little give and take/The New York Times, The Daily News/It comes down to reality And it's fine with me 'cause I've let it slide/Don't care if it's Chinatown or on Riverside/I don't have any reasons I've left them all behind/I'm in a New York state of mind- Billy Joel, "New York State of

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-91675228708387708262009-11-20T18:31:00.013-05:002009-11-21T22:47:27.786-05:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]I swear, I find no no joy in being Debbie Downer. I really wish I could celebrate the Senate's 60-39 vote to begin the debate on health care legislation, narrowly holding off the blocking tactic of the Republicans. I am 100 percent in favor of health care reform (I'm a fan of Rep. Anthony Weiner's

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-5530543501505874702009-11-03T19:07:00.020-05:002009-11-03T20:15:40.854-05:00

[I was invited by the editors of HuffingtonPost.com to write a reaction to Arianna Huffington's article comparing President Obama to Candidate Obama, after she read David Plouffe's new book. This is what I came up with. You can access it from my author page here.]As Barack Obama stood in Grant Park a year ago tonight and gave his victory speech, it was a galvanizing moment, one I (and millions of

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-60758333075477085982009-10-22T15:46:00.007-04:002009-10-22T16:48:38.273-04:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]Former Vice President Dick Cheney accused President Barack Obama on Wednesday of "dithering" on Afghanistan. I found this equally amusing and outrageous.You see, we, as a country, would be a lot (and I mean a lot) better off right now if Cheney and his boss had done some dithering before invading Iraq.

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-54530261053297525432009-09-30T14:01:00.007-04:002009-09-30T15:00:06.016-04:00

[NOTE: The following article will also appear as my regular television column for WILDsound.]There has been a lot of talk that "FlashForward" (ABC, Thursdays at 8:00 p.m. Eastern) is meant to be the network's successor to "Lost," what with the trippy sci-fi premise and Dominic Monaghan soon joining the cast. After watching the debut episode, which aired last week, I can't say I see the fit. But "

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-62159106059515064872009-09-24T15:40:00.012-04:002009-09-25T17:34:20.018-04:00

[NOTE: The following article will also appear as my regular television column for WILDsound.]Sitcom veterans Courteney Cox and Jenna Elfman are back on prime time network television, and based on how their characters are conducting their love lives, Chandler and Greg would be shocked. Beyond the older woman-younger guy themes, though, "Cougar Town" (ABC, Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m. Eastern) and "

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-21146490545262017622009-09-20T21:01:00.012-04:002009-09-20T23:04:05.261-04:00

[NOTE: The following article will also appear as my regular television column for WILDsound.]If you tuned into the premiere episode of "The Jay Leno Show" on Monday (NBC, Mondays through Fridays, 10:00 p.m. Eastern), you might not have realized that you were witnessing a seminal moment in television history.No, I don't mean the show itself. Despite a lot of claims to the contrary, "The Jay Leno

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-90103122207030778772009-09-16T16:47:00.006-04:002009-09-16T18:36:01.781-04:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]When it comes to policy positions, I certainly agree with the Democrats far more than the Republicans. (Do the Republicans still have policy positions? Does really, really hating the president, making decisions based primarily on hurting the president politically instead of what is good for the American

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-40874998421920650892009-09-11T22:38:00.015-04:002009-09-12T09:26:32.728-04:00

[NOTE: The following article will also appear as my regular television column for WILDsound.]After the CW found some success with "90210" last season, was there ever a doubt that a reboot of "Melrose Place" was soon to follow? Sure enough, a new version of the 1990s nighttime soap made its debut on Tuesday night (9:00 p.m. Eastern).For me, there are two competing thoughts behind reviving "Melrose

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-19674397315549465442009-09-07T10:16:00.008-04:002009-09-07T18:05:56.791-04:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]- John Boehner has a fetish that only allows him to become aroused when he wears 1950s women's housecoats with curlers in his hair.- Rush Limbaugh eats pudding made from the rats that infest his home.- Charles Grassley calls in sick to the Senate once a week to stay home and watch a DVD of "The

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-8184807720871618342009-09-05T12:52:00.010-04:002009-09-05T15:35:52.694-04:00

[NOTE: The following article will also appear as my regular television column for WILDsound.]In my sixth column for WILDsound, back in 2007, I reviewed a new program called "Mad Men." I reread the article today, after watching the third episode of the show's third season (AMC, Sundays at 10:00 p.m. Eastern), and I was struck by how "Mad Men" has managed to grow into one of the very best shows on

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-17585817402020292902009-09-01T09:58:00.016-04:002009-09-01T11:29:50.914-04:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]I am regularly amazed that public officials can say things in public without experiencing what should be obvious repercussions. The latest example? This doozy from former vice president Dick Cheney regarding his sanctioning of torture (we have prosecuted waterboarding as torture in the past, so Cheney

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-25714609185867336102009-08-03T13:52:00.008-04:002009-08-03T16:06:11.269-04:00

[NOTE: The following article will also appear as my regular television column for WILDsound.]Summer is not the easiest time of year to find new shows. With the networks rolling out one inane reality show after another, to find alternatives, you have to open your mind up to possibilities you might not normally consider and take chances. Last week, I was pleasantly surprised by "Dating in the Dark.

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-71462613128616721072009-07-31T10:33:00.002-04:002009-07-31T10:50:01.245-04:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]I am very concerned about the future of this country.No, not just because health care reform is being so watered down in Congress that it now completely fails to address the underlying dire (and spiraling) problems of the health care system. (As I've written previously, there is no defensible position to

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-9015174369977461742009-07-24T13:59:00.006-04:002009-07-24T16:37:46.936-04:00

[NOTE: The following article will also appear as my regular television column for WILDsound.]It all started out so ordinary. As I watched the opening seconds of ABC's new summer reality program "Dating in the Dark" (Mondays at 10 p.m. Eastern), with it's sweeping shots of a mansion surrounded by palm trees, and with the drama-inducing synth music playing in the background, it felt like the

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-44785855482684159042009-07-20T13:59:00.006-04:002009-07-20T15:39:10.329-04:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]When it comes to health care reform, I feel like the house is on fire, but nobody in Washington (except maybe President Obama) seems to see it. Or worse, they see it, and they don't care.Here are some statistics, via the nonpartisan/bipartisan National Coalition on Health Care (NCHC), to demonstrate just

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-16028423781553505302009-07-17T13:53:00.012-04:002009-07-17T15:14:09.623-04:00

[NOTE: The following article will also appear as my regular television column for WILDsound.]Here is the worst-kept secret about television: The networks lure viewers using attractive women. They want actresses men can ogle and women can aspire to look like (how many "Rachel" haircuts popped up in the mid-1990s?). It's like an unspoken deal: The networks promise to cast attractive women in their

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-36347565390151756572009-07-11T19:53:00.009-04:002009-07-11T21:08:52.669-04:00

[NOTE: The following article will also appear as my regular television column for WILDsound.]Summer has become synonymous with reality television. An alien landing on earth last week who watched television to learn more about American culture would probably come away thinking we were obsessed with rich teens, people getting hit with padded objects and overweight people dancing. At this point, I

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-92185454403337233402009-06-27T15:52:00.014-04:002009-06-27T16:32:42.056-04:00

[NOTE: The following article will also appear as my regular television column for WILDsound.]The logos on the participants' shirts are the same. As is the name of the show. And there are athletic competitions. After that, I'm pretty much out of similarities between the new version of "The Superstars" (ABC, Tuesdays at 8 p.m. Eastern) and the original. I'm not saying the new one is bad. It's just

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-20614684376814694342009-06-22T09:28:00.005-04:002009-06-22T12:07:40.530-04:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]A couple of weeks ago, in discussing torture, I asked why so many Republicans hate America. Now that the debate over how to fix the heath-care system has moved forward, listening to the Republican position (which is, unfortunately, shared by some centrist Democrats), I can't help but wonder why these

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-12542022561863285802009-06-21T10:40:00.012-04:002009-06-21T12:10:59.357-04:00

[NOTE: The following article will also appear as my regular television column for WILDsound.]After years of taking a back seat to doctors on medical dramas from "St. Elsewhere" to "Grey's Anatomy," nurses are finally having their moment in the sun, with the debut of "HawthoRNe" (TNT, Tuesdays at 9 p.m. Eastern) and "Nurse Jackie" (Showtime, Mondays at 10:30 Eastern).While the two programs vary

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-83199066168601587712009-06-17T14:01:00.005-04:002009-06-17T14:25:58.563-04:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]Three weeks ago I asked why so many Republicans seem to hate America. Well, today, one reason has become clear: Because some of them love banks and big corporations more than they love the American people or the American economy.President Obama revealed his plans to regulate the financial industry today,

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-24608592082833822242009-06-13T10:35:00.014-04:002009-06-13T12:02:29.302-04:00

[NOTE: The following article will also appear as my regular television column for WILDsound.]When E! announced that Kendra Wilkinson of the network's "The Girls Next Door" would be given her own spinoff, "Kendra" (new episodes air Sundays at 10 p.m. Eastern), my reaction was: Why? Believe it or not, I did watch "The Girls Next Door." I didn't TiVo it, and I certainly missed more than a few

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-1211085459415803072009-06-08T13:41:00.007-04:002009-06-08T15:26:30.135-04:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]George W. Bush has been out of office for more than four months now, but I fear that the damage done during the Bush years has inflicted serious injury to the American psyche and reputation, and it will take years, if not decades, to recover.Why am I bringing this up now?I woke up this morning to the

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-20883712160094346312009-06-05T14:04:00.011-04:002009-06-05T15:35:56.400-04:00

[NOTE: The following article will also appear as my regular television column for WILDsound.]It's nearly summer, which means beaches, barbecues and crappy television. In the past, it was the season for reruns. But now, the broadcast networks rely mostly on lightweight reality programs to fill out their schedules. Sensing a void, in recent years basic cable outlets began jumping in with one-hour

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-10079454988116155242009-05-29T14:09:00.010-04:002009-05-29T15:29:09.601-04:00

[NOTE: The following article will also appear as my regular television column for WILDsound.]Last week, the five broadcast networks held their upfront presentations in New York, revealing what their Fall 2009 schedules would look like. (You can download the grid from cynopsis.com.) It's hard to be surprised by much, since information leaks out early, and NBC no longer adheres to the upfront

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-51439831419627079902009-05-27T14:02:00.001-04:002009-05-27T17:03:18.870-04:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]On Sunday, as I sat watching former House speaker Newt Gingrich unabashedly endorse the politics of fear on Meet the Press, ("I think people should be afraid"), I couldn't help wonder why so many Republicans hate America so much.Don't get me wrong. I know Republicans think they love America. They talk a

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-46243464577308341402009-05-22T14:02:00.010-04:002009-05-22T14:45:14.085-04:00

[NOTE: The following article will also appear as my regular television column for WILDsound.]Fox finished the 2008-2009 season as the highest-rated network in the key 18-49 demographic, and in second position in total viewers. But if you scratch the surface a bit, you see the big hits that drove Fox's success are all getting long in the tooth. The network's biggest success, "American Idol," is

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-79672645863574578372009-05-15T14:07:00.011-04:002009-05-17T10:32:34.201-04:00

[NOTE: The following article will also appear as my regular television column for WILDsound.]If you believe what you read, "My Name Is Earl" may not make it onto next year's schedule. NBC has indicated it will be producing a prime-time version of the "Weekend Update" segment of "Saturday Night Live," and with "Earl," completing its fourth season this week, older and more expensive, there is

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-28117033811563586612009-05-11T14:06:00.018-04:002009-05-11T15:25:32.181-04:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]If someone asked me what was the single most important thing I learned in law school, it would take me all of a nanosecond to answer: U.S. Supreme Court justices are far more powerful in shaping American society than the average person realizes. As these officials are appointed and not elected, and serve

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-13640186250162743762009-05-07T09:57:00.008-04:002009-05-07T11:21:54.017-04:00

[NOTE: The following article will also appear as my regular television column for WILDsound.]Yesterday I read a small item that grabbed my attention: "The New Adventures of Old Christine" (CBS, Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. Eastern) will be back for it's fifth season next year, since the show's production company has cut a "back-up" deal that will place the sitcom on ABC if CBS decides not to pick it

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-74286153893786641562009-05-01T14:02:00.007-04:002009-05-01T15:19:20.671-04:00

[NOTE: The following article will also appear as my regular television column for WILDsound.]"Southland" (Thursdays at 10 p.m. Eastern) is a sprawling, dark cop show that throws you, verite style, into the day-to-day lives of a handful of Los Angeles police officers and detectives. It features a large cast and eschews simple crime-resolution plot lines in favor of character development and

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-45029482912977657462009-04-28T09:20:00.002-04:002009-04-28T09:40:15.622-04:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]The media's obsession with grading Barack Obama's first 100 days in office amuses me. Sure, in calmer times, maybe it was reasonable to look at a new administration after a little more than three months and try and figure out what kind of presidency the country was in for. But even George W. Bush waited

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-84566906579280736382009-04-18T20:07:00.016-04:002009-04-18T20:54:13.649-04:00

[NOTE: The following article will also appear as my regular television column for WILDsound.]I've been hard on NBC in the past, but it's certainly justified. The network, once known for its massively successful Must See TV lineup on Thursday nights, is now essentially out of ideas. In the last few years it has repeatedly rolled out new shows, many of which were cheap copies of existing hits, that

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-74397820517155335422009-04-15T14:01:00.005-04:002009-04-15T15:05:57.251-04:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]Today's "teabag" protests would be funny, if they didn't make me think of Sen. Joseph McCarthy, and what he might have accomplished if Fox News existed during his time.On February 9, 1950, McCarthy, a Republican from Wisconsin, said to the Women's Republican Club of Wheeling, West Virginia, "While I

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-67023097876246776182009-04-01T14:15:00.005-04:002009-04-01T15:58:01.431-04:00

[NOTE: The following article will also appear as my regular television column for WILDsound.]Considering that "Cupid" (ABC, Tuesday nights at 10:00 p.m. Eastern) earned the top spot in my spring list of new shows I was most looking forward to seeing, the expectation bar was set pretty high as I sat down to watch the pilot.The list of pluses I saw with the program before actually watching it was

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-84521884248401277752009-03-31T21:35:00.002-04:002009-03-31T21:42:49.653-04:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]When I read that President Obama was taking a hard line with General Motors and Chrysler, I immediately thought of Daniel Glass.A professional drummer and drum historian (and, in the interest of full disclosure, a fellow resident of Scheffres Hall at Brandeis University during our sophomore year of

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-43928264426616827152009-03-27T17:34:00.009-04:002009-03-27T20:19:59.499-04:00

[NOTE: The following article will also appear as my regular television column for WILDsound.]I often complain about the slow death of network sitcoms. But ABC seems to be drifting, ever so slowly, into the comedy abyss. First it brought "Scrubs" over from NBC and paired it with the quirky "Better Off Ted." And now it has come up with a companion to its fairly successful sophomore sitcom "Samantha

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-90100703677254091832009-03-26T09:27:00.003-04:002009-03-26T11:47:30.346-04:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]On Tuesday the New York Times ran on its op-ed page the resignation letter written by Jake DeSantis, a vice president of A.I.G.'s infamous financial products division. DeSantis essentially argues that he had nothing to do with the credit default swaps that nearly brought down the company (and the world

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-63439448174283778502009-03-20T14:02:00.008-04:002009-03-20T14:52:39.646-04:00

[NOTE: The following article will also appear as my regular television column for WILDsound.]You have to hand it to ABC executives: They clearly want to push the envelope with their programs. Not only did the network pick up the beloved but perpetually ratings-challenged "Scrubs," but it is now following it with a new single-camera comedy, "Better Off Ted" (Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m. Eastern), that

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-34173180592676527062009-03-16T14:06:00.003-04:002009-03-16T14:27:35.936-04:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]Earlier this month, New York Times op-ed columnist Thomas L. Friedman took some heat for writing that he feared the Obama presidency would be "eaten" by the problem of dealing with the banking system.Less than two weeks later, the White House has had to move quickly to keep Friedman's prophecy from

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-3763657437666162082009-03-13T14:11:00.007-04:002009-03-13T16:23:09.467-04:00

[NOTE: The following article will also appear as my regular television column for WILDsound.]It's not hard to see what ABC is trying to do with its new show "Castle" (Mondays at 10 p.m. Eastern). From "Remington Steele" to "Moonlighting" to "The X Files" to "Bones," the idea of a mismatched guy-gal team solving crimes has been a go-to concept for the networks. So the pairing of crime novelist

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-32976654465044982892009-03-06T19:48:00.004-05:002009-03-06T19:59:38.136-05:00

[NOTE: The following article will also appear as my regular television column for WILDsound.]As Jimmy Fallon wraps up his first week taking over Conan O'Brien's post-Jay Leno 12:35 a.m. spot on NBC, people will no doubt chime in on how he did and what his chances are for future success. Personally, while I certainly have some first impressions, I think any fair analysis of Fallon is extremely

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-61689690268291547382009-03-02T09:32:00.006-05:002009-03-02T10:44:00.991-05:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]Democrats in Congress could really use a lesson in the art of politics from President Obama.Millions of Americans turned on their computers this morning and went to Yahoo!, only to find this headline:Obama will sign spending bill despite earmarksInstead of being a positive headline about President

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-48113180737840390022009-02-27T17:45:00.010-05:002009-02-27T18:10:03.755-05:00

[NOTE: The following article will also appear as my regular television column for WILDsound.]Spring is here, and that means that it's time for warmer weather, baseball and a whole bunch of new (and returning) television programs. Maybe we should call it the "Grey's Anatomy" season, since ABC aired the first episode of the hit hospital-based drama on March 27, 2005, and surely the networks will be

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-13004073803701008102009-02-23T13:58:00.004-05:002009-02-23T16:39:33.750-05:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]If someone questioned the patriotism of the Republican governors who have said that they will turn down portions of the federal stimulus money intended for their states, I would have a hard time arguing with them.Hey, if the Republicans can accuse the Democrats of being unpatriotic when they were in the

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-62958707557455193442009-02-20T13:58:00.007-05:002009-02-20T14:49:11.008-05:00

[NOTE: The following article will also appear as my regular television column for WILDsound.]Is scripted television dying?You might think my question is pure hyperbole, but I'm not so sure. I'm not suggesting that non-reality TV is on its death bed, but I fear it has been given a terminal diagnosis and is just fading towards an eventual demise.A number of things have made me pessimistic lately

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-43413570201317103802009-02-13T13:58:00.005-05:002009-02-13T14:32:21.190-05:00

[NOTE: The following article will also appear as my regular television column for WILDsound.]With a bunch of new shows set to debut next month, I thought I'd dive into the world of basic cable to check out two new comedy offerings, "Important Things With Demetri Martin" (Comedy Central, first airings Wednesdays at 10:30 p.m. Eastern) and "The CollegeHumor Show" (MTV, first airings Sundays at 9:30

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-21743444386892447412009-02-09T14:10:00.006-05:002009-02-09T16:08:33.970-05:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]There was an exchange on Meet the Press yesterday that illustrated why Republicans in Congress opposing the stimulus package are being less than forthright with the American people.David Gregory: "But you cite Japan. Critics of what Japan did during that decade was that they often, with these stimulus

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-56138517615374111662009-02-02T13:32:00.007-05:002009-02-02T13:53:16.110-05:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]Of the many reasons why Americans chose Barack Obama to be president in November, unquestionably one of the biggest was his ability to lead. His vision, and his ability to impart it to the electorate, drew support. It was about more than just policies and competency and ability.Alas, since Obama has been

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-29227537950955544342009-01-30T14:05:00.003-05:002009-01-30T15:03:42.742-05:00

[NOTE: The following article will also appear as my regular television column for WILDsound.]A creative director stands in a boardroom filled with nervous colleagues and skeptical clients, and using the information he's picked up about himself and the world over the last 45 minutes of television time, he improvises a brilliant, edgy, smart campaign that blows away the client and saves the day. Am

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939236067387659721.post-70213007276798477772009-01-29T14:03:00.004-05:002009-01-29T15:27:10.714-05:00

[This article also appears on Huffingtonpost.com. You can access it from my author page here.]Say you belonged to a charitable organization, and you and your friends were appointed to the steering committee for a big fundraiser, so you chose to have a combination bake sale and casino night. And let's say that you scheduled it on the same night as the town's homecoming football game, so nearly

Mitchell Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13461514804540959328noreply@blogger.com