THE NEWS? - AT 3:47 P.M. ET:  I was just doing a sweep of the cable news channels, as I do all the time, and I must tell you that the contrast between CNN and Fox seems to be getting greater.  Watching CNN is like watching an ad for the Obama administration.  The network is unashamed.  This afternoon one of its anchorwomen guided CNN reporters and interviewees through a laudatory prayer meeting about the wonders of Obaman diplomacy and what it is achieving.  Why, he's got the whole world in his hands.

On Fox, though, matters were more sober and balanced.  The most important comment I heard came from former Ambassador John Bolton, who said that there was some value in President Obama doing all these photo ops with people like Hugo Chavez.  In a year, Bolton said, the administration will be embarrassed by those photos, and will have learned a lesson - that nations pursue their own interests, and won't be swayed by the personality of the man in the White House.

Bolton is correct.  But, if you're in a lighthearted mood and want to see what movie-fan magazines used to be like in reporting on screen stars, flip to CNN.

April 18, 2009