As TheDC’s Jeff Poor reported, CNN is bringing Crossfire back. This makes a lot of sense, and I’ve been urging them to do it for some time.
And as Poor notes, “Former Obama campaign aide Stephanie Cutter, former White House green
jobs czar Van Jones, MSNBC “The Cycle” panelist S.E. Cupp and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich will be the hosts of the resurrected show.”
Of all the hires, I’m most excited to see S.E. Cupp. I suspect this format will play to her strengths, and this gig clearly elevates her already impressive rise in the world of political punditry. (As an aside, on MSNBC, she’s regularly up against three liberals, so this should be a cake walk for her.)
Gingrich, of course, is always brilliant, but can he be a host? I think the verdict is out on that.
Van Jones is obviously a liberal activist, but in the few times I’ve seen him on CNN, I’ve been impressed by his intellectual honesty. Let’s see if that continues.
I’m least excited about Stephanie Cutter, who has never impressed me, and who may be hampered by the “always-stay-on-message” habits that political flaks necessarily embrace. Generally, I prefer watching journalists (Bob Novak, Tucker Carlson, et al.) as opposed to operatives (James Carville, Paul Begala, et al.), and this is one reason why I suspect Cupp might be the one to watch. (Gingrich was a politician, to be sure, but he’s never been terribly disciplined — which is to say he is always interesting.)
This is all a long way of saying that I’m more impressed by the “from the right” hirings than the ones coming “from the left.”
I’m looking forward to it. Let’s see how it shakes out.