Notice the nearly three-to-one margin:

"Who do you want to see take the lead role in setting policy for the country: George W. Bush or the Congress?" asks NBC/WSJ. The answer is congress by a 62 to 21 margin. One more reason to think that the weakness and conflict-aversion of the congressional Democrats is a bigger source of their low approval ratings than is any alleged overreaching. The President is very unpopular and people are apparently desperate for Congress to play a bigger role.

Get to work.

I wasn't going to post about this, but what the heck. It's too funny ...Apparently, there's a "Save Tucker" movement trying to flourish and they have a website to prove it. And a three-time Democratic office seeker is helping out...I wonder how long it will take Howard Kurtz to do a feature on it, but I digress. Here's where the fun begins...

MSNBC executives are considering cancelling 'Tucker' with Tucker Carlson which airs on MSNBC at 6:00pm EST weekdays. This decision by MSNBC will silence a [bleating, whiny, intensely irritating-ed.] conservative voice, part of a move by MSNBC to swing left and become "FOX for the Liberals," dropping any pretense of objectivity or balance.

Any guy willing to go on "Dancing with the Stars" and treat guests both left and right with spirited but congenial debate should not be purged in some ideological marketing plan. We respectfully urge NBC to reconsider this decision and save TUCKER!

I think all his problems are essentially illustrated in this pesky little ratings graphic below....

(click pic to make it larger) h/t TV Newser...Anyway, TRex started a new blog and talks more about this...

Just when you think they can't be more absurd...don't get me wrong, Katie is hardly capable of the "in the field" coverage that CBS used to be known for, but this angle is just ridiculous.

PERRspectives:

As ThinkProgress reported today, Fox News attacked CBS rival and single mother Katie Couric for her upcoming trip to Iraq. But while Neil Cavuto, John Gibson and the gang at Fox grew hysterical about Couric, they remained silent about 26 year old Michelle Ring and other single mothers fighting for the United States in Iraq.

The issue for Fox, of course, is that anyone else's coverage of Iraq inevitably brings the facts of Bush's Baghdad fiasco directly to American television screens. But in a new low even for Fox, Couric (whose husband passed away from colon cancer in 1998) was accused of placing her children at risk all in the name of ratings. As guest Janice Crouse of Concerned Women for American put it:

"She's saying my ratings are more important than my children. That's the bottom line."

If only Fox News would focus such concern on all of the American single mothers who are fighting - and dying - for us in Iraq. That would include women like Michelle Ring of the 92nd Military Police Battalion based in Fort Benning, Georgia. Ring, who joined the Army in 2005, recently reenlisted with the hope of becoming a military police officer. Ring was killed by mortar fire on July 5th while on guard duty.

Oooohhh...be afraid. Be very afraid. Will Bunch notes the curious confluence of 61-year-old would-be terrorists with ice packs (and blocks of cheese) and the plummeting approval ratings on the handling of the "War on Terrorism" ^TM

This clip from Tuesday's "Tucker" will get your blood boiling before he even finishes the setup. Tucker discusses the ACLU's recent lawsuit on behalf of three victims of the U.S. government's extraordinary rendition program with the Hill's A.B. Stoddard and L.A. Times columnist Rosa Brooks. The ever-whiny Carlson attempts to meld the ACLU with the Democrats and suggests that their lawsuit makes the left appear soft on terror, but Brooks shreds his talking points, one by one.  Tucker's ratings aren't as bad as Glenn Beck's, but it's still a mystery why MSNBC keeps him around.

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Via Media Matters:

In a June 7 Washington Post article, staff writer Paul Farhi wrote: "Faced with continuing financial losses and stubbornly low ratings for Washington Post Radio," WTWP owner Bonneville International Corp. is "considering" picking up "a show hosted by conservative Glenn Beck." Farhi added: "However, both Bonneville and The Post must agree on all programming decisions." As Media Matters for America has repeatedly noted, Beck -- who hosts a nationally syndicated radio show and a nightly program on CNN Headline News, and joined ABC's Good Morning America as a regular contributor in January 2007 -- has repeatedly spouted inflammatory comments about Muslims, Arabs, Mexicans, and female guests on his radio and television programs, a tendency that went unmentioned by Farhi. Read more...

What marketing genius thinks that the lowest rated host on HLN--whose ratings are lower than a year ago-- will actually bring up the ratings?

Bernard Shaw, a CNN anchor until his retirement in 2001, doesn’t like how the network has changed since he left.

Asked what he now thinks of CNN, Shaw told WTTW-Channel 11's John Callaway: "I try not to. I'm very, very disappointed with the way the news management at my favorite network has gone. [...]

"Unfortunately, Fox News is the ratings leader ... on the cable side of the business, and what Fox puts on the air is not news." [...]

"CNN continues to ape many of the on-air mannerisms of the Fox News Network, and I don't like that," he said.

None of us do, Mr. Shaw; none of us do.

Today through Wednesday, progressive talk show host Stephanie Miller gets her chance to shine in Imus's old slot on MSNBC. If this morning's show was any indication, she could easily impact their ratings in the same way Keith Olberman has.

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Former CIA officer Larry Johnson was Stephanie's guest this morning to give his reaction to George Tenet's appearance last night on 60 Minutes. Larry and a group of former intelligence officers have written a letter to Tenet demanding that he donate a portion of the proceeds from his new book to the families of soldiers who have died in Iraq and to give back the Medal of Freedom he was given by George Bush.

Watch the clip and if you like what you see, send a note to General Manager Dan Abrams and VP Bill Wolff at MSNBC. Let them know that you'd like to see Stephanie Miller on MSNBC in the mornings instead of another Fox wannabe like this guy. Remember, be polite. Personally, I would tune in five days a week....

Salon: (watch short ad for day pass)

Not only did the World Bank president find his companion Shaha Ali Riza a cushy job in the State Department, but she received a security clearance -- unprecedented for a foreign national. [..]

(I)n 2006 Wolfowitz made a series of calls to his friends that landed her a job at a new think tank called Foundation for the Future that is funded by the State Department. She was the sole employee, at least in the beginning. The World Bank continued to pay her salary, which was raised from $60,000 to $193,590 annually, more than the $183,500 paid to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and all of it tax-free. Moreover, Wolfowitz got the State Department to agree that the ratings of her performance would automatically be "outstanding." Wolfowitz insisted on these terms himself and then misled the World Bank board about what he had done.

Exactly how this deal was made and with whom remains something of a mystery. The person who did work with Riza in her new position was Elizabeth Cheney, then the deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs. And Riza's assignment fell under the purview of Karen Hughes, undersecretary of state for public diplomacy. But these facts raise more questions than they answer.

Ah, but Bush has nothing but "full confidence" in the job Wolfowitz is doing. In any other reality, this guy would be out on the sidewalk filing for unemployment. But in BushWorld, this level of corruption is a good thing.

Morning, C&L junkies -- great to be over here saying hello again. Promised the ever-wonderful John Amato that I would give you all a heads up on the Sunday gabfests. It's that time of day. Fresh cuppa coffee. A read through of the latest in news and blogs. And the excited anticipation of who will be on what Sunday morning news show.

Or not. Just in case, though, the Sunday Talking Head line-up is up for your perusal here.

There are some surprises on the line-up listings this morning. The most surprising thing? Actual, honest-to-goodness liberals are booked for this morning. The fact that Carl Levin and Jimmy Carter and John Edwards are all on programs today? It sure looks like the booking folks have realized that Democrats are good for business these days. Must be those rising ratings for Olbermann.

Also, if you have a few good thoughts to spare, Steve Gilliard could use them. Get well soon, Steve! And now, another cuppa coffee...