One Day More from the 10th Anniversary Original London Cast Reunion Concert of Les Misérables It was hard not to watch the triumphant dancing and flag-waving in Tahrir Square and not be moved for the Egyptian people. Because I am a Broadway
February 13, 2011


One Day More from the 10th Anniversary Original London Cast Reunion Concert of Les Misérables

It was hard not to watch the triumphant dancing and flag-waving in Tahrir Square and not be moved for the Egyptian people. Because I am a Broadway musical dork, it made me think of this scene in Les Miz, the final song of Act I. The scene is the evening before the June Rebellion, an ultimately failed uprising of Parisian students against a monarchy that ignored the economic and health welfare of the lower classes.

Luckily, unlike those miserable Parisians, the Egyptians have not failed in ridding themselves of an oppressive dictator. But they have far more than one day to go before we can really call them a democracy. Still, they have shown that it *IS* possible, with tenacity and commitment, to take charge of your government and your destiny.

Would that we had a little of that tenacity and commitment here. I don't think we're going to get help from the media. A more dreary lineup is hard to imagine. Mubarak is gone not even a week and every single outlet went with exclusively Republican bookings. Of course, it's Sunday, so John McCain is on. This week he's on Face the Nation. BFF Lindsey Graham shows up on State of the Union. But the one that's really getting me is This Week with Christiane Amanpour. At least the other shows have Egyptian analysts. ABC goes with asking Israeli Prime Defense Minister and Newt "The Muslim Brotherhood wants to kill us all" Gingrich. You know, I'd guess that ABC is making damn sure not to inform their viewership this morning.

ABC's "This Week" - Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak; former House Speaker Newt Gingrich; former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty

NBC's "Meet the Press" - Reps. John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Bobby Schilling, R-Ill.; Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed.

NBC's "The Chris Matthews Show" - Panel: Gloria Borger, John Heilemann, David Ignatius, Anne Kornblut. Topics: How Did President Obama Handle The Crisis In Egypt? Can Jeb Bush Be Convinced He's The GOP's Best Bet in 2012?

CBS' "Face the Nation" - Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.; Egyptian-American scholar and Nobel laureate Ahmed Zewail

CNN's "State of the Union" - John Negroponte, former U.S. ambassador to the U.N.; Edward Walker, former U.S. ambassador to Egypt; Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; White House budget director Jacob Lew.

CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" - Where do Egypt and the opposition movement go from here? With Richard Haass and Steven Cook from the Council on Foreign Relations. What caused the crisis and who made it worse. Could it have been YOU? With JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon.

"Fox News Sunday" - Gov. Haley Barbour, R-Miss.; Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis.

So what's catching your eye this morning?

Can you help us out?

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