RNC Fireworks

I totally adore Shepard Smith; he cracks me up. Last week during the Democratic Convention he was streaming live on the "internets" and observing the speeches Mystery Science Theater Style with his guests. They had a nice set up in a bar with big screens and such. I stayed up long past my normal bedtime watching his antics and having a great time.

So tonight for the RNC Shep and friends were to do the same thing. Now, I have to sympathize with Shep. He has been in NOLA covering Gustav, he's been in Mississippi, he's been on-the-go for days. GOT to be exhausted. It was apparent tonight during RNC Mystery Science Theater style.

Shep was cranky as I've ever seen him (exhausted-cranky). He did not like the set, he did not like the styrofoam plates and cups; he did not like the microphones, there were no antennae; he did not have a Diet Coke, and he did not like various aspects of the engineering such as the audio set-up. He also did not like the opinions, or more specifically, the word-choice of one of his guests. Shep had a pro-life woman who was also providing commentary. All seemed pretty much okay until she expressed disfavor with Lieberman. Shep pressed her to explain why and she finally said because Lieberman is "pro-abortion." Wrong answer. Shep got angry with her and insisted that NOBODY is pro-abortion. He declared the abortion issue a "wedge issue" - divisive, hate-filled, and having no place in politics. When the woman refused to take back what she said, Shep put his laptop in his chair and walked off set.

Like I said, I totally adore Shepard Smith. I think mostly because he SAYS what he thinks (as he did tonight) and he does not back down. We all saw this during his Katrina coverage. I think, whether you agree with him in position or not, you have to respect that.

He never came back to the set during the rest of the stream; I'm curious to see if he comes back for tomorrow's streaming or if Fox even continues with The Strategy Room. The fireworks he gave us "internets" tonight was more exciting than the speeches on the auditorium floor! Get a good night's sleep Shep! We missed you tonight!

Mystery Science DNC

I am such a nerd-with-no-life that I had a huge time last night watching the Democratic Convention streaming over Fox News on the internet. I am a long-time fan of Shepard Smith and when I heard he was going to be streaming (no script) live (no telling what he will say) on the internet (no rules) I had to tune in. When he plugged the stream during the Fox Report as "Mystery Science DNC" I knew I could not miss it. I always thought Mystery Science Theater was hilarious!

And sure enough, I was not disappointed. During the big speeches last night, Hillary's included of course, Shep and his panel turned their backs to the camera, donned aluminum foil antennae, and commented throughtout the speeches. At one point Shep even resorted to whistling "God Bless America" underneath part of Hillary's speech. And at no point were they hateful or disrespectul of any of the speakers. In fact, Shep would interject with e-mails from folks watching the broadcast and if they were hateful or rude he would chide them harshly. Fair and balanced!

I will tune in tonight for "Mystery Science DNC" as Bill Clinton gives his speech. Shepard Smith without a script and unrestricted is always good entertainment. Plus he's cute as all heck.