Beyond the Pale(in)
In terms of TV, we are prisoners of digital antennae TV. We get NBC out of Paducah, WPSD, and as far as the three big networks go, that is it. Different than the analog signal, which allowed us to receive all three of the major networks - ABC, CBS, and NBC.
So in terms of the morning show, we watch the Today show. We turn it on at 7 and watch it as long as it is interesting. The Today show does do a lot of fluffy stuff in order to maximize it's audience, and that tends to lose us. We either get up and do things or try to find something else to occupy our time in the morning. Most of the time we are reading newspapers or magazines in the morning while we have the TV on. The Today show has enough content of substance for us to keep it on, most of the time.
This morning, though, they had Sarah Palin on as part of the Today crew, acting as a commentator. This was an embarassment to the Today show in our opinion. It showed that bureaucratic bosses that are above the Today show staff in corporate rank pressured the show to do this, and the show went along with it. I guess they have had so many people on the show over the years, that a few minutes with Sarah Palin wouldn't be enough to bring down the show that much, and why risk such a good job over a few minutes of politicizing the show when the rest of it stays basically the same.
In my opinion, wrong decision. Having Palin on the show as some kind of "expert" opinion totally politicizes the show. And besides that, Ms. "I can see Russia from my back yard" Palin has little credibility with most americans. She is totally political. And trying to portray her as something other than that stresses the credibility of those that are trying to portray as something other than that.
It is disappointing that the Today show would do that. It's beyond the Pale(in) in our opinion. If they insist on keeping her on, we may be insisting to each other that we keep it off.