In December 2008, cable news’ premier debate couple, Sean Hannity and Alan Colmes, split up, one to host his own program and the other to contribute to the debates of many on Fox News. At the time, it was unclear to what extent Colmes would remain with Fox News or what a program without Colmes to balance out Hannity’s conservatism would look like. When discussing the run of Hannity & Colmes, many tend to look back at the heartfelt goodbyes (featuring a fairly nationally unknown Tim Pawlenty!) Colmes’ fans gave him, but seem to overlook the fun Colmes had with the departure in the immediate aftermath.

Alan Colmes appeared with Don Imus this morning to debate President Obama’s Afghanistan policy with Bernard McGuirk, yet when the topic turned to Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann, the sparks humorously began to fly. Colmes rattled off various verbal gaffes Bachmann made, to which McGuirk replied Obama has made mistakes as well. Yet Colmes emphatically highlighted the difference: “Bachmann is doing stuff today!”

President Obama’s speech on Afghanistan set the stage for a fun debate on Fox News Watch between conservative commentator Cal Thomas and liberal commentator Alan Colmes. Given that no one seems happy with Obama’s plan for Afghanistan, Thomas senses a “disturbance in the liberal force” and playfully referenced Colmes as Jabba the Hut. Yet even if liberals are upset with Obama now, Thomas is confident the media will fall back into line by election time.

The panel on Fox News Watch was exploring whether the good reviews from the mainstream media for Congresswoman Michele Bachmann’s candidacy for President since the Republican debate, have been sincere or if there is truly a hidden agenda behind them. With some like Chris Matthews barely able to contain their new excitement for Bachmann, at least one panelist here warns Bachmann that such praise is really a trap!

Given his many years working at Fox News, it may neither be the first nor last time Alan Colmes faces a conversion effort, though this may be the most high-profile. At an Right Online event on Friday, Andrew Breitbart read a supportive email from Colmes to the audience he was speaking with, and added that he would convert the world to conservatism “one Alan Colmes at a time.” On his blog today, Colmes replied graciously, though seems to have been scared off by angry commenters.

Liberal commentator Alan Colmes debated conservative commentator Steve Hayes on Fox News today, but it was host Bill Hemmer who ended up raising his voice at Colmes. Colmes declared “I think it’s a shame that [Anthony Weiner] has to step down or feels he must step down.” Before Colmes continued to rail against Republicans for being hypocritical, Hemmer demanded Colmes explain why exactly Weiner’s forthcoming resignation is a “shame.”

After calling fellow radio host Laura Ingraham a “slut” on his radio program, Ed Schultz received a week-long suspension from MSNBC and gave an extended apology on his program. But many, especially on the right, are suggesting he got off easy with only a week of punishment. Today’s Fox News Watch panel mostly arrived at that conclusion with one notable exception: Alan Colmes, who argued that Rush Limbaugh made a career out of far more offensive comments.

The decision not to release photos of slain terrorist Osama bin Laden has been met with both bipartisan support and bipartisan opposition, so it isn’t that remarkable that liberal commentator Alan Colmes, left-leaning comic Jon Stewart, conservative icon Sarah Palin, and I agree that the photos should be released. What is somewhat remarkable, though, is that we have each offered separate, distinct, and compelling arguments for doing so.

The Fox News Watch panel weighed in on President Obama’s release of his birth certificate, with Alan Colmes worrying that such demands being made of Obama hinted at racism, while Judith Miller suggested the timing of Obama’s release was completely political. Host Jon Scott concluded that if the White House purposely allowed these questions about Obama’s background to percolate to exploit political benefit, then that’s “pretty cynical.”

Bill O’Reilly led off his show tonight confused why President Obama chose to spend Easter Sunday at the Shiloh Baptist Church, where its pastor Reverend Wallace Charles Smith had a history of making controversial statements, including alleging Fox News is racist. O’Reilly was none too pleased with Obama for legitimizing the pastor and was reminded of the Jeremiah Wright controversy. However, Alan Colmes passionately argued O’Reilly was completely wrong.

It’s not even summer 2011 and the media is already having a ton of fun with potential presidential candidates from 2012– perhaps a little too much fun. Citing media figures comparing candidates to, among other things, dogs and clowns, the Fox News Watch round table evaluated whether candidates were being treated fairly, if not kindly, by most media sources.

Businessman and reality TV star Donald Trump has shot to the top of the Republican presidential field on the strength of a weeks-long campaign to become the Elvis Presley of the Birthers. While The King seems to have enjoyed most of his starmaking Birther interviews, he ran into an interviewer who wouldn’t humor him on Alan Colmes’ radio show Thursday night, and from the sounds of it, would have rather been document-hunting in Hawaii than getting grilled by Colmes.

Glenn Beck has been on Fox News now for a good two years– he’s heard it all. But it’s rare to find any profound level of disapproval among his Fox family. On last night’s Follow the Money on Fox Business, colleague Alan Colmes repeatedly denounced Beck’s use of Nazi references and apocalyptic rhetoric, shouting over a half-amused, half-disappointed panel that he was “sick and tired” of what he perceived to be the right wing’s double-standard on violent rhetoric.

On Friday, Parker/Spitzer co-host Kathleen Parker announced that she is leaving the show. In a guest column, John Ziegler, radio host, Palin confidante, and the filmmaker behind Media Malpractice: How Obama Got Elected and Palin Was Targeted, offers his commentary on Parker’s departure from CNN.

The post-Super Bowl news drop that AOL and the Huffington Post were merging into the most bizarre internet media conglomerate in recent memory took most of those in the news world by storm, and the Fox News Watch panel appeared as confused as anyone else. While many questioned the size of the merger and the potential impact on content already part of the AOL media network, the main question for the Fox News Watch team concerned Arianna Huffington‘s recent comments on objectivity– namely, that she practices it.

The analysis of Bill O’Reilly‘s interview with President Obama continued tonight on The O’Reilly Factor with the always enjoyable “Barack and A Hard Place” duo of commentators Alan Colmes and Monica Crowley. Colmes first shared some minor quibbles, suggesting that he found O’Reilly’s tone was a bit softer during his interview with President Bush than with Obama.

Last night Bill O’Reilly was not happy with ABC‘s Sam Donaldson and other members of the “far left” for openly praising Al Jazeera, which O’Reilly believes to be an anti-American and anti-Semitic television network. FOX‘s Alan Colmes stepped up to the plate to defend both Al Jazeera and Donaldson, yet Colmes’ defense failed to convince O’Reilly and even got him “a little mad.”

A wary and weary Alan Colmes visited America Live this afternoon to weigh in on (sigh) whether or not First Lady Michelle Obama‘s “Let’s Move” fitness and health program is responsible for a rise in pedestrian deaths, essentially transforming quiet suburban streets into death channels.

“I’m thinking starting it with ‘Pooh’ is not a good idea,” said Megyn Kelly, attempting to pronounce PPACA, the acronym for the Health Care Law’s new name, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Both she and Alan Colmes were pretty unimpressed. The two had an interesting conversation about the powers of branding and the necessity for a “sexy” moniker.

Every Tuesday night on The O’Reilly Factor, political commentators Alan Colmes and Monica Crowley debate one another in an always entertaining “Barack and a Hard Place” segment. Given that the two are related (Colmes is married to Crowley’s sister) and both can play along with host Bill O’Reilly, this segment often seems like a fun family dinner where the participants don’t have to hold back and can say absolutely anything they want, because when the gloves come off, they all really like each other.

Hey there, reader! Are you looking for the perfect Christmas gift for your patriot in training? How about the Tea Party Patriots’ coloring book featured this morning on Fox & Friends? It’s fun, educational, and will give your kids something to do during the fifth hour of speeches at the next rally you drag them to. Watch out, though! Liberal bloggers will be looking over your kids’ shoulders as they color to make sure they vary up the skin tones in the group scenes.

In a controversy that is shaking the Twitterverse, Indonesian information minister Tifatul Sembiring claims that he was forced into shaking hands with First Lady Michelle Obama. Responding to taunts on Twitter (Twaunts?) that he violated his code of avoiding contact with women to whom he is not related, Sembiring told his followers “”I tried to prevent (being touched) with my hands but Mrs. Michelle held her hands too far toward me (so) we touched.”

Luckily, the Associated Press caught the First Lady’s salutory siege on video. Did Sembiring try to fend off the greeting, or is this just so much hand jive? (h/t Alan Colmes)

Ever get the feeling that television pundits are more adept at “playing the part” than sharing their honest thoughts and ideas? Well the following video clip of Alan Colmes vigorous defense of Harry Reid‘s spokesman’s statement on Reid’s comment that “but for (him), we’d be in a worldwide depression,’ may support that notion. As host Megyn Kelly was teasing to a commercial (and showing the new dancing Barney Frank advert), Colmes thinks that his microphone is off, and privately shares an aside that’s very different from the rhetoric he’d espoused just a minute earlier.

Republican Congressional candidate Tim Walberg (not the unsung “Sixth New Kid on the Block”) has joined the ranks of mainstream GOP figures to make a play for the all-important “Birther vote.” He recently told a group of voters at a coffee shop that, while he “take(s) him at his word that he’s an American citizen,” he’s got a plan for Obama to put the whole thing to rest: a private birth certificate viewing party.

The most entertaining part of the clip, though, is the Council of Elders that Walberg puts together to bear witness to the grand event. (h/t Think Progress via Alan Colmes)

The Obama administration has an extra cozy relationship with the media. This was the subject of a panel discussion of Saturday’s Fox News Watch. Said Andrea Tantaros: Look at their relationship with ABC News. There was questions around the Town Hall that ABC News did…This administration has a history of having a very cozy relationship with the Mainstream Press.” Really?