RELATED: Don Imus Insults Anyone Who Cares About The Debt Crisis In Surreal Chat With Neil Cavuto

Cavuto first asked Imus for his take on the debate on Thursday, and he noted that he was not particularly happy with Mitt Romney‘s performance. “If this was your first exposure to these people, you’d vote for Gingrich. He had an answer for everything!” Imus noted, adding that he believed that Romney’s answers on the tax return issue were insufficient. Cavuto asked Imus to clarify whether he though Gingrich was “taking advantage on the big, in-your-face issues,” to which Imus simply answered that Romney “didn’t answer questions” before musing, “who would’ve known that the headline coming out of all this is that many women wanted to sleep with Newt Gingrich?!” He ignored some protest noises from Cavuto, continuing, “He’s getting more action than Charlie Sheen!”

Cavuto then steered the conversation away from Newt Gingrich having more sex than Charlie Sheen to more pleasant imagery: President Obama singing “Let’s Stay Together.” “You think that appeals to one segment of the population– that appeals to everybody,” Imus noted, comparing it to Bill Clinton playing saxophone with Arsenio Hall. Cavuto poked at Imus claiming he sounded a little less in Romney’s corner now than in the past, which made Imus note, “I’m feeling that you’re not all that happy to have me on.” “I’m happy to have you!” Cavuto replied, “but you do have an attitude.” Imus did argue that if Romney “can’t handle Newt Gingrich, he won’t be able to handle Barack Obama.”

As with most Cavuto/Imus conversations, this one ended with Cavuto reminding Imus to come back on the air with him later in the evening, and Imus complaining that “people don’t realize you make me appear” on the show, jokingly claiming he never gets a say in these things.

The clip via Fox News below:

Talk eventually turned to recent Bill O’Reilly guest Dick Morris, whom Imus felt was “creepy.”

RELATED: Dick Morris Calls Ron Paul ‘The Most Liberal, Radical Left-Wing Person’ To Run For President In The Last 50 Years

MacCallum’s response? “No comment.” She also assured Imus not to worry about the fact that O’Reilly won’t talk to him — “He’s doesn’t talk to any of us. Don’t worry about it.”

Check it out, via Fox Business Network:

h/t

RELATED: Did Bob Beckel Bet Eric Bolling $10,000 That Obama Could Beat Either Romney Or Gingrich?

The conversation started off with Imus telling Beckel how much he loved The Five and chiding him for being uninterested in Dana Perino‘s day at the rodeo, “poor thing.” “I did make fun, but just because you’re interested in the horses and things and crap on the street, I didn’t grow up where you grew up,” Beckel offered by way of explanation. They then delved into the 2012 Republican field, where Beckel called Romney “one of the most overrated guys in the country” and joked that Imus had a “good record in picking people.” Imus, indignant, replied that he had “saved [Bill Clinton]‘s ass” and helped Chris Christie, providing Beckel with even more mockery material.

The conversation then turned to drinking, and became more grave. Asking a cohost whether he drank, Beckel made the seriously point that there were many people this holiday season who would have a hard time rehabilitating from alcohol abuse. “Hang close to the program,” he advised, “don’t go wandering into bars and Christmas parties.” He added that he, now a veteran, had no problem seeing other people drinking, but “if somebody put a big line on the street, I may jitter a little.” Imus replied with a story of going to a holiday party himself and being repulsed by the drunk people, to which Beckel replied, “I do interventions with alcoholics and they’re all jerks! and I think, ‘Was I like that?’” Imus added his experience– that he was 25 years sober of alcohol, 28 from cocaine– prompting Beckel to reply with an unexpected candor that he was very surprised at this, as “at the end, I needed seven grams a night and or about half a quart to get leveled out.”

RELATED: Eric Bolling Can’t Fathom Why The Five Went Three Whole Segments Without Trashing Obama

For a conversation on such a heavy subject, Beckel and Imus speak very lightheartedly about it, but with a candidness that makes it all the more interesting to listen to. The conversation eventually turned into Imus bashing Eric Bolling– prompting Beckel’s defense– and ending with a moral from Imus’ producer: “some people don’t need alcohol to be gaping a-holes.”

The segment via Fox Business below:

Appearing on Fox Business Network’s Best of Imus in the Morning Thursday morning, LeBoutillier shared that Gingrich is… kind of gross?

I got elected in ’80, and when you get elected you go down there and you get in a lottery to get an office. And the office I got was “cannon 417.” And the previous occupant was moving out when I moved in. The occupant was Newt Gingrich. The Congressman’s personal office where he had that I was moving into was the most filthy pig sty you have ever seen, with ground-up peanut shells in the carpet. And my ex-staff have been emailing me since he has re-risen from the dead and said that it took them three days to clean that carpet from Newt.

RELATED: Jon Stewart Stages An Anti-Newt Intervention For The GOP: ‘Don’t Do It’

“If he’s the nominee, I’m voting for the President,” said Imus, who didn’t seem all that surprised that Gingrich would have been working in a veritable makeshift peanut butter factory.

LeBoutillier, who hosts Fox News’ Campaign Confidential online, also shared yesterday during his pre-debate program that the GOP presidential hopeful and former Fox News contributor may be holding something of a grudge against the network because it chose to suspend his contract.

“I think Newt has a little edge against Fox because he used to work here,” he said.

Politico adds that, according to “a Republican source,” Gingrich is “unhappy” that Fox had suspended his contract after he missed the May 1st deadline to decide whether or not he would be running this year. The network, of course, keepton fellow contributor Sarah Palin, who was, at the time, also in the midst of deliberating whether or not she would throw her hat in the race.

Below, have a look at LeBoutillier’s discussion with Imus, via Fox Business Network:

h/t Politico

Kerry earlier spoke about gridlock over compromise in the Senate:

“There are a lot of good folks in the Senate but they seem to be under the spell of a guy named Grover Norquist or under somebody’s restraint because common sense is not winning the day.”

RELATED: FBN’s Don Imus Calls Newt Gingrich A ‘Greasy, Repulsive Man’

Imus also asked the 2004 Democratic nominee whether he would make a better leader than President Obama.

“I don’t agree with that. You are a trouble maker. You never stop making trouble. You always want someone to say something stupid on your show. And then it gets in the news and we suffer and you gain.”

Watch Kerry’s snarky take on Mitt Romney below via FBN:

Munk was discussing the themes of his comedic routine with the radio talk show curmudgeon. “The fact that Newt Gingrich is leading the polls means we’re in bizarro world,” Munk observed, prompting Imus to colorfully slam the former Speaker of the House. “Don, that’s a strong opinion,” Munk replied.

RELATED: Don Imus Calls Newt Gingrich ‘Disgusting’ And A ‘Fat, Repulsive Pig’

Earlier in the discussion, Munk said he thought the song The Roots played to introduce Michele Bachmann was funny and the controversy was just political correctness. Imus responded, “I know.” “I know you know!” Munk said and jokingly warned Imus that “nappy-bearded bro better not crease your lips!”

Watch Imus’s snarky description of Newt Gingrich below via FBN:

Imus began the segment by saying what a great guest Meghan McCain had been during her appearances on his show, then bemoaned the fact that she might not be able to come on any longer because of her contract with MSNBC.

“She went over to the dark side, I guess,” McCain said, laughing. “I hope she’ll [still] be coming on. I’m very proud of her. I’m sure she’ll do well. She’s feisty, also, as you know.”

Imus asked McCain about the plane that recently crashed into Arizona’s Superstition Mountain, where Imus’ brother’s ashes are spread (McCain didn’t have many details outside of what has been reported). He then touched on the 24 Pakistani troops that were killed by NATO forces, asking McCain how he would handle Pakistan if he were President:

“I would base our relations on the fact that their intelligence agency, ISI, is supporting a network that is killing Americans. That’s a fact. And I would base our relations on that realism and base our aid on their progress and bringing that situation under control,” McCain said, later adding that, “I think the whole relationship has to be re-examined. It’s been out of control for years. They have enormous leverage over us.”

Imus ended the interview on a much lighter note, asking McCain how he spent his Thanksgiving. McCain said he went to the Texas A&M – Texas football game, then lit into the problems that ail college football. “Greed…greed,” he said. “This whole [conference realignment] thing that’s going on right now has everything to do with money and nothing to do with purity of the sport. It’s disgraceful.”

Watch the full Imus-McCain interview below, courtesy of Fox Business Network:

The grumpy radio host lauded a Mike Lupica column criticizing Gingrich. “He just hammers him,” Imus noted.

RELATED: Mika Brzezinski Is Disgusted By Gingrich’s Call For Occupy Protesters To ‘Take A Bath’

Co-anchor Bernard McGuirk piled on the Republican candidate as well. “What are these GOP voters thinking? That he might have a chance against Obama?” McGuirk incredulously asked. “Taylor Swift will be in porno movies before he beats Obama! He’ll never beat Obama.”

“Taylor Swift in porno movies!?” lustily exclaimed Imus.

“They will turn Gingrich into Coach Sandusky before the election occurs,” McGuirk continued. “He’ll never win, he doesn’t have a shot!”

Watch Imus and company trash Gingrich below via FBN:

(h/t The Blaze)

“I say to the viewers, ‘look you bastards! You have a responsibility…’” Imus exploded.

“You called our viewers bastards — they are your life blood!” Cavuto fired back. “And you’re blaming them for the fact that you might suck. It’s not their problem that you’re show is awful!”

“It’s not awful!” countered Imus, asking Cavuto if he would prefer if they brought back the program he replaced. “Wanna go back to Money for Breakfast!?”

“You know what, I would!” Cavuto exclaimed. “Because at least with Money for Breakfast I knew what I was getting!”

“You were getting a program that sucked!” Imus boomed.

“This sucks more,” Cavuto rebutted.

“I’m mad at you because you are attacking the viewers for your inability to keep them,” blasted Cavuto. “That is your problem! That is not their problem! What they’re saying is that ‘Don Imus, you’re not consistent, we’re flipping you off.’”

“They have a responsibility to watch,” Imus said.

“They have no responsibility to watch!” Cavuto countered.

Angered, Imus briefly shut Cavuto’s mic off.

“You are an idiot!” Imus snapped.

Undaunted, Cavuto trashed the Fox Business anchor’s jackets, saying viewers probably thought he was Vincent Price and said Imus’s supporting anchors were doing a much better job than he was.

“They are ten times funnier than what you have ever done!” Cavuto riffed.

Watch the two Fox News personalities playfully trash each other below via FBN:

(h/t MediaBistro)

Imus, you see, had Martha MacCallum — who sat in for Kelly on America Live while the latter was on maternity leave — on as his guest. And the radio host decided to share with MacCallum his thoughts on a number of big names at Fox News, including Kelly.

RELATED: Imus Is Finally Forgiven, By Fox At Least

Here’s the pertinent portion of their conversation:

Imus: The reason I love Shep Smith — and I’ll tell you why I do. And you guys, too, and I like Jenna Lee and John and those people. And here’s why. Because you get the news, and, uh… Sometimes Megyn McGee, uh. What’s her name? Megyn Kelly. Gets a little hysterical for me. I mean, calm down, honey, ok?

MacCallum: You love Megyn Kelly. I know you do.

Imus: Yes, I do. I didn’t say I didn’t. But she can be a little melodramatic. You guys aren’t.

What a paragon of intelligence and awareness, this one. Good job, Don Imus! Good to know you’re capable of learning and growing. Good thing Imus has never been prone to melodrama or fits of hysterical drivel.

Bravo!

Do have a look at the segment for yourselves:

h/t

Coulter had taken umbrage at Wallace’s question to Santorum, where he had asked the former Senator if he agreed with the following quote: “The army is not a sociological laboratory. Experimenting with policy, especially in a time of war, would pose a danger to efficiency, discipline and morale and would result in ultimate defeat.” Santorum said he “roughly” agreed with it and Wallace revealed the quote’s source to be Colonel Eugene Householder who argued against racial integration of the military.

“I thought it was an outrageous question, I thought Juan Williams should have punched Chris Wallace in the face for saying that when he came on in the same half of the program,” Coulter commented, adding that she was “sick of people comparing gays to blacks.” “You can see that someone is black; you can’t see whether someone is gay.”
Watch below via Fox News:

Imus said that he felt Wallace had “sandbagged” Santorum with the question “comparing civil rights to gay rights.”

“I don’t think so,” responded Wallace. “And I also didn’t do what you said. That I was comparing civil rights movement of blacks to gay rights. What I was struck by — look, what struck me, I was sort of the moderator of the debate and didn’t get a chance to follow up because of the rules of debate in Orlando, where the gay soldier had that video and said are you going to reinstate Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.”

“…All the point i was making with Senator Santorum, the question I was asking him about, was the thing that he objected to it’s a social experiment, break cohesion, and people don’t want to live next to each other.” Wallace added. “The argument he’s making straight shouldn’t live next to gays in the military was exactly the argument used in the 1940′s in regards to racial integration. That’s the only comparison.”

Imus said he thought Wallace was right and Santorum was an idiot. “Incidentally, in all seriousness, it’s a great show, but it diminishes your show to have bigoted idiots like Rick Santorum on. Stop doing it.”

Watch Wallace’s interview with Imus below, via FBN:

(h/t Daily Caller)

Goodwin spoke about her husband, Richard Goodwin’s book, Promises To Keep, which she said could provide a focus for the demonstrators. “What he talked about, he talked about promises to keep,” Goodwin explained. “It was calling for this kind of movement saying there are two pillars of our country, democracy and capitalism. Capitalism is the creation and distribution of wealth, but democracy makes sure that that distribution is somehow helping the benefits of the country as a whole, not the few. He talked about breaking up big companies, executive compensation linked to actual economic performance, taxes on noninvested profits and forcing reduction in campaign spending, balanced budget. Incredible, a lot of the stuff we’re talking about now — hedge funds, reckless loans — and the needs. He said the differences in wealth is fine. It’s fine for individuals to be rich but when you’ve got CEOs who get a $20 million parachute or reckless bankers not being chastised, you’ve got a problem.”

Imus thought Goodwin’s husband’s solutions sounded a lot like Rolling Stone writer Matt Taibbi‘s, who wrote on how activists could sharpen the protest’s overall message. “There are five points they ought to start articulating,” Imus said, referring to Taibbi. “One, break up the monopolies of these so-called too-big-to fail companies, make these outfits pay for their own bailouts, don’t provide public money for private lobbying, tax the hedge fund gamblers and change the way bankers get paid.”

Watch the interview with Goodwin below via FBN:

(h/t Breitbart.TV)

Imus, who is not a stranger to drawing scrutiny over provocative statements, said Williams was a friend of his and admitted the country singer was “off the hook and insane” but disagreed with the prevailing media narrative that Williams compared Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler. “What he said was that the president playing golf with John Boehner would be like Adolf Hitler playing golf with Benjamin Netanyahu! That’s 180 degrees from suggesting that the president has any characteristics, god forbid, of Adolf Hitler, which of course is insane. Hank’s getting a bum rap.”

Later in the program, Imus revisited his past comments that kicked him off the air in 2007. “I’ve been down that road and if you say something you shouldn’t say and in my case, what I said was wholly inappropriate, but what happened to me — what I happen to agree with, by the way — you have to expect the media will do that, that’s their job. It’s like with Herman Cain, Herman Cain did not say all black people had been brainwashed, but that’s the way it was reported. So, Hank’s getting screwed on this one, but i’m not surprised. ESPN sucks.”

Watch the segment below, via Fox Business:

“We love Roger. Roger loves to be a provocateur,” O’Reilly chuckled. “I get a kick out of him. Why would I have Glenn Beck on my program every Friday and go out on the road with him if I was frightened by him?”

According to Kurtz’s article:

Ailes says O’Reilly has “moderated” his views and that “Beck scared him”—meaning [Glenn] Beck was so popular on the right that O’Reilly had to find a different niche…(Ailes seems to relish the feuding among his stars, saying, “O’Reilly hates Sean and he hates Rush because they did better in radio than he did.”)

O’Reilly recently slighted Hannity’s Fox News program as “a Republican show,” casting himself as the true independent voice on the network.

Watch O’Reilly’s discussion with Imus below, via Fox Business:

h/t Business Insider

Take a look at our gallery and let us know: Do you agree with our choices? Vehemently disagree? Have you sworn to ever read anything debt-related ever again? And who would you have added or removed from our lists?

Winner: Chis Jansing (1 of 14)

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Chris Jansing earns high marks for hosting live coverage on MSNBC for five hours Sunday night, offering an real-time, in-depth look at the unfolding discussions.

Colmes assessment of Buchanan’s comment:

“It’s kind of soft racism, I’m not sure it’s overt. I don’t think Buchanan meant it, but look at the history of things this guy has said, what is the matter with him? . . . You wouldn’t say that about a white guy would you?”

Imus admits that now he calls everyone “dude,” since he “used to say ‘boy’ all the time, but not about black people, just about everybody.” Colmes continued, “but if you’re Pat Buchanan and if you’ve got that kind of history, it’s part of a narrative, so you know it’s not the first time he would have made a comment that had that tinge to it.”

While Imus and Colmes agreed Buchanan’s comment wasn’t too smart, they disagreed on Cavuto’s political leanings. Imus said he can never sense Cavuto’s politics, but Colmes informed him that even though he really likes Cavuto, he thinks “he’s very right-wing.”

Watch the clip from Fox Business below:

Henry stated:

“I root for the Yankees and so I like to play for a first place team. Now technically the Yankees are not in first place right now, I have to admit, they’re a game behind the Red Sox, but there’s no doubt about where Fox is.”

Henry also laughed off critics who think that just because he’s at Fox, he now all of sudden has a contentious relationship with White House Press Secretary Jay Carney and has an agenda. He says that he asked tough questions of both Democrats and Republicans in the past, and now will continue to do so. And in news that wasn’t about Henry, he provided his take on the debt deal, suggesting “there really are no winners in this,” since “when Washington is this dysfunctional it’s obviously not good for either side.”

Watch the clip from Fox Business below:

“Is Ben Quayle related to Dan Quayle?” Imus mumbled, without really introducing himself or saying hello. After repeating it a second time, Cavuto dismissed him with an “oh, here we go” and “yes, I heard you, I ignored it.” And this was the first 20 seconds.

When they finally got to talking about the debt, Imus complained that the debate was “nonsense” and “makes for a good TV show,” but nobody cares. “The only people following this are people sitting at home,” he griped, “wearing their Pinheads and Patriots t-shirt, mouthbreathers, got macaroni in the microwave and waiting for you to tell them what’s going on!” Cavuto let him run until he claimed to be “out here in the real world,” which irked Cavuto enough to tell him “you have not driven anything unless it’s been pointing out directions from the backseat of a limo.” When Imus contended that he had actually arrived at his studio in his Ford F150 pickup truck, Cavuto deadpanned, “you just told a lie on national TV.”

The interview was already bizarre enough when Cavuto decided to bring up Imus’s former drug habits, comparing a default to a drug addict hitting rock bottom. “Why do we have to use unfortunate events in my past when maybe I did a couple of lines of cocaine and drank a little vodka?” he asked. “I’m using you of an example of someone down and out and on the ground,” Cavuto mysteriously responded, “soaring like a phoenix.”

The interview did end in some concert, however, as Imus suggested that “Harry Reid and those clowns” would repair the situation, and lamented the “absurdity” of Cut, Cap and Balance. “The only thing [Speaker John Boehner] didn’t do is cry, which would have made it at least entertaining,” Imus lamented.

The segment via Fox News below:

Host Don Imus opened by noting that he was entirely skeptical of the idea that Congress was negotiating on anything at all in earnest, telling him “I always think you guys are jerking our chain, anyway,” and admitting to not really paying attention to anything the Congressman was saying throughout the interview, which added to the conversation the charm of feeling entirely disposable. Rep. Issa made his points anyway, comparing the talks to something “like a garbage strike in New York” (Imus had compared them to doorman strikes) and explaining the frustration facing Republicans in the talks.

“He [President Obama] signed a funding through September months ago… the truth is, we don’t have to have an August 2 deadline,” he argued. He noted that “the question here was… are we serious about cutting spending this year?” Aside from that question, Rep. Issa argued, “there’s all kinds of pejoratives, but it’s just crap– it’s absolute crap to think that promises over ten years mean anything.”

Imus’ response to this was some sort of non sequitur insult to Sen. John Kerry for calling him “The I-Man” on his show, “which made him sound like an idiot.” Again, Imus made a concerted effort to give whatever Rep. Issa was saying the minimum amount of respect, confessing, “the rest of what you said, I wasn’t paying that much attention.” He then shifted gears somewhat to the theory being tossed around in certain circles– notably some circles on Fox Business– that “Moody’s was in cahoots with Obama” to downgrade the nation. Rep. Issa didn’t seem to pay too much mind to the conspiracy theory. “You can find a conspiracy theory before or after 10 AM in Washington any day of the week,” he noted, adding that America should be downgraded if it can’t keep up with its debts. “If America can, in fact, pay it’s bills, it’s AAA, and if we can’t pay our bills, it doesn’t matter what rating they give us,” he concluded.

Imus returns to the bizarre side plot that is “how members of Congress should address Don Imus” before asking about the current investigation under Rep. Issa’s purview, the “fast and furious” case, which gave Imus an opening to note that he though Iran-Contra was a “great idea.”

The discussion via Fox Business below:

Wallace first defended Bachmann and her extraordinarily vigorous campaign, as Imus launched this humorous assault:

“Michele Bachmann addressing that bus wreck going on in her head every morning, that thirty car pile-up. These migraines. She’s got a bunch of ideas, like Bob Dylan, she’s got a bunch of ideas in her head that are driving her insane, doesn’t she?”

Yet Imus got slightly more serious wondering if anyone in News Corp. told Wallace not to cover the hacking controversy on his show. Wallace denied ever getting such a directive, but did admit he didn’t think his show was the best place to talk about the story:

“We didn’t talk about it on Fox News Sunday last week, it was – no reason other than, I’m not sure there’s a lot to discuss on a Sunday morning talk show. . . . Generally there needs to be two sides to the argument for it to be effective, but we’re not shying away from it and Special Report has covered it in depth.”

Imus accepted Wallace’s argument here, yet when Wallace also praised the performance of Rupert Murdoch and cautioned “I’m not saying that to be a toady,” Imus couldn’t help but chuckle.

Watch the clip from Fox Business below:

Hannity was annoyed that the “joke police” get to jump all over Imus and consistently attempt to silence conservative commentators, yet Maher gets to go “on a tear saying pretty much anything he wants.” Hannity vented, “I’m just getting a little sick and tired of a double standard that exists because he’s a liberal and he’s got a pro-Obama point of view.” After hearing Hannity spend much time complaining about Maher, Imus joked, “you’re not going to start weeping are you?”

Yet Hannity wasn’t quite complete, concluding “I don’t think he’s as funny as he used to be” and now “he’s just gotten mean and vicious and more ideological.” With Maher receiving so much attention from critics for his weekly dose of unpredictable and “over-the-top” commentary, Hannity’s complaints here might seem only to encourage more people to want to check out Maher this week. Not only to see whether Maher will respond directly to Hannity’s complaints, but also as people might become curious to see how far Maher’s alleged “venom” might take him next.

Watch the clip from Fox Business below:

Schieffer warned:

“What really bothers me is, and I’m sincere when I say this, I’m afraid we might stumble into some kind of a default situation despite the intentions of the leaders on both sides. And to me that’s kind of the scary part and the part where I think we never have been before.”

Imus hadn’t been paying much attention to the talks, assuming that everything would work out in the end. However, now that he heard Schieffer seriously worry, Imus was a bit unsettled. With the House today voting on the “Cut, Cap, and Balance Act of 2011,” Schieffer didn’t hold back with his opinion of the Republican bill:

“It’s a total waste of time, the votes aren’t there to get the thing passed. Whether you think it’s a good thing or a bad thing, and so it’s part of this little kabuki dance that we go through.”

Schieffer wasn’t all frowns though, admitting that he enjoyed his “lively interview” on Sunday with Republican Senator Marco Rubio, who Schieffer thought was a very “attractive candidate.”

Watch the clip from Fox Business below:

Imus explained his thoughts on the controversial question and its aftermath that saw Wallace apologize for asking the question the way he did:

“I thought it was completely innocent on your part, I didn’t think it was inappropriate. You did it with a little chuckle, I didn’t think it was disrespectful. I thought she was a jerk for not cutting you some slack and laughing about it, just to demonstrate some self-deprecation . . . [and instead] she hung you out to dry and I thought it was unfair.”

Wallace thanked Imus for his support, but did admit he still thought the question could have been phrased better, since most viewer e-mails complained about it. However, Imus thought such complaints should be ignored since “most of the people who send e-mails are morons, including the ones who send it to this program.” Imus humorously suggested viewers who send e-mails are sitting at home, drunk on their sofa, and shouldn’t have computers at all. The conversation briefly switched gears to the more serious debt ceiling issue, where Wallace concluded that common sense suggests a deal gets worked out, but since common sense is now missing in Washington, anything is possible.

Watch the clip from Fox Business below:

Kurtz elaborated on his reaction to the excessive amount of Casey Anthony coverage, parting ways with some like Mediaite founder and ABC News legal analyst Dan Abrams who believe such criticism is using the media as a scapegoat:

“It was great in terms of ratings, I thought it was appalling in terms of the way in which it just seemed to take over the American media. There was undoubtedly more arguing and more coverage and more legal loudmouths popping off about this verdict last week than there was about the fact that the entire country is about to go into default.”

Imus laughed at the fact that Kurtz “spent a couple of minutes or so belittling the media coverage and then offered [his] own opinion,” and told Kurtz “you’re part of the problem, you’re part of the media!” Kurtz emphasized his point is merely that he’s hopeful he could help nudge the media towards covering more important stories instead of continuing to participate in “sensationalizing a tragic murder case.” Kurtz also discussed the ongoing debt negotiations, but had much less “sensational” thoughts to offer on that topic.

Watch the clip from Fox Business below:

Imus was excited that Greg Gutfeld and Juan Williams would also be co-hosts of the show, but a little less enthused about seeing more of Judge Andrew Napolitano. Yet Beckel was realistic about the potential longevity of the program:

“It’s going to replace [Glenn Beck] for the summer and we’ll see what happens after Labor Day. Replacing Beck – that audience is going to flee – so we’ll see if we can attract a political audience at 5.”

Might Beckel merely be lowering expectations for the new show or is he making an informed ratings prediction? Given that Beck’s ratings were already slowly on decline in that time period, that we are now in the Summer months and that Fox had difficulty selling commercial space during Beck’s show, it’s likely Fox will be viewing a number of indicators besides just retention of Beck’s audience, to ultimately determine whether the show is a success.

Beckel seemed more excited talking about the debt ceiling and giving advice to President Obama, urging that he can’t be pushed around anymore by Republicans. He also suggested “there’s nothing wrong with the debt, we print our own money” and argued that with this economy, now is not the time to be cutting spending. Yet with such potentially controversial views, maybe Beckel underestimates his own ability to help make a compelling enough show to keep Beck’s viewers at 5?

Watch the clip from Fox Business below:

Colmes also said, “I wish Chris Wallace had not apologized for what was not even a serious question.” Wallace’s apology was unnecessary according to Colmes since “flake” is not a sexist term and since Bachmann does in fact frequently make questionable statements. “Even this morning she got it wrong on another show, saying John Quincy Adams was a Founding Father, she cannot get anything right,” Colmes concluded.

And like another morning show contrasting Sarah Palin and Bachmann, Colmes made his own comparison: Bachmann is “actually a nicer person than Sarah Palin.” Regardless though, Colmes claims the whole Bachmann show is “fun to watch, get the popcorn, but she has no chance whatsoever.” Although as also noted earlier, might underestimating Bachmann be something those in the media later regret?

Watch the clip from Fox Business below:

Begala admitted he might have some complaints about Obama, but compared to Republicans who “want to essentially end Medicare to give tax breaks to the rich,” there is no comparison at all. “He is fighting some of the most far right forces that we’ve ever had assembled in this country and he’s doing a pretty damn good job doing it,” Begala gushed. Yet on Obama’s Afghanistan policy, Begala thought “ten years is enough” and it’s time to get out of there.

Regarding the Republican presidential candidates, Begala dismissed Mitt Romney as someone who “makes mannequins look authentic,” but Begala at least admired the sincerity of Michele Bachmann and Herman Cain. And despite Imus’s hope, Begala didn’t want to pick who his preferred 2012 opponent would be, since he said “I’m haunted by the legend, which I believe is true, that the people who supported Jimmy Carter thought they wanted to run against Ronald Reagan and they got him.”

Later, when Begala mentioned in passing that CNN is “the most trusted name in news,” Imus humorously pressed him on that statement, wondering “if CNN is the most trusted name in news, how come nobody watches them?” Begala wanted to get the last laugh though and sure seemed to accomplish that by offering up a theory why other cable channels beat CNN in the ratings. Begala responded, “how come more people go to a freak show than a museum? I can’t help that, but [CNN is] the most trusted name in news.”

Watch the clip from Fox Business below:

Wallace spoke with Don Imus this morning and said about the interview, “if you were a liberal, you thought that [Stewart] just wiped the floor with me. And if you were a conservative, you thought I just wiped the floor with him.” Even though Wallace thought both him and Stewart each scored some points, Wallace reiterated “I think he lives somewhat in denial about the bias of his program and of, more importantly, of the mainstream media.” The one thing that surprised Wallace about Stewart was “how testy he got” talking about the “misinformed” viewers of Fox News. Imus was humorously surprised to learn they aren’t actually misinformed.

Imus continued to believe Stewart was brilliant, but didn’t enjoy hearing him complain about his job being “harder” and he responded, “trying to be funny about the news is not hard, shut up about that.” Imus also wondered what Wallace’s response was to Stewart claiming the edited interview made him look bad? Wallace didn’t miss a beat and said “if he looked bad it was his fault.” Since “Jon was filibustering,” Wallace argued he had to edit the interview, just like Stewart does on his show, but they didn’t hide anything and put the full version online. And with that, is it possible that the media dissection of the interview dissecting the media is officially over?

Watch the clip from Fox Business below:

Williams thought Stewart was a great comedian and was impressed with his honesty during the interview when he admitted that he’s just trying to make money as a successful entertainer and not trying to be a political player. Yet Williams thought Stewart’s claim about biased media organizations was laughable:

“Stewart seemed absolutely blind to the idea that there’s any bias outside of Fox News. I thought he’s a nut. I mean how could you not see the bias that’s so evident in places like NBC or ABC or – you know, I mean – some of these recent hires especially in the big networks as we approach the election. I don’t think there’s any question about it.”

Imus thought Stewart was a brilliant performer, but he also had a critique, saying “I don’t think [Stewart's] being honest about not owning up to being an ideological activist – he is.” With so many media personalities now having shared their thoughts, might this officially be the last word on the Stewart/Wallace showdown? Although since Wallace himself has been silent since the interview, it seems there is at least one more interesting perspective to hear.

Watch the clip from Fox Business below:

Imus opened up the segment on Rep. Weiner asking Levin if he had heard the President’s comments on the matter. Levin, in attempting to make the point that President Obama speaks of himself so often that it often becomes difficult to disassociate him from the topic he is talking about, then asked “are we sure it’s not him?” Specifically, Levin referred to President Obama’s comment that, “if I were [Rep. Weiner], I’d resign.” Levin’s question seemed to catch Imus off-guard, so he repeated his question, adding “even when it comes to Weiner’s wiener, Obama talks about himself.” He added, “if it’s him and he’ll resign, I say we make sure it’s not him.”

“I think we know it’s not him,” Imus responded, somewhat bemused, to which Levin replied, without skipping a beat, “Who the hell knows?” “I do,” stated Imus decisively. Levin continued with this line of attack for several minutes more, with Imus attempting to soften the blow of accusing the President of being the man in Rep. Weiner’s saucy photos by noting that he, too, found the President’s response somewhat bizarre. But Levin insisted that this was more than a narcissistic tick; this was a possible opening into even darker and more corrupt secrets hiding within Rep. Weiner’s Twitter account than were initially anticipated. Could Levin possibly be sparking a neo-birtherism to prove that President Obama is actually this naked white person in what appears to be the Congressional gym– the same Congressional gym, one might add, where another naked white Democrat– Rahm Emanuel– was rumored to terrorize known tickle fiend Eric Massa? To quote the man himself, who the hell knows?

The segment via Fox Business below:

[h/t Daily Caller]