Transcript
BOB GARFIELD: This is On the Media. I'm Bob Garfield.
XENI JARDIN: And I'm Xeni Jardin with a few of your letters. Professor Richard Sloan of Columbia University Medical Center in New York writes, "Your speculation endorsed by your guest was that George Bush's losing battle with a pretzel was evidence of an undisclosed heart condition, possibly explaining that squarish bulge on his back during the first debate with John Kerry – that is, the bulge might be an electrical device designed to control atrial fibrillation, the same condition that his father had. Pacemakers, the devices that perform this function, are implanted in the chest and not visible in outline on a person's back. Whatever that bulge was, it was not a pacemaker."
BOB GARFIELD: Mark Shubin [ph], also of New York City, observes that our guest, Time Magazine's James Poniewozik, was, quote, "incorrect that a television character President must belong to a political party. President Mackenzie Allen, on ‘Commander in Chief’ doesn't. Furthermore, one of her first acts in office was naming her Democratic opponent as Vice-President. In a recent show, she brought in her Republican archenemy, the Speaker of the House, to play a key role in resolving a crisis."
XENI JARDIN: Many listeners wrote to let us know that our interview with Massie Ritsch on how the press have misreported on lobbyist Jack Abramoff's giving to Republicans and Democrats didn't go into as much detail as they would have liked to hear. Though we did dispel the line that Abramoff gave to both parties, we agree that we did not report on another interesting way to look at the numbers – that is, how the Indian tribes' giving changed after they hired Abramoff. Gretchen Griffin of Keene, New Hampshire, writes, "The report missed what the general media seemed to have missed, that while Abramoff's tribal clients did give money to Democrats, they gave less overall than they had before hiring him."
BOB GARFIELD: Keep sending your letters to On the Media at WNYC.org, and don't forget to tell us where you live and how to pronounce your name. [MUSIC UP AND UNDER]