David Zurawik on Eliot Spitzer: "The least trusted man in television." On the departure of Kathleen Parker: "Nor can I remember as much spinning and lying with any show."

The Baltimore Sun's TV critic David Zurawik clobbers CNN over the handling of Kathleen Parker's departure, expressing what The Cable Gamer had been thinking, only better.   As Z says, CNN has lost the wrong co-host--they should have dumped the egregious Eliot Spitzer.  And Z puts his finger on the slipperiness of CNN's explanation as to why Parker was leaving and the nature of the new show: 

But just allow me two fast thoughts.  Jautz says, "We will be adopting an ensemble format with several newsmakers, guests and contributors joining Eliot Spitzer each night."

Is it really an ensemble if others are "joining" Spitzer. If he's the only one who is there every night, is it still an ensemble?

Also, Jautz sets a time frame in his "Note" that indicates Parker decided to leave the show, and then CNN decided to "take the show in a new direction."

But in her note, Parker reverses the sequence of the two events, saying, "...with the show going in a new direction, it is a good time to move on."

I can't recall a show as messed up as this one getting on anybody's air -- and that includes PBS' "Need to Know." And that's really saying something given that disaster.

Nor can I remember as much spinning and lying with any show. I wonder if that has something to do with CNN building a show around somone who has become the poster boy for hypocrisy.

Indeed.

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