Balance of Power with Tucker Carlson and Ana Marie Cox

Tucker Carlson. Ana Marie Cox. He's conservative. She's liberal. They both write for The Daily Beast, he's a contributor to Fox News and she's a national correspondent for Air America Radio. They were online Monday, July 20 at noon ET to offer their analysis of the Sotomayor hearings and the latest from the world of politics.

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Alexandria, Va.: Tucker/Ana: Is the idea that we can't afford all this free stuff the administration is promising really starting to resonate with the public? The White House is delaying the budget numbers, the CBO says none of the health-care bills will control cost at all, the stimulus is really just a collection of projects desirable for the Dems and is not stimulating, etc. Might the American public give "the One" a firm no. Or am I delusional and should be returned to the hope and change re-education camp?

Tucker Carlson: You're a prime candidate for the camp, no doubt. Everything you've pointed out is true. The problem is, nobody cares. In almost 20 years of watching elections carefully I can't recall more than a handful of candidates, at most, who've won based on their opposition to deficit spending. Most people disapprove of deficits in theory. But eliminate my program/subsidy/tax break? No way. They're against it. Obama knows this. He won't lose the 2012 election because he spent too much.

On that cheery note, happy Monday.

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Austin, Tex.: Tucker, so many people still describe you as "the guy that wears a bow tie." Is that what drove you to give them up, and do you still wear them when you are not on TV?

Tucker Carlson: I'm a big believer in sudden, dramatic life changes. That's why I gave them up. That, and the 100th person who asked me if my agent got me to wear bow ties as a "branding" strategy. Yuck. (The sad truth is I wore them long, long before I went into television.) Yes, I do still wear them from time to time, but under circumstances I can't describe in the Washington Post.

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Ana Marie Cox: I am here. Chatting. (T-Minute 45 minute to NEW PUPPY.)

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Dallas: Why do these Senators even bother to ask Sotomayor about her "wise Latina" remark? Do they really expect her to say "yes, I think Latinas are far superior to other groups"? Even if she does think that, she would never be dumb enough to say it at these hearings.

Ana Marie Cox: I personally was really worried when Kyl asked her if 9/11 was a good or bad thing! THAT TOTALLY COULD HAVE TRIPPED HER UP. Thank God Latinas are so wise.

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Houston: Ana, since you refuse to tell us over twitter, I'll ask it here. What breed is your new pup? Does she have a name yet?

Ana Marie Cox: Her name is SKEETER (after Skeeter Davis) and she is a collie mix. She wants everyone to have health care.

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Chicago: When the republicans say they oppose the $1 trillion cost of health care reform, has anyone asked them about the $1 trillion cost of the war in Iraq, based on faulty intelligence? Or the cost of the Bush tax cuts? How is it they were cheerleaders for those initiatives (both of which are failures) and not for health insurance for all? Have they ever had to answer those questions? If so, what do they say?

Ana Marie Cox: This is an excellent question! I don't know if anyone has put this question directly toward one of the anti-reform Rs. I do know that they are also very much opposed to taxpayer money going to fund things that taxpayers find immoral, like abortion! So I'm guessing I'll get my Iraq war refund any day now!

Tucker Carlson: How about the prescription drug bill? Or the money the Bush administration spent putting Tommy Chong in prison for selling water pipes? I could go on.

But waste and mismanagement under Bush is hardly a justification for waste and mismanagement under Obama. It's a pretty stupid argument if you think about it. Why not to try to defend the current "reforms" on their own terms? How about explaining how a federal takeover of medicine will (as Obama claims) actually save money while at the same time improving care? Good luck.

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Kensington, Md.: Back in February when the stimulus was enacted, I distinctly recall (at least in the universe my Earth was in) that it was designed not to fix the whole mess by itself - let alone in under six months - but to stave things off from getting much worse.

But now, our revenue-starved media has gone off to Alpha Centauri Prime in a cloned copy of our familiar world (but where Spock has a beard). Suddenly, the stimulus -- which Obama apparently promised would completely fix the worst recession since the 1930s overnight, is a collosal failure. (Oh, never mind that they've barely begun to implement it.)

Question: which universe do YOU two starship troopers dwell in, and... how do I get back to the real Earth? I am finding this fabricated past of ours absolutely maddening! Thanks.

Tucker Carlson: So the stimulus isn't working because it was never really meant to work? That's not the pitch I remember hearing when it was enacted.

Six months in we ought to be able to see some sort of significant improvement that we can directly attribute to the stimulus ("saved jobs," an inherently unmeasurable category, doesn't count). But we can't. Worse, a lot of Obama partisans don't seem to care. It seems almost patronizing to hold the new president to standards that low.

Ana Marie Cox: I am not on real Earth but I can see it from my front porch! Kensington, hold my hand and maybe we can get there together!

(Meanwhile, I am going to apply for the stimulus funds apportioned for the task of making Tim Geithner laugh. https://www.fbo.gov/index?tab=core&s=opportunity&mode=form&id=3014e950a92dbb0f7e066f9e088a301f&tabmode=list&cck=1&au=&ck=)

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New Puppy, Yay!: Ana Marie, here's a tip: tie a little bell to the doorknob. When you catch your new little friend peeing, hit the bell with his paw on the way out. He'll be housebroken quickly.

Or, you could take the Air America approach: just assume he's not responsible for his bad behavior and get taxpayers to clean up the mess.

Ana Marie Cox: And the Rush Limbaugh model would be to give the puppy's mess its own show!

(Seriously: Great tip. Thanks!)

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Coral Springs, Fla.: This is for Ana (because Tucker never responds to me), the scare/fear tactics of the anti-health-care reform crowd seems that it could be thwarted by one simple question: why do these people think that Americans aren't smart enough to design an even better plan than the rest of the developed countries have?

Tucker Carlson: I realize it's Ana you're used to hearing from, but one point: "Americans" won't be designing any healthcare system, Congress will. Compare the Post Office and FedEx if you don't think there's a difference between those two.

Ana Marie Cox: And who designed FedEx? Canadians?

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new puppy: Alright, why not an older dog? They need homes! I was a volunteer for one of the Washington Humane Society shelters when I lived in the area, and saw puppies adopted while older (anything above puppy age) dogs just sat and sat and waited.

Ana Marie Cox: Good for you for volunteering. All of our pets are shelter finds, one from Brooklyn and two from the DC Humane Society. Little Skeeter is a shelter pup as well -- and only the second we've adopted as a youngster. We choose to not to get another older dog because we thought Hank would adapt better to a pup, but we support VERY strongly the idea of adopting older pets, especially if it's your first pet.

We give money to the Washington Animal Rescue League in support of their older pet program -- it's a great place in general if anyone is looking for a new ani-pal.

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Ontario, Calif.: The Taliban are rightly being condemned for parading a soldier in front of cameras for propaganda value. It is against the rules of war. But didn't the U.S. not all that long ago proclaim that rules such as the Geneva Convention didn't necessarily apply to us?

Tucker Carlson: The US government has made no such blanket declaration. But even if it had, what's your point? That this poor kid from Idaho would be receiving better treatment from these medieval animals if only we'd been more attentive to the Geneva Convention? Please.

Our country has done a number of foolish things in the last ten years in my opinion. But there's still no comparison between them and us. We're basically decent. They are not. Don't believe me? Then you need to get out of Ontario, Calif. more often and go see the rest of the world.

Ana Marie Cox: I don't think Ontario is saying we're the same as the Taliban or that our treatment of prisoners is equivalent, just that the logic of the Bush administration would take us there if we let it.

Thanks god we haven't.

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Post Office vs FedEx: I don't know why people keep beating up on the post office! I go to mine often, and they are very efficient, and get the job done. It's cost effective, it's reliable, and the employees know what they are talking about and give recommendations. All for prices lower than fedex. There is a market and demand for both tiers.....

Ana Marie Cox: Thanks for sticking up for the PO! They do get a bad rep in these debate -- long with the DMV, natch -- which is totally unfair, seeing as how mail delivery is pretty much the gold standard of government reliability. How often do, you know, NOT GET MAIL?

Also, as Annie the Intern notes: "Stamps are cool!" When FedEx puts Elvis on a box, we'll talk.

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washingtonpost.com: Washington Animal Rescue League programs for older pets.

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Washington, D.C.: Since we all know that Sotomayor's going to be confirmed, isn't the only fun in guessing what the vote count is going to be? What are your predictions for the count, both out of committee and full Senate?

Ana Marie Cox: Ooooh, fun game! I think she'll get at least one R vote out of committee, and three to five in the full Senate. Tucker? Thoughts?

Wait, this is the fun part of being in the majority? Really?

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Free health care!: Why doesn't anyone tell the American people that they are largely to blame for health care costing so much? We are a willfully unhealthy nation that pigs out and expects free cholesterol meds from the insurance company when they refuse to alter their lifestyles.

Here in NH, smokers and other "sins" are heavily taxed...I would wager that fat people cost a hell of a lot more in health care than do smokers. Why shouldn't the people who are abusing their bodies & then wanting a free ride pay for the majority of health care? The biggest problem with American health care are Americans themselves. Caring for the truly ill would be more manageable if everyone took steps to be healthy, or paid more for it if they don't.

Tucker Carlson: I agree it would be great to live in a country where everybody was as healthy, attractive and self-aware as you apparently are. In the meantime, here's a project for you: do your homework.

Smokers "cost" the rest of us, you claim. Not so. By dying earlier (and funding all sorts of social programs in the meantime through their tobacco purchases) smokers are a net plus for the economy. Some good research on this. Look it up.

I don't know of any similar studies on fat people, but it wouldn't surprise me if the drain on the economy by the obese turned out to be far less than you suppose.

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Dallas: Nancy Pelosi consistently polls as one of the least popular politicians in the country. Wouldn't Democrats be wise to replace her with a less polarizing figure, even is she continues to pull the strings from behind the curtain? Any chance they would ever consider this?

Ana Marie Cox: Who is this Nancy Pelosi you speak of?

Seriously, the last thing the Ds need to do is to draw attention to the Speaker of the House by replacing her. And considering the contempt with which the Obama administration treats Congress, I'm not sure having a more sympathetic figure in that position would be helpful to them...

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New York, NY: Who do you consider to be a larger drag on the GOP, Dick Cheney or Sarah Palin? Cheney seems to constantly remind people what they didn't like about the Bush administration, while Palin is almost a caricature.

Ana Marie Cox: Do I have to choose? CHENEY-PALIN 2012! Because all that was missing last time was a Dick.

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Dallas: Mandating insurance, forcing people to purchase something, seems very wrong, very un-American. However, providing health care to everyone does not, which is what Obama ran on. Why the change? Are insurance companies that much in control?

Ana Marie Cox: I get some version of this question all the time -- especially after polls showing that a majority of Americans 1) understand that universal health care will be VERY expensive and 2) want it ANYWAY. It seems like the only people in America worried that the universal coverage won't be worth it are those that are in charge of making sure it won't happen.

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Austin, Tex.: Tucker, are you willing to endorse Ana Marie Cox, right here and now, to be a guest judge on Iron Chef America?

Ana Marie Cox: PLEASE, TUCKER, PLEASE????

Tucker Carlson: Are you kidding? Not only am I endorsing her, I plan to steal the election. JFK in West Virginia, baby.

Thanks for everything today. Sorry for the short responses. I'm on the road. See you next week.

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Washington, DC: All the coverage of Cronkite over the weekend, and so many journos saying how he inspired them to choose their profession, has me wondering who inspired the two of you to take up the pen.

Tucker Carlson: Walter Cronkite. Millions a year for 20 minutes a night of reading somebody else's reporting? I know a deal when I see one. I decided young that journalism was for me.

Actually, my father. He was a great reporter and writer.

Ana Marie Cox: I fell into it, pretty much. As I've said before, I wanted a job that would involve a minimal amount of work and/or pants. Blogging was basically invented for people like me. By people like me.

We're getting very close to puppy time.

Thanks so much for all the questions, thanks to Tucker for dropping by and please, everyone, go mail a letter to someone. For the kids. And Elvis.

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