David B. Cohen, the first American of Samoan descent to be named deputy assistant Interior secretary for insular affairs, has launched a new TV talk show on PBS-Guam. It’s “loosely inspired” by President Obama’s “beer summit” with a black Harvard professor, Henry Louis Gates Jr., and a white police officer, Sgt. James Cowley, who arrested Gates for “disorderly conduct” at the professor’s house in the summer of 2009. Gates is a longtime friend of the president and a generous donor to Obama’s 2008 campaign. Asked about the incident during a media conference, Obama said the police acted stupidly and were basically racists. He quickly regretted his statement (the polls indicated a backlash against him), and said he could have calibrated” his words differently. He praised Cowley, acknowledged that Gates “probably overreacted” and invited the two to have a beer with him at the White House. It was a great photo-op/media event for the president who was commended for, once again, bringing America together. And never mind if it were his initial comments that made matters worse. Later, Gates and Crowley learned that they are distant cousins and share a common Irish ancestor. Everyone’s happy.
David, I believe, wants us to be happy, too. Or at least to disagree without being disagreeable to each other. For his show, he has invited well-known public figures to discuss hot button issues like gay marriage, healthcare reform, the war on terror, immigration. But David is not after the usual “sparks” ignited by the usual debates on these topics. Cheap thrills are for the amateurs on “The McLaughlin Group.” As the title of his show indicates, David seeks common ground between two seemingly irreconcilable positions. He does it through humor and mediation — over non-alcoholic beer (which, in itself, I consider a practical joke, comparable to fried chicken without the chicken).
The former Interior official was on island recently to promote his version of the “Beer Summit,” and in an interview with the Variety, he said he wanted to show that the Mariana islands have articulate and intelligent people who can “discuss national and international issues as well as people on the mainland.” To remind me of the fame and glory I renounced when I declined his invitation to be a guest, David sent me a DVD of his show’s first episode which featured former Rep. Tina Sablan of Saipan and former Bush administration official Ramona Jones of Guam. Quite possibly, two of the most telegenic people in Micronesia. The topic was the mother of all contentious issues: abortion. Tina was pro-choice; Ramona, pro-life. David then introduced his guests:
“In her spare time,” he said, “Tina enjoys plotting the violent overthrow of the oppressive American capitalist system.”
“That’s not true,” said Tina.
“Are you calling my teleprompter a liar?” David asked.
As for Ramona, David said she “enjoys stamp-collecting and burning books.”
“You know David,” she replied, “now you’re just stealing jokes from ‘Red Eye.’ ”
“I may be appropriating their jokes for the public benefit,” David deadpanned, “but I’m not stealing them. It’s like when the government takes your house so they can build a freeway — it’s perfectly legal.”
David then made the following “important disclaimer”: “We do not promote the consumption of alcohol. Here in ‘Beer Summit’ we don’t need alcohol to make us incoherent. All the beer you see on the set today is non-alcoholic. So if anytime during the course of this show our judgment seems impaired — it’s not the beer.”
The man’s funny. His show is well-produced, and although the mood may be light, the topics are substantive and the guests know what they’re talking about. It is good TV.
MCV used to air such shows here, like the one hosted by Jon Anderson. Now, however, we have local programs that are usually hijacked by Uncle Ben’s minions during election season. But that’s another story.
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