McLaughlin for Kids


March 9, 2002


BROOKE GLADSTONE: In addition to the Letterman for Koppel swap, ABC News is youthening its Sunday chat show This Week. Cokie Roberts will no longer host, and USA Today reports that Sam Donaldson will also go. Replacing that venerable duo whose average age is 63 will be Claire Shipman and George Stephanopolous -- average age close to 40. On the Media wondered what if another Sunday chat show decided it too would make a grab for a younger audience. A much younger audience....

JOHN MCLAUGHLIN (IMPERSONATED):Issue the first - Will President George W. Bush protect domestic steel interests at the expense of our fragile international coalition against terrorism? Newsweek's Eleanor Clift?

ELEANOR CLIFT: It's a false choice! The WTO is going to-

JOHN MCLAUGHLIN: Wrong! - Timmy O'Connell, age 10.

TIMMY O'CONNELL: Uh…steel coalition?

JOHN MCLAUGHLIN: Laughable! Ashley Bing, age 9, Jefferson Elementary?

ASHLEY BING: I didn't have my hand raised.

JOHN MCLAUGHLIN: Socratic method used here. Joshua Liffner, age 8, enjoys his pet dog Bongo. A steel sellout?

JOSHUA LIFFNER: You're mean!

JOHN MCLAUGHLIN:You don't know mean until you've seen Jack Germond on a 3-day bender! Next question - Who would win in a fight, the Powerpuff Girls or wrestling's The Rock? Joshua?

JOSHUA LIFFNER: The Rock!

JOHN MCLAUGHLIN: Timmy O'Connell?

TIMMY O'CONNELL: Definitely The Rock.

JOHN MCLAUGHLIN: Eleanor Clift?

ELEANOR CLIFT: Well, as long as the ICRC were able to officiate and insure the --

JOHN MCLAUGHLIN: Wrong! The Powerpuff Girls are unlawful combatants. Ashley Bing?

ASHLEY BING: There are three powerpuff girls so maybe they'd win.

JOHN MCLAUGHLIN:Wrong! The Powerpuff girls, while a triumvirate, will surely incur the wrath not only of The Rock, but his broad shouldered cohorts Triple H and The Undertaker! Predictions - will Pokeman come back? Joshua?

JOSHUA LIFFNER: No.

JOHN MCLAUGHLIN: Ashley?

ASHLEY BING: I don't think so.

JOHN MCLAUGHLIN: Eleanor?

ELEANOR CLIFT: It could.

JOHN MCLAUGHLIN: Pokemon is a they, not an it. Timmy?

TIMMY O'CONNELL: I traded all my old Pokemon cards for a Derek Jeter rookie card, and now the Jeter rookie card is worth more, now.

JOHN MCLAUGHLIN:Trenchant on your part - The answer is - no. Pokeman and Prime Minister Koizumi's government will be gone by summer. And nothing will touch the staying power of Hello Kitty.

ASHLEY BING: I love Hello Kitty!

JOHN MCLAUGHLIN: Of course you do, you adorable, adorable girl!

ELEANOR CLIFT: I have a Hello Kitty lunchbox.

JOHN MCLAUGHLIN: Too late, Eleanor, we're replacing you with a singing turtle. Out of time, bye-bye. [MUSIC]

BOB GARFIELD:That's it for this week's show. On the Media was produced by Janeen Price and Katya Rogers with Sean Landis; engineered by Scott Strickland and Dylan Keefe, and edited-- by Brooke. We had help from Jim Colgan, Lu Olkowski, Jocelyn Gonzales, Jen Sloan and, ladies and gentlemen, introducing Allison Garfield. Our web master is Amy Pearl.

BROOKE GLADSTONE:Mike Pesca is our producer at large, Arun Rath our senior producer and Dean Capello our executive producer. Bassist/composer Ben Allison wrote our theme. You can listen to the program and get free transcripts at onthemedia.org and e-mail us at onthemedia@wnyc.org. This is On the Media from National Public Radio. I'm Brooke Gladstone.

BOB GARFIELD: And I'm Bob Garfield.