I Guess It Was "No Deal"

I imagine no one will be particularly surprised to discover that I didn't tune in to see the Prez on Deal or No Deal. They were hyping it pretty heavily--at first I wasn't sure that he wouldn't actually be at the studio. But no, he taped a short segment for an Iraq soldier.

I missed this at the end of last week, but not only was he not a draw, viewers apparently actively stayed away. That episode tied the series' lowest ratings in that time period ever, down 27 percent from the show's average numbers. Ironically, in that "folksy" annoying manner he's got, Bush said, "I'm thrilled to be on 'Deal or No Deal' with you tonight. Come to think of it, I'm thrilled to be anywhere with high ratings these days." Is he now incapable of being anywhere close to decent ratings?

The Bushes apparently were working some sort of deal with NBC last week, because Laura guest hosted the Today show? How'd she do? I didn't watch that, either, of course, but I'm not entirely sure. Tom Shales seemed to have a disconnect of some sort with his headline writer. The head proclaims: "On 'Today,' Laura Bush Hits a Gusher," but his first line is:

If Laura Bush had a real, honest-to-goodness day job, she would be well advised to keep it. . . . For a president's wife, she was okay, but it's unlikely she'll be a candidate to take over for Oprah should Winfrey ever retire.

I'm not an oilman, but isn't a gusher supposed to be a good thing, something to you quit your day job over?