One day he's baking cupcakes with Elmo. The next he's moderating the Republican debate. Truth be told, I'm not sure those two things are entirely disparate. What I do know is that Mr. Stephanopoulos provided not only the most contentious moment of Saturday night's debate, but also the most entertaining.
And Sunday morning, George Stephanopoulos returned to This Week. I, for one, say, "Hallelujah!" While I've enjoyed sleeping in on Sunday mornings during Christiane Amanpour's tenure, (no disrespect intended), I'm happy that in this election year, we've got the political passion and intellect of someone like Stephanopoulos asking questions that he unrelentingly expects answers to, even if it's in between cooking stints on GMA.
Sure, I'm biased. I really liked his old boss, Bill Clinton. Ah yes, back then I actually believed there would be Social Security when I reached retirement age. But alas, here we are in a brand new world, devoid of all delusions of security, economic or otherwise.
While watching the Republican debate stone cold sober, which is just plainly a bad idea, I found myself wondering who really wins in these things. I vote for Jon Huntsman, because he's the only one who hasn't had his fifteen minutes yet and I'm the kind of gal who roots for the underdog. Absent a Huntsman bump, I think the clear winner of the debate was -- George Stephanopoulos.
Sure, I admired his tie choice, but it was the exchange with Romney, taking him on fearlessly and factually -- a feat no one else who was actually on stage accomplished.
Did I come away knowing one iota more about any of the candidates? No. Did anyone emerge as clearly victorious? Again, no. But Stephanopoulos -- he's on TV six days a week and mixing it up with everyone on both sides of the aisle. Clear winner.
So as we thin the Republican herd week by week, I look forward to the scuffles, the new daily soundbites, and yes, that perfect blend of George Stephanopoulos and politics.