In which I muse on my great affection for PBS (among other things)

I love PBS.

I must first admit that I love good television. Oh, sure, I love to read (master's degree in English = lots of reading, and not just the classics), but I do love quality television. I am a news junkie, and I love the satirical news, too - you wouldn't believe how much good stuff I learn from John Stewart and Stephen Colbert. I like to watch Anderson Cooper and 60 Minutes. And I love good series television - these days I like Pushing Daisies and The Office.

But lately, my favorite shows are on PBS. When the girls were small, it was the only television they were allowed to watch - other channels had commercials, and the quality of shows was higher. I could become pretentious and say I *never* allowed my children to watch *any* TV, but it's just not true. Plus, I think if you totally deprive children of things like television, then they go nuts when they are exposed - I say this because a student of mine wrote about being totally anti-television, then admitted that when she babysit she did watch a little, like Married With Children and Jerry Springer. No wonder she thought all TV was evil.

Anyway, I love American Experience. They've been running great ones on the presidents lately - last year I watched four hours on FDR, and this year they've done Nixon, Carter, and Johnson - great stuff. Lots I had forgotten about (Carter) or really never knew or understood (Nixon and Johnson).

I also love American Masters - the last two weeks were about Andy Warhol, and it was fascinating. The show really gets into what made him who he was - or as much as a documentary can.

Last week, I tuned into Frontline, which looked at both John McCain and Barack Obama. It was - again - a fascinating look at these two men, one of whom will be president.

And let me tell you: It solidified why I cannot vote for John McCain.

First and foremost, it portrayed these two men as fiercely ambitious, and I think those are qualities we probably want in a president. Obama's career has been somewhat more meteoric; McCain took longer in the Senate to get where he is. I don't think this makes either of them bad people.

My biggest concern is the change McCain has undergone since 2000, when he was, in fact, a "maverick," willing to take on his party. He was not in the pocket of the religious right - he worked on issues like climate change and campaign finance reform. In fact, after a fiercely contested primary with GWB, McCain was about ready to switch parties. He called Jerry Falwell, Ralph Reed and that crowd "agents of intolerance."

Then, in around 2005, when he decided that he wanted to run for president in '08, McCain figured he needed to court the religious right. He then, in the words of his former aides, "cut against everything he had said and done before that." He kowtowed to the religious right, meeting with Bush (they were NOT on friendly terms before this), delivered the commencement address at Liberty College/University, whatever it's called. His people met with Karl Rove to figure out what the strategy would be for him to get to the party base.

He changed positions on several issues, all because it was politically expedient. As late as March of 2008, he was still getting a cool reception from the right-wing of the Republican party. So, to further woo them, he chose Sarah Palin, an unvetted, untested, little-known governor without education (look at her record), qualifications, or experience, with questionable ties to the Alaskan secessionist party. He did for one reason only: To get the support of the religious right.

You can watch the episode in its entirety at www.pbs.org. This show did not make my decision for me; it merely solidified what I already thought. McCain is so blindly ambitious that he is allowing his campaign to run these negative, racist ads ("disrespectful" and "cavorts with terrorists); attendees at rallies have been heard to shout death threats. To his credit, McCain has decried some of this. But he is letting the ads run. I know he does not personally fashion these, but he does allow them to be run. And as it is his campaign, he is ultimately responsible.

It was a balanced piece, furthering my belief in public broadcasting. I'm taking a break tonight (my favorite shows run on Mondays and Tuesdays), but I'm guess there's more to come. Check your local listings.