This Is (Almost) Too Sad To Poke Fun At

After we blogged about the demise of “Commander in Chief” yesterday, a tipster emailed us:

“Geena Davis will be at the National Press Club tomorrow (Thurs) along with Marie Wilson from the White House Project to discuss the cancellation of ‘Commander in Chief.’”

We were going to mention this to you, in case some of you might want to attend. But then, a few hours later, we learned:

The Geena Davis / White House Project event that was originally scheduled for tomorrow at the Natl. Press Club has been cancelled.

Poor Geena! What caused this “meta-cancellation”? Was George Clooney dropping by the NPC yet again?

Update: As it turns out, Davis wasn’t dissed — which shouldn’t be surprising, considering that even a TV actress with a cancelled show is still a bona fide celebrity (and everyone in this town has a hard-on for bona fide celebrities).

Apparently a scheduling conflict with Davis developed late yesterday. The White House Project will reschedule either the NPC luncheon or newsmaker event for sometime in June or July.

Davis Awarded As ABC Shelves ‘Commander’ [AP]
Earlier: Some Bad News for Hillary

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Some Bad News for Hillary

America may not be ready for a woman president in real life, if we can’t handle one on TV:

So it’s official: Despite plummeting ratings for both of them, President George W. Bush has outlasted President Mackenzie Allen.

C.I.C., R.I.P.

ABC Yanks ‘Commander in Chief’ [CNN]

Earlier: Decoding the Note: Did You Hear Their Shoutout On That New Heather Graham Sitcom?
The Time Is Still Not Right For America’s First Hot President

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The Time Is Still Not Right For America’s First Hot President

It’s been a bad year for fictional Presidents. Not that the real one hasn’t had his share of setbacks, but when his numbers plummet they don’t replace him with an improv comedian. The same cannot be said of Geena Davis, whose Commander in Chief is being put on hiatus. ABC claims the show will be back with new episodes, possibly with the title “President Girl!” Also, Davis will now solve murders weekly in her advanced crime lab with her gruff, no-nonsense Vice President and sassy black Attorney General.

There’s some sort of grand metaphor for something or other in the fact that the show about the first female President is being trounced by a show (American Idol) organized as a farcical parody of democracy, but we’re too busy not watching Commander in Chief to work it out.

Geena’s Commander in Chief Slips in Polls [People]
Term-limited ‘West Wing’ ending in style [Rocky Mountain News]

READ MORE: abc, american idol, commander in chief, geena davis, television

Gossip Roundup: ‘Take a Deep Breath’

• Reliable Source: Matt Cooper: “It’s a good time to remember that rumors are not the same as indictments, and indictments are not the same as convictions,” he said. “So we should all just take a deep breath.” [WP]
• Under the Dome: Allen (R-Va.) is a fan of both the White Sox and the Astros… Madeleine Albright had guest spot on “Gilmore Girls.” [The Hill]
• Lloyd Grove’s Lowdown: Jim Moore and Wayne Slater, authors of “Bush’s Brain,” are rushing out a fresh book on Rove. [NYDN]
• Page Six: New book alleges Michael Moore is a “corporate criminal, environmental menace and racist union-buster.”… Clinton receives “custom-blended Chari-Tea from blonde tea maven” at a fundraiser. [NYP, NYP]
• Cindy Adams: Geena Davis is on the cover of the next “Capitol File” magazine… Time is “readying stuff” on Bill Clinton in case Hillary runs in ‘08. [NYP]
• Rush & Molloy: Clinton might be a shopaholic. [NYDN]

READ MORE: Personalities, baseball, bill clinton, geena davis, george allen, gilmore girls, hillary clinton, jim moore, karl rove, leak investigation, madeleine albright, matt cooper, michael moore, wayne slater

Bush League of Her Own

Bush as in the president and not — oh, nevermind! If there’s one thing the new ABC series Commander in Chief has got covered it’s spotlighting the executive ovaries, even if they are meant to be made of steel. (Angela Merkel may ask what Bavarian hometown an underling’s from, but there’s absolutely no fruit baskets or pleasantries about the kids until unemployment is history.)

The Geena Davis vehicle debuted in the Nielsen Top Ten this week, leaving The West Wing — which, with a 37 percent viewership, is exactly as popular as the current POTUS — flapping feebly into the syndication sunset.

The series is in the midst of a presidential campaign involving characters played by Alan Alda and Jimmy Smits. The show will have a live episode November 6 featuring them debating.

M*A*S*H Veterans for Truth, here we come. —MICHAEL WEISS

‘Commander in Chief’ lands in top 10 [CNN]
Poll: Bush Ratings Hit New Low [CBS News]

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