Max Fisher in The Atlantic describes Christiane Amanpour as an ideal candidate to host This Week. He has me convinced:
Beltway pundits tend to emphasize Beltway concerns, like electoral campaigns and private scandals and colorful personalities.
Foreign reporters’ great strength, however, is their ability to see politics not as theater but as an extension of cultural, social, and economic forces. If Amanpour brings this approach to This Week, it would be more than just a breath of fresh air in the homogeneous Sunday line-up.
Some questioned her ability to be a tough interviewer for the seasoned Washington pols who would appear on her show. It seems a silly objection, especially considering this nugget Fisher pulled out of a recent New York Times article:
Reflecting on her interviews with Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, whose reign is considered one of the world’s most brutal since World War II, Amanpour recently quipped, “He would slap you on the back, offer you a drink. He tried to be charming. But many of them do. You have to be on your guard.” Surely she can handle John Boehner.
[Image by Witness.org licensed under Creative Commons.]