I will be appearing today on MS-NBC's Connected Coast to Coast with hosts Ron Reagan and Monica Crowley at 4 pm CDT. Appearing opposite will be Michael Goeltz (sp?) from Americablog. We'll be discussing aid to Africa, the Middle East, the war on terror, and other issues we expect to be coming out of the Bush/Blair press conference this afternoon. I'll have more for you later.

UPDATE: Yes, this was my first time on national TV, and no, my face did not freeze like that naturally. Obviously, I need to work a bit on the screen presence. Apart from that, it was a lot of fun, and the folks at MS-NBC and the local studio here in Minneapolis treated me very kindly. It's an odd experience; it's akin to being locked in a closet and pretending you're talking to millions of people, which in fact is almost exactly what's happening.

The Political Teen has the video. So does Crooks and Liars.

Now, apart from my performance, the press conference had some interesting developments. Bush pledged to 100% debt cancellation for African nations which accept reforms, including funding the impact on financial institutions affected by that decision. This is no empty promise; debt cancellation is an important first step. As Bob Geldof noted yesterday, aid without debt cancellation means nothing. However, simply cancelling the debt could significantly damage the World Bank and IMF unless they get indemnified for their losses.

Both leaders talked about almost nothing but Africa. However, the reporters used the few questions they were allowed to ask about Iraq and the Downing Street memo. On the latter, both leaders categorically denied the allegation that anyone "fixed" anything. Both pointed out that the memo was dated before they went to the UN, let alone decided to use force. It's a hearsay third-party document that doesn't even quote anyone, and why anyone thinks it has any probative value is beyond me.

Both did well, although the press conference was rather short. They presented, as always, a united front ahead of the G8 conference. Blair got some of what he wanted with Bush for Africa, and perhaps he'll get even more at the G8 itself.

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