THE DOUBLEHEADER -- February 24, 2012 at 6:53 PM EDT

Shields, Brooks on Super PAC Donation Ethics, Ryan Braun, Civility, Oscars

By: Hari Sreenivasan


When we have the chance to have an informal chat with Mark Shields and David Brooks, we take it. The sport of politics portion of our conversation includes their views on super PACs. This week Bill Maher, Jeffrey Katzenberg and the SEIU pledged millions to help re-elect President Obama as billionaire Peter Thiel continues to write sizable checks to support Ron Paul, or as he says build a libertarian base for 2016. What do you think of that plan? Tell us in the comments.

As we turn to the politics of sport, our topic is Ryan Braun, the baseball player who became the first to challenge the drug-testing procedure of Major League Baseball and win.

We also seal our Oscar ballots (just the top four categories) for unveiling at a later date. The porch in Nebraska reference is an homage to Carnac the magnificent.

Finally, we mention that Mark and David received an award for their civility in public life and their work on the NewsHour from Allegheny College. Coincidence that it came to them after they began appearing on The Doubleheader? I think not.

Have a great weekend.

This video was shot by Mike Fritz, and edited by Larisa Epatko. Subscribe to Hari on Facebook, circle him on Google Plus, follow him on Twitter

Beginning October 24, 2012, PBS NewsHour will allow open commenting for all registered users. We hope that the elimination of our moderation process will enable a more organic discussion amongst you, our audience. However, if a commenter violates our terms of use or abuses the commenting forum, their comment will be removed. We reserve the right to remove posts that do not follow these basic guidelines: comments must be relevant to the topic of the post; may not include profanity, personal attacks or hate speech; may not promote a business or raise money; may not be spam. Anything you post should be your own work. The PBS NewsHour reserves the right to read on the air and/or publish on its website or in any medium now known or unknown the comments or emails that we receive. By submitting comments, you agree to the PBS Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, which include more details.

The Rundown offers the NewsHour’s unique perspective on the important events of the day with insights from the journalists you trust. » More

Watch Full Programs
PBS NewsHour Support From: