Lowest rated cable news outfit hits bottom; keeps digging

CNN is the lowest rated cable news network in America - and for good reason.

Powerline:

There isn't much left of the CNN brand, but there is still a little room to sink deeper-and today, CNN did. Compare and contrast: CNN's panel is excited about Chris Dorner. They can understand why lots of people think he is a "superhero." They think his deeds were "exciting," like a "Denzel Washington movie," and agree that Dorner shed valuable light on the critical issue of police brutality. Their panel is more or less a Chris Dorner fan club, with one lonely exception who thinks the most salient fact is that he was a murderer:

Newsbusters has the absurd story about a CNN panel that wondered if Marco Rubio's sip of water during his response to the State of the Union speech was a "career ender":

On Wednesday's The Situation Room, host Wolf Blitzer absurdly wondered if Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) pausing his State of the Union response for a drink of water would "break" his career. The CNN chyron flashed "Career-ender?"

"So can a drink of water make or break a political career?" Blitzer asked. "A U.S. Senator, possible presidential candidate. We're going to find out, whether he likes it or not."

Sounds like a threat, doesn't it? Well, whether Blitzer likes it or not, we are going to call him out for being incredibly stupid. Doesn't he realize that the rest of America is laughing at CNN for trying to make Rubio's awkward, but perfectly understandable moment to 95% of the viewing audience a cause celebre that would impact the Florida Senator's chances for the nomination? And these people call themselves political analysts? This wasn't even a gaffe. It was live television and Rubio needed a drink. How this translates into political news is instructive. It shows how desperate CNN is and perhaps even how much pressure performers like Wolf Blitzer are under, considering all the firings that have taken place at the network since new president Jeff Zucker came on board.

Some long time analysts have lost their jobs at CNN, as Zucker - a boy wonder who is a former producer of Katy Couric's Today Show -- seeks to find a niche for the network between avowedly liberal MSNBC and proudly conservative Fox. Apparently, given these two examples, Zucker's CNN is going for the silly viewer. While there are plenty of those, it's hard to see how CNN can make a comeback relying on viewers who are as dumb as the on-air talent.