My ennui concerning the recent suffle at CNBC couldn’t be greater, save for the loss of Dennis Miller. This from Mickey Kaus:

Evan Smith on Dennis Miller: “He could have been Bill Maher ….” Now that’s a low blow. I thought these days Bill Maher was the one kicking himself thinking he could have been Bill Maher. … P.S.: I was on the Miller’s guest panel a half dozen times, which may or may not help explain its ratings. The show had a couple of distinct virtues, from my perspective. 1) He’d staffed the place with genuinely nice and non-sleazy people–at least everyone I had contact with. (Producers: Hire them immediately!) 2) Miller himself was friendly and didn’t pretend to know everything, which may be why he was unconvincing as an O’Reilly figure. Plus–and I think this is rare for comedians, or at least comedians mentioned in this paragraph–he wanted other people on the show to be funny. Nothing seemed to make him happier than someone else getting off a good line. … 12:27 P.M.

I’ve always found Miller to be quite Carsonian, both in his stand-up style – where he was second only to Johnny himself in saving a bad joke, and his interviewing – where he gives his guests a chance to shine. This is in contrast to Maher, who simply seems to need his guests to affirm his fleeting greatness.