As you may recall, ABC's decision to make Christiane Amanpour the host of "This Week" didn't go over so well with a lot of people. Among the criticisms leveled against her: The longtime foreign correspondent lacked a sophisticated grasp of domestic news.
This Sunday's broadcast, among others, convinces me (as I always suspected) that they had no idea what they were talking about. It featured a smart, substantive discussion of education reform--of what's been working and what hasn't, and why. It also featured a debate that was sharp, but civil. In both respects, that's a lot better than what you usually see on the Sunday shows.
Of course, I wouldn't mind a Sunday show that took the rest of the world more seriously. And I rather like the fact that, when Amanpour takes a moment to remember those who died in war--a tradition that, I believe, her predecessor began--she asks viewers to remember the deaths of foreigners, as well.
Some of her critics, I know, think otherwise.