Newt Gingrich and Al Gore to Co-host Remodeled 'Face the Nation'?

Here's an interesting idea: instead of replacing the soon to retire Bob Schieffer with another liberal shill, CBS should "tweak the format" of its Sunday stalwart "Face the Nation" by having two hosts with opposing viewpoints...let's say former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and the Global Warmingist-in-Chief Al Gore.

Now THAT would be entertainment.

Before you get all excited about this possibility, such was just one suggestion amongst many in a New York Observer article Wednesday about how CBS should deal with Schieffer's imminent departure (emphasis added throughout, h/t TVNewser):

Larry Sabato, the director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, says that if CBS decides to tweak the format of the typical Sunday morning show, they should consider taking two garrulous former pols, one from the right and one from the left, who could match up evenly in a spirited weekly clash.

“If you’re talking ideal: Al Gore and Newt Gingrich,” said Mr. Sabato. “They could get their guests engaged and argue with them in a constructive way. That would be a circus. But it would be an instructive, educational circus.”

Sounds good to me. Here were some other suggestions:

If CBS News wants someone who can step into the Face the Nation job with little hand-holding and a sizable built-in audience, they might choose Chris Matthews—the host of MSNBC’s Hardball and NBC’s Sunday morning The Chris Matthews Show. [...]

With CBS Evening News stuck in a distant third place in the evening news wars, Mr. Moonves could use the Sunday morning opening as an opportunity to juggle his top news talent.

Reese Schonfeld, the former president of CNN, said that if it were up to him, he would move Ms. Couric to Face the Nation, expand her role on 60 Minutes, give her a series of prime-time specials, à la Barbara Walters, and recruit somebody else for the Evening News. “She’d probably end up making more money for the company that way than by sticking around doing the third-place evening show,” said Mr. Schonfeld.

Interesting thought. Of course, if CBS did this right after Hillary either lost the Democrat presidential nomination in August or the general election in November, this could be the official death knell to the seemingly endless Decade of the Woman.

Cue Alanis.

*****Update: Sabato's suggestion is absurd, for Gore would never do this. He has positioned himself to potentially become a billionaire selling global warming hysteria. At this point, if CBS paid him $5 million/year, why would he do it when he can make that in a week convincing fools that carbon dioxide emissions are destroying the planet? Think about it.