Frank Luntz's Flying Circus

Here's your Friday Fun Link with an extra pinch of surrealism. For some brilliant-but-unfathomable reason, Fox News booked John Cleese to help Frank Luntz with his presidential debate focus groups. Yes, you're thinking of the right John Cleese. Cleese's wisdom about big money and politics has to be seen for full effect, but the transcript:

LUNTZ: What about the advertising? We were talking about…

CLEESE: Really, I mean, you won't believe this. There's no paid political advertising on British television. We don't have those 30-second things. They…

LUNTZ: Would you like that, by the way, to cut out all the ads?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

LUNTZ: No?

CLEESE: It means that everything's got to be condensed into 30 seconds, and that means that it's just sound bites, so that nothing substantial—you just sort of put across a slur or, "Mmm, I like that person," or (RASPBERRY SOUND) "I don't." That's about it.

COLMES: Hey, Frank…

CLEESE: I love the fact that, when we have politics on British television, it's paid for by the television companies.

LUNTZ: And that's got to be the last word.

Mmmm, I like that person!