CNN Celebrates ‘Crossfire’ Return


CNN threw a big bash at the Carnegie Library on Mount Vernon Square Sept. 10 for its reintroduction of “Crossfire,” its political debate program, which ran from 1982 to 2005.

With its re-debut this week, the new “Crossfire” hosts are: from the right former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and columnist S.E. Cupp; from the left, environmental and civil rights activist Van Jones and political strategist Stephanie Cutter.

The party gathered more than 300 media types and others, with a red-carpet entrance and large video screens telling the CNN story and later showing President Barack Obama’s address to the nation on Syria. It was like sections of the summer hit read, “This Town,” had come to life.

Nikki Schwab of U.S. News, now reporting for “Washington Whispers, got a good quote from S.E. Cupp: “I wish someone had told me before I moved to Arlington that I live in the Hoboken of the D.C. metro area, I had no idea.” (We think Cupp was complimenting Arlington in comparing it to the regentrified Hoboken, N.J., across from Manhattan.)

Van Johnson told Betsy Rothstein of Fishbowl D.C. in response to her question to his being in the media spotlight even more now: “The only thing worse than being in the spotlight is not being in the spotlight.”

The event host, of course, had something to say. “Few programs in the history of CNN have had the kind of impact on political discourse that “Crossfire” did. It was a terrific program then, and we believe the time is right to bring it back and do it again,” said Jeff Zucker, president of CNN Worldwide.

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