Con: O'Reilly may not be any smarter than the college dropout Ventura, but his strength is his skill as a debater. O'Reilly's guests rarely get the better of him, but if Ventura uses a similar format it's likely that a great many of his opponents will out-talk and generally embarrass him. Which can only be harmful to the fortunes of the show, especially at the start.

Pro: MSNBC is littered with the bodies of the hosts of ill-conceived talk shows, from Mike Barnicle to Alan Keyes to Donahue. Ventura's show looks more promising than any of those- and besides, doesn't the law of averages prove the network will eventually break its losing streak?

Con: It may just prove that the MSNBC has been doomed all along to eventual failure. When even the network's flagship, "Hardball," is in 3rd place each night, it shows that MSNBC may simply be beyond help; Ventura's been described as their last, best hope to stay in business. Whether he was the right choice remains to be seen, though let's not forget that the last time Jesse and NBC were in business together was the XFL, which is generally regarded as the most sorrowful debacle in the history of network television.

MSNBC is my favorite of the three cable news channels and I very much hope that it stays in business, and as an on-again-off-again fan of Ventura ever since his wrestling days I do plan to watch. Like President Bush, Ventura's at his best when people underestimate him- after all, it still hasn't sunk in for me, five years later, that he was actually elected governor of Minnesota. There is a chance that his show will catch on, but I certainly wouldn't be making any wagers to the effect that it will, or (for that matter) that MSNBC will even still be on the air this time next year. Even less likely to succeed? The rumored new primetime show to be hosted on the network by Sam Donaldson. Why would anyone who didn't watch Donahue watch Donaldson?

Perhaps what MSNBC needs is some sex appeal, which they've clearly been missing ever since Ashleigh Banfield all but disappeared from the air a few months ago. Ventura's certainly not the one to provide it, and neither is Donaldson. How about a new nightly show co-hosted by comely correspondents Campbell Brown and Norah O'Donnell, who both have brains and knowledge to go with their looks? They can also toss in Dan Abrams, for the ladies.