Fred and Tom meet in de makeup room.

“You know what she’s going to talk about?” asks Tom.

“The same thing they’ve been talking about all the time,” says Fred. “Russian roulette, Watergate 2.0, leaking sewers, deep state, all things that excite viewers of all stripes.”

“It’s the rating game, isn’t it?” says Tom. “I bet they won’t talk about how much better their 401Ks look now compared to just a year ago, though I’m sure they’re happy about it.”

“The old adagio is good news doesn’t sell, sex does,” mused Fred.

“I heard millions of women bought Weiner’s pics so that he could cover his legal fees.”

“She’s not going to talk about that, Tom. That’s her party’s side, and she won’t shoot herself in the foot. Rule number one of the Panel Debating Club, friend. Better take note.”

“You know what side you’re on? They didn’t tell me.”

“Me neither. Doesn’t matter. She’ll look at our face and knows right away you’re right and I’m left.”

“How so?”

“You wear your parting on the right and mine’s left. Simple,” Fred says.

“What if a guy’s bald?”

“All bald guys are right wing. Look at Karl Rove, Giuliani, Gianforte, for example.”

“But James Carville’s left wing, Fred, and so is Jerry Brown.”

“They lost their hair because they couldn’t get it right.”

“What about women pundits then?”

“Come on, Tom, you know. They fake it, whether left or right.”

A program assistant enters. ” OK, guys, you’re on next. Come with me. You, Tom, you sit on Sheila’s right, and Fred sits on her left.”

“You see? I told you so,” Fred says.

WWN’s show  The World in Seven Days is on. Sheila introduces her panel members. “Tom, let me start with you. We have these daily leaks from Deep State. Your thoughts?”

“Washington’s leaking like a sieve as it always does, and the stinky dirt left is bubbling up. Washington press cooks take the blubber, make so-called news of it, and nobody cares, except you.”

“Fred, don’t you believe these deep state stories are true?” Sheila asks, her eyes showing bewilderment.

“Of course, they are. Deep state wants to save the country from going down the tube. Under the previous administration, society was changing so nicely to the left until it got criminally stopped by Russian infiltration.”

“Tom, don’t you think too the Russians stole the election from the American society?” Sheila asks with a sneaky smile, fixing Ted’s eyes.

“The Russians are pokers and thieves and have always been,” Tom acknowledges. “Its operatives act like those nesting dolls. You take one out and another one pops out, just looking the same, and before you know it you’ve wasted your money buying the same thing over and over, only getting smaller. Voters got fed up because they wanted real change.”

“Do you agree, Fred, that the election was lost due to those nesting dolls?” Sheila wonders, throwing a helpless glance at Fred.

“Tom is right. The Russian leaks turned the Democrat party into those dolls. Each time the party spoke, the same old same old came out, and, of course, they lost. Ergo, the Russians stole the election from the Democrats and the Republicans helped them doing it. That’s why they are guilty and the Special Counsel will prove it.”

“But why would the Russians do that, Fred,” interjects Tom. “They got twenty percent of our uranium under the Democrat administration. They might’ve gotten the other half too to beat us, if they stuck to them, rather than going for a change in party they can’t be sure of.”

“Well, Fred, Tom seems to have a point. Why would Russia want the Republican party in power?” Sheila asked.

“The Russians are against measures to stem climate change, as is the Republican party. That’s why,” Fred said, stone-faced. “They want the artic to melt so that they can more easily dig for oil and gas, like the Republicans want.”

“Should we not feel sorry for those polar bears losing their habitat, Tom?” asks Sheila, tears welling in the corner of her icy blue eyes. “Is it not clear to you now why the Russians sabotaged the re-election of the Democrat administration?”

“I thought we were talking about the deep state leaks and sieves,” Tom says. “Aren’t we straying off the subject?”

“I am asking the questions, Tom,” says Sheila, giving him her charming cold smile. “There are anonymous reports of Russian attempts to tamper with the election boots in thirty-nine states. Fred, I’m sure you’re aware of that.”

“And so is the Special Prosecutor,” Fred asserts. “Anonymous sources tell me he has hired Clinton lawyers to look into each boot.”

“So where is this heading Tom?” Sheila asks. “Don’t you think too the President must be impeached?”

“I would break this down into three segments, Sheila. ‘Imp’ stands for ‘troublemakers’; ‘Peach’ stands for deep state leakers peaching bad on the President, and ‘Ed’ stands for anonymous editorials in the Washington Post or the New York Times that have no ground, altogether standing for stench stinking to high-heaven.”

Sheila turning to Fred: “Stench stinking to high-heaven, Fred, is this not journalistic overreach?”

“Of course it is. Exactly the language of the radical right. That’s how they have divided our nation. I repeat, during the past eight years, our society was changing so nicely to the left. Freedom of speech only for those who deserve it according to them, violent protests only for those who feel belittled or racially profiled by the right, and healthcare only for those who cannot afford it regardless of the cost. And only black is beautiful and only the rich must be taxed. And Tom wants to change all that back to the right.”

“Last comment, Tom?”

“I love black is beautiful, really do, but I’ll keep changing the left’s downward curve to America’s destruction until I see blue.”

“Thank you both for being here,” Sheila says, and the screen goes to Cialis extra strength.

PS: In the noisy exit room, Tom is left with a blue eye and Fred with a bloody red nose, both in the true colors of the American flag. Neither knows the fight is taped by the insidious WWN, and maybe leaked to the Special Prosecutor for breaking news from anonymous sources. Continuation of the panel is in doubt.