Khloe Kardashian Was No Factor On 'X Factor'

I root for Khloe Kardashian to succeed as I do most people.

She is in the public spotlight, which can be difficult even if one decides to put oneself there for the benefit of wealth or fame or whatever.

I like her, however, and even more so her husband, NBA player Lamar Odom, who seems like a decent, sweet and funny man along with his obvious on-court skills. I also hope they can reconcile their troubled marriage, said to be on the rocks earlier this week.

The few times I caught 'X Factor', which she hosted last season with Mario Lopez (who will reportedly return as solo host), Kardashian was an odd combination of posing, preening, stiff, awkward and clumsy.

She was not a fit for the reality singing contest show and it was obvious, but rather than cut her loose during the season her bosses at FOX opted not to re-up Kardashian.

That's no crime, as Kardashian is still a reality show star and successful businessperson and she'll be just fine.

What one wonders about, however, is why these show producers don't have a better feel for the people they hire for these gigs.

It didn't take long for viewers to see Khloe wasn't a fit with the smoother, if still too giddy and dimpley Lopez.

Why aren't people who are IN the business see these things more quickly and clearly?

Katie Couric Fills Oprah Void--Good & Bad

I have to admit I am predisposed to dislike Katie Couric's new daytime talk-show.

She is part of the liberal media elite that hasn't given conservative politics a fair shake over the years. She's part of the reason the nation is going to heck in a handbasket, in other words.

Couric's entry into the field, simply titled 'Katie', deserves kudos though for getting some of the best and most timely guests around.

'Katie', for instance, was the first to interview beleaguered ex-Notre Dame linebacker Mantei Te'o and Sue Paterno, wife of the famous/infamous Penn State football coach Joe Paterno.

Couric showed decent balance of toughness and "hard" questions with both guests so I have no complaints there.

I have little taste for the mushy-gushy treatment she gives some of her guests, though, particularly the Hollywood types. Her audience also goes a little too wild for her at the beginning and throughout the show.

She's just another talk show host at this point, albeit a decent one overall.

'Waterworks': Spouting Off About Marco Rubio

We are in SO much trouble in this country it's both ridiculous and incredible at the same time.

Many people who have never even heard of Florida senator Marco Rubio now know about him after one simple 'incident'.

'Watergate' as some have called it, or 'Waterworks', which I just came up with after the infamous Kevin Costner flop.

Kevin Costner

A brief extra reach by Rubio for a sip of water during his Republican response to the president's State of the Union address Tuesday quickly went viral.

The senator himself was smart enough to make light of the situation, tweeting a pic of the "offending" water bottle.

The larger message is, however, is that the larger message gets lost because of one dopey moment.

Under this president we have runaway deficits, more people than ever on food stamps, inner cities that may be razed and a foreign policy that's all over the map.

Maybe Rubio's "foible" provided a brief dose of humor in a really bad time for this nation. But the attention of the "style" of the speech, or lack of in that one awkward moment, over the substance is disappointing and disturbing.

But due to this nation's short attention span I am having 'Waterworks' for FAR different reasons right now.