Phil Donahue

In the late 80s and early 90s, I was a regular viewer of Phil Donahue.  His show was kind of news-lite and it ran the gamut from entertainment to politics, and often hosted figures from each.  Frequently, the show was just the one guest and Phil would have a conversation and field questions from the audience.  Phil was openly liberal, not hiding behind a facade of neutrality.  At least, that's how I took him.  His show aired when it was still rude to just cut off the guest or filibuster the time.  It was more like a liberal version of Firing Line than Crossfire.  I can recall no specifics from the show, but toward the end Phil was always harried as he ran about the audience with the microphone to let someone else ask a question.  Oddly, when I first started watching Donahue, I mostly agreed with him.  By the time I stopped, I almost always disagreed.

RIP