Is NBC suddenly looking out for "Topic A" or does Tony Blair have a soft-spot for Lady Brown? Following his appearance on "Meet the Press," the British prime minister dashed over to talk to the Queen of Blue America Buzz at the British Embassy in Washington. And another well-dressed man, Tom Wolfe, popped in from his book tour between Manhattan and the Hamptons to share his take on campus sex. Henry the Intern can barely control himself.

Coo, coo. What's that sound? The sound of a coup in the shape of Tony Blair, a gift from the booking gods, to Tina Brown. Tina grilled the prime minister on:
• Iraq: "However difficult it is, the alternative is retreat and surrender."
• transatlantic relations: "This alliance is so important for our security on both ends . . . I'm sure [Bush] will want to bring people in the international community together [because] there is a potential for unification."
• the fight for democracy: "As a progressive politician, I can support the idea of bringing democracy to other countries. . . We are one humanity with a common set of values. . . It's been a big test of my faith in democracy, certainty [but] no matter how difficult it is, you've got to give [Iraqis] a better choice [than a dictatorship]."
• the war on terrorism: "America takes a very simple view when it comes to terrorism. . . the rest of the world is more or less coming to that position."
• Christian faith, as shared by Bush and Blair: "It's not something we've talked about, to be frank. . . It's not the reason we're in this together."
• the toughest moment: casualties of war
• lessons learned: "Make sure you took the big decisions even if they're unpopular. . . We've really got to make sure that we use and make it count for the good of the country."
• the portrayal of Blair as Bush's poodle, such as Hugh Grant's performance in "Love Actually": It "doesn't make me angry. . . It's just very superficial" because the relationship is mutual. "This American alliance is not just there because America is a powerful country."
• his future: "I don't think it's wise for me to answer that question, not even to an old fellow Oxford student."

(For true Anglophiles, "Meet the Press" was repeated an hour after "Topic A," thus marking the most face time Blair has ever received in one U.S. media cycle — and on one network no less.)

In Tina's second constructive interview, Tom Wolfe discussed I am Charlotte Simmons, his new novel about promiscuity on college campuses. "Girls will record every hookup," he said. "They are very scrupulous about this, strangely enough, even when they don't know the guy's name." He found tremendous sexual pressure, especially for girls "to give the guys dessert and then get to know them." Even though "it's so easy to have sex practically anytime you want," those who opt out —male and female students alike— don't admit to being virgins. "That to me is a complete change," he said, along with the way girls now talk. Wolfe believes his college-age children "have such strong characters" and he "would never ask either one of them about their private lives." He closed his thesis by quoting Nietzsche's prediction that the 21st century will be be worse than the previous in terms of war and culture because of a "total eclipse of all values."

Tina wouldn't let Wolfe off for his comment that she "and her circle in the media do not have a clue about the rest of the United States" when it comes to politics. She asked, "Is there just a little bit of Fox News creeping into your psyche?" He executed a smooth segway to the issue: "It's not a matter of strategy, these people are different." Wolfe said, "They are not right-wing, they are just religious" and "these people are being like Americans have been through most of history." Let's not forget, "these are nice people." In 2000, he said, "the same sorts of people voted in the same sort of way."

Luckily a weak roundtable was reduced both in size and time. Tina sees an eighties revival with the two-term Republican presidency, the popularity of "Desperate Housewives," and the rebirth of Trump . Except there is a war and, as she warned, "You are never going to get me back in a poof dress." Stephen Schiff argued "the eighties never really went away." Now, he said, "there is a huge market for making conspicuous consumption more conspicuous." Simon Doonan thinks the war, unlike Vietnam, "seems very unreal to people," afterall, "it has logos." Agreed Nancy Collins, "We made no sacrifices."

Tina dug for second-term scandal predictions, putting her money on Cheney. Doonan hoped for a Laura Bush meltdown while Schiff said "we're beyond scandal." Added Collins poignantly, "I don't think there will be any sex scandals." Replied Tina, "I know, it's heart-breaking, isn't it?"

Hot picks:
Doonan: Shania Twain's new greatest hits collection as an escape from post-election traumas
Collins: Ask Not by Thurston Clarke
Schiff: HBO's "The Wire," It's "probably the best drama on TV." Tina: "I love 'The Wire.' I think it's excellent."
Tina: The December 9th Rolling Stone. "I think it's making quite a comeback."

Closing quote by George Burns: "Too bad the only people who know how to run the country are busy driving cabs and cutting hair."

P.S. One can gauge the audience as nil because Phillip Morris runs anti-smoking commercials every week.