This week on Topic A, T-Bro rides the Terri train all the way to PunditTown, where guests ruminated on topics regarding right-to-die issues and eating disorders. With a last-minute dash of the Pope, White House intelligence, and Shakespeare, Henry the Intern found himself remarkably not bored. It's a spirtually important weekend, indeed! After the jump, his "surprisingly pleasant" report.

On what planet do Carl Bernstein, Ron Silver, and Arianna Huffington translate — together or individually — to good television? Hopefully the strategists at Englewood Cliffs are consciously lowering the bar only to blow us out of the water next week, when Tina owns the royal wedding. You know she will. That said, last night's episode was surprisingly pleasant and thoughtful but those three had nothing to do with it.

First, Bernstein pontificated about Pope John Paul II: "He's a great actor in the best sense of the word. He has a way of connecting with people, especially young people, that is absolutely extraordinary." Who will succeed him? Someone who brings "peace and quiet," Bernstein thought, because "this church has known nothing but bombshells for the last twenty-five years."

Then, Bertram Fields, "the most powerful lawyer in Hollywood" discussed his new book, Players: The Mysterious Identity of William Shakespeare. Fields proposed Shakespeare was a frontman for the Earl of Oxford. Of course the conversation turned to Michael Jackson. "I am fascinated by him," Tina conceded. Fields, who previously represented Jackson, believes he is innocent of all charges, past and present.

Next, writers Edward Jay Epstein and Ronald Kessler interpreted the presidential commission on intelligence. Epstein said the report "looks at the vulnerability of intelligence," proving "even the best technical intelligence" can "lead to wrong results" and that Maureen Dowd, Seymour Hersh, et al, were wrong to blame politics. He thinks the president should critically engage his daily briefing and the CIA should be abolished. Kessler maintained that "the bottom line" is the agencies do "a magnificent job in protecting us."

Tina convened Daily News columnist Michael Daly and Carrie Otis, the model who long-suffered from bulimia and anorexia, to discuss eating disorders in wake of Terri Schiavo's death. Daly recently wrote about Schiavo's "constant pressure" to "go and purge herself," to the point where her stomach lining was gone and she suffered a heart attack. Otis said her own heart was weakened from "years of malnutrition." She doesn't blame the modeling industry: "It always starts with ourselves."

The editor's desk roundtable examined the political fallout surrounding Terri Schiavo. "Actor and activist" Ron Silver said the national conversation "is long overdue." Arianna Huffington asked, "Where are the Democrats?" Slate's Jacob Weisberg answered, "I actually think the Democrats played this one right," and Republicans" overplayed their hand." Edward Jay Epstein thinks the case is "another forgotten moment."

Hot picks:
Epstein: Melinda and Melinda
 Weisberg: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Huffington: Seven Basic Plots by Christopher Booker
Silver: Presidential report on intelligence
Tina: HBO's Left of the Dial. It "spoke to me because I did Talk magazine, which was... every bit as ill-conceived."

Closing quote by William Shakespeare: "The worst is not so long as we can say, 'this is the worst.'"