Remember the talk show with the disgraced governor and syndicated columnist people said would never last? Well, it didn't last. CNN has confirmed Kathleen Parker is bowing out as co-host of Parker Spitzer after just five months on the job. The brainchild of former CNN president Jon Klein, the project was intended to be the network's answer to the persona-driven primetime programming that had paid dividends for rivals MSNBC and Fox. The project was marred by reports of tension between the hosts and a staggeringly bad debut episode. And while producers wisely abandoned the set's curiously cramped seating arrangement and actually got the hosts to start looking into the camera, audiences had already bolted.

Spitzer is staying with the network in the 8 PM slot. Starting Monday, the program will be known as In The Arena. The New York Times' Brian Stelter reports the new format of the show will be that of "an ensemble program with Eliot Spitzer." Which is still a better title than Parker Spitzer. Or In The Arena, for that matter.

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Ray Gustini