ABC Pulls Out All the Stops Plugging Katie Couric

Did George Stephanopoulos die a little bit inside this morning, tossing one puffball question after another at Katie Couric, helping her plug her new syndicated daytime show?

It was hard not to hope so.

ABC is clearly intent on using every possible resource to help launch Couric's show, featuring her throughout a surging "Good Morning America" (more on that shortly) and "The Chew" in advance of "Katie's" premiere.

"We are all excited for you," Stephanopoulos gushed, as Couric showed off her new set.

Of course, there's a lot of gushing on "GMA" lately, which might explain the program's ratings rise. Watching Monday felt more like "The KTLA Morning News" than a network news program, even during the first hour, which is traditionally set aside for a larger dose of hard news.

"You've done everything in television news" Stephanopoulos said, before asking the only genuine question he mustered about the show: "How is this different?"

Um, different from "GMA," or different from what anyone could genuinely refer to as "television news?"