( CNN ) -- Dean Obeidallah , John Avlon and I kick off this week 's episode of `` The Big Three '' podcast by tackling Congress ' Benghazi hearings from three distinct perspectives . Ever the centrist , my beloved husband John questions whether the hearings are an earnest search for the truth or a hyperpartisan GOP political witch hunt aimed at embarrassing the Obama administration while derailing Hillary Clinton 's potential 2016 presidential bid . Dean and I duke it out from opposite perspectives , and we all agree on a surprising point at the end . Then , on to a discussion of the dramatic fractures within the GOP on immigration reform -- a split between former Sen. Jim DeMint 's Heritage Foundation and his protÃ©gÃ© Sen. Marco Rubio -- which give Dean cause for celebration . But I 'm not sure he will ultimately like the outcome of these GOP growing pains , which I suspect reveal a realignment of Republican reformers from old guard thinking . Cracks in what had been GOP monolithic thinking on issues ranging from immigration to gun control to gay rights -- in a week where Delaware became the 11th state to pass marriage equality with a genuine bipartisan majority -- could reinvigorate the GOP brand and lead to a more competitive party nationally . John thinks renewal and competition in any party orthodoxy is healthy for America , but Dean is clearly rooting for DeMint 's success , even if it means the end of the Border Security , Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act . To be fair , Dean 's a comedian , so maybe his partisanship is good for laughs , but it will give way to a desire for good policy to win the day -- even if the Republicans get some credit . We 'll let you decide . Finally , was Gov . Chris Christie 's lap band surgery motivated by political ambition or personal health ? One of us thinks Americans are too obsessed with weight to elect an obese president . Another worries that the act of losing weight will obscure Christie 's record in New Jersey if he decides to challenge Hillary Clinton in 2016 . Is it possible for aspiring elected officials to make decisions independent of their political future ? We hope you have as much fun hearing us analyze these issues as we had laughing it out over them . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Margaret Hoover .
CNN Radio podcast features CNN Opinion contributors on top three stories . Margaret Hoover , Dean Obeidallah , John Avlon tackle motivation for Benghazi hearings . They discuss whether cracks in GOP 's monolithic thinking will help or hurt party . They ask if Gov . Christie 's lap band surgery was for political ambition or personal health .