By any objective measure—excluding, of course: the stock market; jobless claims; the uninsured rate; economic growth; the deficit; gas prices; the unemployment rate; new Obamacare enrollments; consumer confidence; and, his own approval rating—2014 was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year for President Barack Obama.
In fact, it was arguably the worst sixth year of any American presidency ever; certainly the worst of any African-American presidency.
If not for Obama's dictatorial actions on immigration, "global warming," and Cuba, it's likely that he wouldn't have accomplished anything all year—despite having a Democrat [sic] Senate majority in his pocket!
And now, with the GOP set to control both chambers of Congress, 2015 looks to be even more of a clusterfuck for Obama (and women).
Morning lineup:
Meet The Press: Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY); Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN); Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser (D); Washington, DC Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson; Washington, DC Police Chief Cathy Lanier; Roundtable: John Stanton (BuzzFeed), Matt Bai (Politico), Helene Cooper (New York Times) and Andrea Mitchell (NBC News).
Face The Nation: Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY); Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD); Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA); Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE); Roundtable: Gwen Ifill (PBS), Susan Page (USA Today), and Dan Balz (Washington Post) and David Ignatius (Washington Post).
This Week: Sen-Elect Ben Sasse (R-NE); Rep-Elect Mia Love (R-UT); Sen-Elect Thom Tillis (R-NC); Roundtable: Great Van Susteren (Foz News), Radio Host Tavis Smiley, Robert Costa (Washington Post) and Margaret Hoover (CNN).
Fox News Sunday: Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN); Sen. John Thune (R-SD); Rep-Elect Martha McSally (R-AZ); Rep-Elect Lee Zeldin (R-NY); Roundtable: Former White House Press Secretary Dana Perino, Ron Fournier (National Journal), Radio Host Laura Ingraham and Neera Tanden (Center for American Progress).
State of the Union: Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-NY); Former NYPD Commissioner & Convicted Felon Bernard Kerik; Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ); New Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY); Rep-Elect Barbara Comstock (R-VA); Rep-Elect Debbie Dingell (D-MI); Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS); Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY).
Evening lineup:
60 Minutes will feature: a report on the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan (preview); and, a report on a new show in Harlem with a cast of singers ages 55 and up (preview).
On Comedy Central...
Jon Stewart was on vacation this week, and Stephen Colbert's show is finished, so there are no new videos to share.
Instead, check out this list of Daily Show and Colbert Report segments (assembled by Media Matters) that helped cure a year of right-wing lies.
The Daily Show: Monday: Author/Journalist Steven Brill; Tuesday: Author Cass Sunstein; Wednesday: Director Ava DuVernay; Thursday: Actress Allison Williams
On Fox News...
Host Anna Koolman wondered if there is safety in foreign numbers.
Fox News host Anna Kooiman speculated on Sunday that an AirAsia flight could have gone missing because international pilots were trained using the metric system.
During breaking coverage of missing Flight QZ8501, Kooiman asked former FAA spokesperson Scott Brenner if the "real reason" the plane had disappeared was because of the "different way other countries train their pilots."
"Even when we think about temperature, it's Fahrenheit or Celsius," she pointed out.
"It's kilometers or miles. You know, everything about their training could be similar, but different." [...]
"Is it not as safe in that part of the world? Because our viewers may be thinking, 'International travel, is it safe? Is it not safe?'"
Meanwhile...
Clayton Morris offered up some food for thought.
"Fox and Friends" revisited the Obama administration's healthy eating push on Tuesday morning as host Clayton Morris warned viewers that the Food and Drug Administration wanted to outlaw doughnuts and Christmas cookies. [...]
"Doesn't the FDA have more important things to do than regulate sprinkles?" he asked economist Jayson Lusk.
Lusk pointed out that many food companies already have cut back drastically on the amount of trans fats in their products, which he said makes additional regulations unnecessary.
Morris chimed in with a list of other foods he said would be banned if the FDA's preliminary ruling went into effect: crackers, frozen pizza, popcorn, coffee creamers and canned frosting.
"If you're making some cookies once a year with your kids on the holidays, that'll be banned," he added.
But, wait... there's more!
Morris and the Fox & Friends crew also served up some suggestions... for the ladies.
The hosts of Fox & Friends started the New Year on Thursday by telling women that they should "cater" to their man by stroking his ego, cooking him meals, and massaging his feet.
"Ladies, listen up," host Clayton Morris said. "Ladies, we're talking to you. If you still don't have a New Year's resolution then could this be it?"
According to Morris, women could get some "honest advice on how to get a husband" from a new dating guide titled "Single Man, Married Man," which was written by men.
Even co-host Peter Doocy seemed to be perplexed as he offered the first piece of advice: "No matter where a woman was in life, she should always be able to cater to her man's needs."
These pretzels are making me thirsty.
- Trix