With the clock ticking down 24-style on Congress' lame duck session, President Obama assumed the role of Negotiator-in-Chief this week to secure the release of the American people from their Republican captors.
The "so-called" deal he worked out contains something for everyone — from those who need it most to those who need it least.
And though there is much disagreement regarding the inner workings of the deal, observers on both sides of the aisle can't stop talking about how perfectly triangular its contours are.
Meanwhile, members of the DC media establishment remain fixated on the question of how the President is coping with the stress of his job.
It sure looks like he picked the wrong week to quit smoking.
Morning lineup:
Meet the Press: Chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers Austan Goolsbee; New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I); Rouyndtable: Former Rep. Harold Ford, Jr. (D-TN), Paul Gigot (Wall Street Journal), Savannah Guthrie (NBC News) and Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY).
Face the Nation: Senior White House Adviser David Axelrod; Former DNC Chair Howard Dean; Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY).
This Week: Senior White House Adviser David Axelrod; Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority Salam Fayyad; Israeli Opposition Leader Tzipi Livni; Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown; Roundtable: George Will (Washington Post), Cokie Roberts (ABC News), Republican Strategist Matthew Dowd and Paul Krugman (New York Times).
Fox News Sunday: Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI); Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD); Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer; Roundtable: Bill Kristol (Weekly Standard), Mara Liasson (NPR/FNC), Chris Stirewalt (Fox News) and Juan Williams (Fox News).
State of the Union: White House Senior Adviser David Axelrod; Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD); Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL); Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA); Former Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair; Reliable Sources: John Aravosis (AmericaBlog); Julie Mason (Washington Examiner); Matt Lewis (Politics Daily); Twitter Co-Founder Biz Stone.
The Chris Matthews Show: Andrea Mitchell (NBC News); Michael Duffy (TIME); Helene Cooper (New York Times); Andrew Sullivan (The Atlantic).
Fareed Zakaria GPS: Israeli Minister of Defense Ehud Barak; Former Gov. Christie Todd Whitman (R-NJ); Elizabeth Economy (Council on Foreign Relations); Claremont McKenna College Professor Minxin Pei, PhD; Author Martin Jacques.
Evening lineup:
60 Minutes will feature: an interview with Speaker-Elect John Boehner (preview); a report on Brazil, which is set to become the world's fifth largest economy (preview); and, an interview with Dallas Cowboys Owner/General Manager Jerry Jones (preview).
On Comedy Central:
Jon Stewart looked at President Obama's growing disillusionment with the American people.
The Daily Show
Monday: Former British Prime Minister/Author Gordon Brown
Tuesday: Comedian Ricky Gervais
Wednesday: Actor Paul Rudd ("How Do You Know)
Thursday: Presidential Wannabe/Author Mike Huckabee ("Can't Wait 'Til Christmas")
And Stephen Colbert examined Obama's quixotic efforts to make Republicans fall in love with him.
The Colbert Report
Monday: Musician/Author Patti Smith ("Just Kids")
Tuesday: Author Steven Sondheim ("Finishing the Hat")
Wednesday: Surfer Laird Hamilton
Thursday: Comedian/Author Amy Sedaris & Musician Paul Simon
Elsewhere:
Christine O'Donnell lamented the latest tragic developments in the ongoing class war.
"Today marks a lot of tragedy. ... Tragedy comes in threes," O’Donnell said. "Pearl Harbor, Elizabeth Edwards’s passing and Barack Obama’s announcement of extending the tax cuts, which is good, but also extending the unemployment benefits."
O’Donnell continued: "The reason I say this is a tragedy is because his announcement of economic recovery was more of a potpourri of sound bytes. It’s like he took a little bit of what each party wanted and put it together. It’s not a solid plan constructed on sound economic principles."
Meanwhile:
Taking a much less crass approach, Newt Gingrich used the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor to promote his books on Twitter.
• The 69th anniversary of the japanese attack is a good time to remind folks of our novels pearl harbor and days of infamy newt
Obviously, "Everyone should go out and buy Newt’s book" was what Franklin Roosevelt originally said after the attack, but Gingrich has now taken down this tweet, because he hates the troops. TOO SOON.
But don’t worry about Newt and his finances. He’s got another book to sell and another important December day to exploit for sales, a book that will teach you the secret to fomenting bigotry and xenophobia to stay relevant and sell books.
• "5 Principles for a Successful Life" is #11 in Gingrich Productions' 12 Days of Xmas Presents countdown.
And speaking of Christmas:
A parade by any other name doesn't sound as merry to Sen. James Inhofe.
The Tulsa City Council has voted to allow the parade to go forward Saturday night, despite protests against the disappearance of the word "Christmas" from its name.
It’s not entirely clear that the council actually could have stopped it, or even whether the parade ever officially had Christmas in its name. But Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma is outraged.
Inhofe was away from home last December, stuck in Washington trying to kill off health care reform. Now he’s back, and he’s noted a dwindling in the parade’s religious angle. "I just don’t like what’s going on in America today, all over the country, with the aversion some people seem to have toward Christ," he said in one of his many interviews explaining that he will no longer ride his horse in any holiday event that isn’t named for Christmas.
Christ, what an asshole!
- Trix