With his double-digit victory over Rick Santorum in Tuesday's Illinois primary, Mitt Romney appeared to be back in the driver's seat of the GOP race for president.
Wednesday morning, he received the coveted endorsement of Jeb Bush, and there were additional signs that Republicans had begun to coalesce around him.
But then, continuing a pattern that started after Mitt's Iowa win loss, the Romney campaign found itself shaken by an inopportune comment.
When top strategist Eric Fehrnstrom compared his boss to an Etch-A-Sketch and suggested that he'd wipe the slate clean in the general election, the Twitterverse and Romney's opponents were quick to ratchet up the mockery.
Now, it seems that if Mitt wants voters to forget all of the contradictory and/or extreme positions he's taken, his best bet may be to get us all hooked on roofies.
Morning lineup:
Meet the Press: White House Senior Adviser David Plouffe; Rachel Maddow (MSNBC); Roundtable: Former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R), President of the NAACP Ben Jealous, Michele Norris (NPR), Presidential Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin and David Brooks (New York Times).
Face the Nation: Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA); Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI); Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
This Week: White House Senior Adviser David Plouffe; Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN); Roundtable: George Will (Washington Post), Cokie Roberts (ABC News), Democratic Strategist Donna Brazile, Republican Strategist Matthew Dowd and Terry Moran (ABC News).
Fox News Sunday: White House Senior Adviser David Plouffe; Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI); Roundtable: Brit Hume (Fox News), Kirsten Powers (Daily Beast), Juan Williams (Fox News) and Paul Gigot (Wall Street Journal).
State of the Union: White House Senior Adviser David Plouffe; Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC); Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R); Mike Duffy (TIME); Susan Page (USA Today); Reliable Sources: Eric Deggans (Tampa Bay Times); Lauren Ashburn (Daily-Download.com); Derek McGinty (WUSA); Author David Corn; Amy Holmes (Glenn Beck TV); C-SPAN Founder Brian Lamb.
The Chris Matthews Show: Kelly Evans (CNBC); David Leonhardt (New York Times); Gloria Borger; John Heilemann (New York Magazine).
Fareed Zakaria GPS: New York University Professor Bruce Bueno de Mesquita; Richard Haass (Council on Foreign Relations); Anne-Marie Slaughter (Woodrow Wilson School of Public Affairs); Former World Bank Group President Sir. James Wolfensohn; Founder of LinkedIn Reid Hoffman.
Up with Chris Hayes: Author Richard Dawkins; Harvard University Professor Steven Pinker; Author Susan Jacoby; Radio Host/Blogger Jamila Bey; Author Robert Wright; Comedian/Radio Host Jamie Kilstein.
Evening lineup:
60 Minutes will feature: an interview Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne in which he discusses the company's turnaround (preview); a report on high profile convictions in which DNA has later cleared the defendant (preview); and, an interview with Wimbledon winner Novak Djokovic (preview).
Virtually Speaking Sundays on Blog Talk Radio will feature: Bloggers Avedon Carol and Stuart Zechman discussing their most recent work and taking some inspiration from the Sunday morning talking heads.
On Comedy Central...
As is usually the case when there's a big/funny story that dominates the news, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert were off this week, so there are no videos to share.
Instead, here's Jon's recent exposé of Sean Hannity's troubling connections.
The Daily Show
Monday: NBA Analyst/Former Player Shaquille O'Neal
Tuesday: Actor Sam Worthington
Wednesday: Rachel Maddow (MSNBC)
Thursday: TBA
And Stephen's examination of the cunning linguists who are fighting for the GOP nomination.
The Colbert Report
Monday: David Page (Whitehead Institute)
Tuesday: Author Charles Murray
Wednesday: Actor/Activist Mark Ruffalo
Thursday: Author Peter Beinart
Elsewhere...
There were a lot of very stupid things said this week, probably none more so than this gem from Geraldo Rivera:
"I am urging the parents of black and Latino youngsters particularly to not let their children go out wearing hoodies. I think the hoodie is as much responsible for Trayvon Martin's death as George Zimmerman was. [...]
I'm not suggesting that Trayvon Martin had any kind of weapon or anything, but he wore an outfit that allowed someone to respond in this irrational, overzealous way and if he had been dressed more appropriately, I think unless it's raining out, or you're at a track meet, leave the hoodie home. Don't let your children go out there."
Geraldo's son was one of the many, many people who took issue with his comments.
Meanwhile...
Televangelist Pat Roberston sermonized about who he thinks has it coming to them.
Pat Robertson, televangelist and a leader in the Christian Right movement, said the Denver Broncos treated Tim Tebow "shabbily," adding an injury to the team's new quarterback Peyton Manning "would serve them right."
"He won seven games, he brought them [Denver] into the playoffs, for heaven sakes. I mean, they were a nothing team. He rallied them together with spectacular last-minute passes and, you know, when they beat Buffalo — I mean, Pittsburgh, excuse me — it was a tremendous victory."
"And you just ask yourself, OK, so Peyton Manning was a tremendous MVP quarterback, but he's been injured. If that injury comes back, Denver will find itself without a quarterback. And in my opinion, it would serve them right," he said.
And, finally...
No collection of stupid quotes would be complete without an entry from Newt Gingrich. After ignoring a supporter's comment about President Obama being a Muslim, and then accusing the media of covering up Obama's "Muslim friends," the former House Speaker sought to blame the president for people's misconceptions.
[A]sked whether it concerned him that many people continue to believe Obama is Muslim, Gingrich replied, "It should bother the president. Why does the president behave the way that people would think that? You have to ask, why would they believe that? It's not because they're stupid. It's because they watch the kind of things I just described to you. When you have every bishop in the Catholic Church say this administration's at war with their religion, you don't think that has an impact?"
My God, it's full of idiots!
- Trix