Mitt Romney returned from his overseas photo opportunity this week, having failed to start a nuclear war in the Middle East, but with much success on the cultural front.
All too predictably, the animals in the traveling press corps chose to focus on Romney's (alleged) struggles, while totally ignoring the strong relationships and momentum that he built without any government assistance.
Maybe if they'd bothered to read a few history books, instead of relying on what someone told them, they would've known that kissing ass is a time-honored Polish tradition, and understood how heroic it is.
Morning lineup:
Meet the Press: Preempted for Olympics coverage.
Face the Nation: Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R); Former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland (D); Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D); Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL); BET Founder Bob Johnson; Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor (Postponed from last week); Roundtable: Michael Crowley (TIME), Julianna Goldman (Bloomberg News), Jan Crawford (CBS News) and Nancy Cordes (CBS News).
This Week: DNC Chair/Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL); RNC Chair Reince Priebus; Roundtable: George Will (Washington Post), Jonathan Karl (ABC News), Conservative Commentator Ann Coulter, Former White House Environmental Adviser Van Jones and Former "Car Czar" Steven Rattner.
Fox News Sunday: Obama Campaign Senior Adviser David Axelrod; US Senate Candidate Ted Cruz (R-TX); Roundtable: Kimberley Strassel (Wall Street Journal), Democratic Strategist Joe Trippi, Republican Strategist Ed Rollins and Kirsten Powers (Daily Beast).
State of the Union: Former White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs; Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC); Former CEO of Hewlett-Packard Carly Fiorina; Reliable Sources: Debra Saunders (San Francisco Chronicle); Michael Shear (New York Times); Bill Press (Current TV); Jeff Jarvis (BuzzMachine.com); Bill Keller (New York Times); Michael Moynihan (Reason).
The Chris Matthews Show: Katty Kay (BBC); Joe Klein (TIME); John Harris (Politico); and S.E. Cupp (MSNBC).
Fareed Zakaria GPS: Peter Beinart (Newsweek); Bret Stephens (Wall Street Journal); University of California Professor Richard Muller; New York University Professor Jonathan Haidt.
Up with Chris Hayes: Preempted for Olympics coverage.
Evening lineup:
60 Minutes will feature: a report on new studies which seem to support the theory that sugar is toxic (preview); and, a report on a little known condition that prevents people from recognizing faces, even those of family members (preview).
On Comedy Central...
Jon Stewart examined Mitt Romney's efforts to cast himself as a generic Republican.
The Daily Show
Monday: Tim Gunn (Project Runway)
Tuesday: Author/Translator Saima Wahab
Wednesday: Comedian Chris Rock
Thursday: TBA
And Stephen Colbert analyzed Rafalca's impact on Romney's VP selection.
The Colbert Report
Monday: Folk Singer Pete Seeger
Tuesday: Author Mark Shriver
Wednesday: Author Liza Mundy
Thursday: Actor Woody Harrelson
Elsewhere...
After the best VP ever said that John McCain had erred in picking her, Sarah Palin took her best shot at him.
"Seeing as how Dick – excuse me, Vice President Cheney – never misfires, then evidently he's quite convinced that what he had evidently read about me by the lamestream media, having been written, what I believe is a false narrative over the last four years, evidently Dick Cheney believed that stuff and that's a shame," Palin said in an appearance on Fox News.
Meanwhile...
Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA) responded to a perceived attack on his religious freedom with hyperbolic bluster.
"I know in your mind you can think of the times America was attacked," said Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), a freshman. "One is December 7 — that is Pearl Harbor Day. Another was September 11 — that was the day of the terrorist attack. I want you to remember August 1, 2012 — the attack on our religious freedom. That is a date that will live in infamy, along with those other dates."
And, in other sneak attack news...
A Tennessee state legislator knows exactly how President Obama plans to steal the election, and he's not afraid to tell everyone.
Rep. Kelly Keisling (R-Byrdstown) sent an email from his state email account to constituents containing a rumor that Obama and the Department of Homeland Security are planning a series of events that could lead to the imposition of "martial law" and delay the election. Among the events hypothesized in the email is a staged assassination attempt on the president that would lead to civil unrest in urban areas and martial law.
Keisling appears to have forwarded a more widely circulated email from Joe Angione, a Florida-based conservative blogger. Angione prefaces the rumor by saying it has not been confirmed but likewise notes it has not been denied. Angione also writes that people need to work to prevent the rumor from becoming reality.
The stupid, it hurts!
- Trix