Even before President Obama first pitched Elena Kagan for the Supreme Court, Republicans and the right-wing media were trying to call her out.
Now, with the game underway, some players have begun to wonder whether Kagan is experienced enough.
Or mainstream enough.
Or too Jewish.
But for most, the big question remains to be which way she swings the bat.
Morning lineup:
Meet the Press: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY); Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY); Roundtable: Jonathan Alter (Newsweek), Peggy Noonan (Wall Street Journal), Republican Strategist Mike Murphy and Democratic Strategist Bob Shrum.
Face the Nation: Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA); Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ); Jan Crawford (CBS News); Jeff Zeleny (New York Times).
This Week: Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT); Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL); Roundtable: George Will (Washington Post), Helene Cooper (New York Times), Glenn Greenwald (Salon.com), Former Obama White House Counsel Gregory Craig and Former Counselor to President Bush Ed Gillespie.
Fox News Sunday: Former First Lady Laura Bush; Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-GA); Roundtable: Brit Hume (Fox News), Nina Easton (Fortune), Stephen Hayes (Weekly Standard) and Juan Williams (NPR/FNC).
State of the Union: Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA); Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA); Sen. Bob Bennett (R-UT); Reliable Sources: Joan Biskupic (USA Today); Jan Crawford (CBS News); Radio Host Bill Press; Debra Saunders (San Francisco Chronicle); Robin Givhan (Washington Post); Pop Culture Commentator Lola Ogunnaike.
The Chris Matthews Show: Andrew Sullivan (The Atlantic); Katty Kay (BBC America); Joan Biskupic (USA Today); Pete Williams (NBC News).
Fareed Zakaria GPS: Joanna Coles (Marie Claire); Michael Elliot (TIME); Greek Prime Minister/Foreign Minister George Papandreou; French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde; Singapore Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam; IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn; Director of the National Economic Council Larry Summers.
Primetime viewing:
60 Minutes will feature: an investigation into the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon featuring an interview with one of the oil rig platform crew survivors and never-before-seen footage shot minutes after the explosion (preview); and, a report on the Musical Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Gustavo Dudamel (preview).
The National Georgraphic Channel will premiere Storm Worlds — a three-part series that imagines various scenarios in which the worst of the weather conditions in the universe hits the Earth. (8pm EST)
On Comedy Central:
Jon Stewart – whose brother testified before Congress this week – compared and contrasted the SCOTUS nominations of Elena Kagan and Harriet Miers.
And Stephen Colbert examined the ascent of Glenn Beck.
Meanwhile...
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour doesn't think that the Deepwater Horizon oil spill is a big fucking deal.
He told The Associated Press the oil spill could be disastrous for Mississippi’s coastal economy. Then he added: "But it's just as possible that what happens here will be manageable and of moderate and even minimal impact."
Oil has not started washing up on shore in any large quantities, and Barbour likened much of the spill to the gasoline sheen commonly found around ski boats.
"We don’t wash our face in it, but it doesn’t stop us from jumping off the boat to ski," Barbour said.
And BP CEO Tony Hayward couldn't agree more.
In an interview with the Guardian, Hayward declared that the giant oil spill in the gulf (still gushing thousands of gallons of oil a day into the sea) and the hundreds of thousands of gallons of "dispersant" BP has pumped into the water to combat the slick are "tiny" compared to the "very big ocean."
"The Gulf of Mexico is a very big ocean. The amount of volume of oil and dispersant we are putting into it is tiny in relation to the total water volume."
But denial isn't just a PR strategy. It's also a way of life in Alabama.
After being attacked for his lack of Jesusness, GOP Gubernatorial candidate Bradley Byrne responded:
I believe the Bible is the Word of God and that every single word of it is true. From the earliest parts of this campaign, a paraphrased and incomplete parsing of my words have been knowingly used to insinuate that I believe something different than that. My faith is at the center of my life and my belief in Jesus Christ as my personal savior and Lord guides my every action.
As a Christian and as a public servant, I have never wavered in my belief that this world and everything in it is a masterpiece created by the hands of God. As a member of the Alabama Board of Education, the record clearly shows that I fought to ensure the teaching of creationism in our school textbooks. Those who attack me have distorted, twisted and misrepresented my comments and are spewing utter lies to the people of this state.
Teach the controversy.
- Trix