With time quickly running out before the U.S. defaults on its debt obligations, President Obama and Congressional leaders have been working fast and furiously to strike a big fucking deal.
Given that none of the negotiators are bound by the Hippocratic Oath, all options remain on the table—everything from the rather pathetic to the truly dangerous to the batshit insane.
One of the biggest bones of contention is whether a default would even be that harmful; some people argue that it might actually be a good thing, and for certain investors, it surely would be.
Whatever the case, let's just hope they work it out before the buzzer sounds.
Morning lineup:
Meet the Press: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner; Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R); Roundtable: Eugene Robinson (Washington Post) and Chuck Todd (NBC News).
Face the Nation: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner; Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL); Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL).
This Week: White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley; IMF Chair Christine Lagarde; Michael Wolff (Vanity Fair); Nina Totenberg (NPR); CourtTV Founder Steve Brill; Roundtable: George Will (Washington Post), Democratic Strategist Donna Brazile, Al Hunt (Bloomberg) and Jonathan Karl (ABC News).
Fox News Sunday: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY); Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC); Roundtable: Brit Hume (Fox News), Mara Liasson (NPR/FNC), Steve Hayes (Weekly Standard) and Juan Williams (Fox News).
State of the Union: Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA); Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD); Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA); NASA Chief Scientist James Garvin; Reliable Sources: Toby Harnden (Guardian); Matt Frei (BBC); Columbia University Professor Emily Bell; Diane Dimond (Daily Beast); Lauren Ashburn (Ashburn Media); Conservative Columnist Tony Blankley; Katrina vanden Huevel (Nation).
The Chris Matthews Show: Bob Woodward (Washington Post); Andrea Mitchell (NBC News); Jamie Tarabay (National Journal); Clarence Page (Chicago Tribune).
Fareed Zakaria GPS: Chrystia Freeland (Reuters); French Journalist Bernard-Henri Lévy; Nicholas Kristof (New York Times); Peter Godwin (Sunday Times).
Evening lineup:
60 Minutes will feature: a report on "shaleionaires" — people who've gotten rich by allowing natural gas to be extracted from shale formations on their property (preview); a report on an annual encampment in San Diego where veterans can find hope, help and services (preview); and, a report on a mystery that was solved about a 100-year-old film that we now know was made on San Francisco's Market St. just days before the 1906 earthquake (preview).
On Comedy Central:
Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert were on vacation this week, so there are no new videos to share.
Instead, here's Jon's recent look at the ongoing hostage debt ceiling negotiations.
The Daily Show
Monday: Actor Dennis Leary
Tuesday: TBA
Wednesday: TBA
Thursday: Medal of Honor Recipient Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Petry
And Stephen's take on the Republicans' posturing.
The Colbert Report
Monday: Author Michael Shermer
Tuesday: Author/Columnist Dan Savage
Wednesday: Author David McCullough
Thursday: Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist Jose Antonio Vargas
Elsewhere:
Michele Bachmann continued her crusade to become the first president to serve at the pleasure of her husband.
"He is her godly husband," said Peter Bachmann, Dr. Bachmann’s oldest brother, who lives on the family dairy farm across the eastern border in Wisconsin. "The husband is to be the head of the wife, according to God." It is a philosophy that Michele Bachmann echoed to congregants of the the Living Word Christian Center in 2006, when she stated that she pursued her degree in tax law only because her husband had told her to. "The Lord says: Be submissive, wives. You are to be submissive to your husbands," she said.
Meanwhile:
Pizza mogul Herman Cain's campaign suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous behavior.
The [resignation of a top Iowa staffer], which shakes the campaign of the tea party favorite into turmoil in a state where he’s staking much of his 2012 hopes, comes after weeks of swirling rumors between Cain's staff and volunteers in the Hawkeye State accusing each other of affairs, homosexuality and professional misconduct.
"A lot of volunteers, who worked hard for five months, are all leaving the campaign," said one Iowa volunteer.
And in related news:
If Tim Pawlenty's campaign for the Republican nomination wasn't already dead, it would be now that he's admitted to loving Lady Gaga as much as he loves government shutdowns.
"Well you know, in terms of the beat, I like 'Bad Romance,'" Pawlenty said. "I gotta say, even though she's a little unusual, 'Born this Way' has some appeal. She's actually very talented. Now if you go to the end of the HBO special, the Lady Gaga HBO special, and you watch her sing a cappella "Born This Way," she can sing. She can definitely sing. She's talented."
Rest In Peace.
- Trix