With the artificial deadline of Aug. 2 quickly approaching, and no deal on raising the debt ceiling in sight, President Obama's plans to celebrate his 50th birthday and Ramadan have been thrown into jeopardy, causing him to become increasingly sardonic.
Although the American public is largely supportive of his efforts to find a fair and balanced approach to ending this crisis, Republicans do not believe that Obama's indignation is righteous.
They point to his refusal to embrace the tea party's plan to cut and run from the country's debt obligations as evidence of his apostasy.
In the end, the president's best hope (and ours) may lie in a miracle on ice.
Morning lineup:
Meet the Press: White House Chief of Staff William Daley; Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK); Roundtable: Former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE), Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), Mayor of Newark, NJ Cory Booker (D), Presidential Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin and Andrea Mitchell (NBC News).
Face the Nation: White House Chief of Staff William Daley; Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL); Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ); Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA); Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA).
This Week: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner; Mayor of NYC Michael Bloomberg (I); Former Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS); Former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-SD); Roundtable: George Will (Washington Post), Arianna Huffington (Huffington Post), Charlie Gasparino (Fox Business) and Economist Alice Rivlin.
Fox News Sunday: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner; Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI); Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL); Roundtable: Brit Hume (Fox News), AB Stoddard (The Hill), Bill Kristol (Weekly Standard) and Juan Williams (Fox News).
State of the Union: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner; Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA); Rep. Tom Price (R-GA); Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R); Reliable Sources: John Burns (New York Times); Paul Farhi (Washington Post); Vicky Ward (Vanity Fair); Ruth Marcus (Washington Post); Jonathan Strong (Daily Caller); Paul McMullen (Formerly of News of the World); Cenk Uygur (Formerly of MSNBC).
The Chris Matthews Show: Kelly O'Donnell (NBC News); John Heilemann (New York Magazine); Joe Klein (TIME); Gloria Borger (CNN).
Fareed Zakaria GPS: Moroccan Foreign Affairs Minister Taïb Fassi-Fihri; Author David McCullough; Princeton University Professor Anne-Marie Slaughter; Gideon Rose (Foreign Affairs).
Evening lineup:
60 Minutes will feature: a report on efforts to revive Iraq's marshlands, which were drained by Saddam Hussein (preview); an interview with New Orleans mayor Mitch Landrieu (preview); and, Anderson Cooper diving unprotected with great white sharks (preview).
On Comedy Central:
Jon Stewart lauded Fox News for its journalistic and ethical standards.
The Daily Show
Monday: Actor Neil Patrick Harris
Tuesday: Juan Williams (Fox News)
Wednesday: Actress Rachel Weisz
Thursday: TBA
And Stephen Colbert – who briefly stepped out of character this week to record an "It Gets Better" message – examined the best conspiracy theories involving the debt ceiling.
The Colbert Report
Monday: Physicist Brian Cox
Tuesday: Author Brooke Gladstone
Wednesday: MIT Professor Mary (Missy) Cummings
Thursday: Republican Presidential Candidate Herman Cain
Elsewhere:
Sarah Palin offered the press a remedial course in journalism.
"I want the mainstream media—and I've said this for a couple years now—I want to help them.
I have a journalism degree. That is what I studied. I understand that this cornerstone of our democracy is a free press, is sound journalism. I want to help them build back their reputation and allow Americans to be able to trust what it is that they're reporting."
Meanwhile:
Michele Bachmann pushed back against claims that her history of incapacitating migraines makes her unfit to be president.
"This week, they were talking about me and headaches. All I want you to know is I've been giving a lot more headaches in Washington than I've been getting," she joked to laughter and raucous applause from more than 100 people at the public library here. "And as president of the United States, I intend to give those big power brokers a lot more headaches, because we're going to give the country back to you."
And in related news:
Newt Gingrich & Co. argued that reports of his campaign's death have been greatly exaggerated.
"I ran 5 years to win my seat," the 68-year-old former Georgia congressman wrote in an email sent to The Daily Beast on Friday. "I worked for 16 years to create a majority in the house. I worked for 42 years to create a Georgia GOP majority. My dad served 27 years in the infantry. One of my closest friends served eight years in a Vietnam prison camp. Quitting isn't an option."
The seldom-quoted Callista Gingrich, the candidate’s third wife, added her voice to Gingrich's denial.
"On the record, the elite media will be deeply disappointed," she emailed The Daily Beast. "Newt is in the race. See you in Iowa."
No one here gets out alive.
- Trix