Like George and Weezie Jefferson before him, Mitt Romney began movin' on up this week. Not in the polls, mind you—which continue to show President Obama leading him by healthy margins, both nationally and in key battleground states—but rather in the cultural zeitgeist.
The presumptive GOP nominee also saw the ranks of his "super fans" swell with the endorsements of party luminaries Paul Ryan and Marco Rubio.
And, as if that weren't enough, Romney's telling of a humorous anecdote surely went a long way toward endearing him to the millions of Americans whose fathers have closed down factories.
When you put this all together, it's hard to understand how his unfavorable rating remains so severely high.
Mornin lineup:
Meet the Press: Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA); Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY); Roundtable: Tom Friedman (New York Times), David Brooks (New York Times), Jon Meacham, (TIME), Former Rep. Harold Ford, Jr. (D-TN) and Mika Brzezinski (MSNBC).
Face the Nation: Vice President Joe Biden; Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA); Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX); Roundtable: Romney Campaign Adviser Kevin Madden, Jan Crawford (CBS News), John Dickerson (CBS News) and Gwen Ifill (PBS).
This Week: Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI); Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD); Roundtable: George Will (Washington Post), Conservative Commentator Ann Coulter, Former White House Environmental Adviser Van Jones, Matt Bai (New York Times) and Terry Moran (ABC News).
Fox News Sunday: Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA); Former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R); Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean (D); Roundtable: Bill Kristol (Weekly Standard), Liz Marlantes (Christian Science Monitor), Former Huckabee Campaign Manager Chip Saltsman and Juan Williams (Fox News).
State of the Union: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY); Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI); Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI); Rep. C.A. Ruppersberger (D-MD); Jeff Zeleny (New York Times); Dana Bash (CNN); Reliable Sources: Frank Sesno (George Washington University); Callie Crossley (WGBH); Frances Robles (Miami Herald); Jeffrey Toobin (CNN); Ana Marie Cox (GQ Magazine); Radio Host Michael Medved.
Ths Chris Matthews Show: Dan Rather (HDNet); Pete Williams (NBC News); Nia-Malika Henderson (Washington Post); Kathleen Parker (Washington Post).
Fareed Zakaria GPS: Astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson; Author Charles Murray; Sally Quinn (Washington Post); Jon Meacham (TIME); Andrew Sullivan (Daily Beast/Newsweek).
Up with Chris Hayes: Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY); Alexis Goldstein (Occupy the SEC); Kai Wright (ColorLines.com); University of Minnesota Professor Karen Ho; Columbia University Professor John McWhorter; University of Missouri Professor William Black; Author Richard Benjamin.
Evening lineup:
60 Minutes will feature: a report on the 7,000 employees of the Kennedy Space Center who lost their jobs following the final shuttle flight (preview); a report on a new scientific study that suggests sugar could be a contributing factor to cancer and heart disease (preview); and, a follow-up report on Miami's Art Basel (preview).
Virtually Speaking Sundays on Blog Talk Radio will feature: Daily Kos' own Joan McCarter and Culture of Truth discussing their most recent work.
On Comedy Central:
Jon Stewart examined Rick Santorum's and Mitt Romney's problems with the media.
The Daily Show
Monday: TBA
Tuesday: TBA
Wednesday: TBA
Thursday: TBA
And Stephen Colbert read between the lines of the now-shuttered "The Conservative Teen" magazine.
The Colbert Report
Monday: Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson
Tuesday: South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R)
Wednesday: Robert Ballard ("Save the Titanic with Bob Ballard")
Thursday: Author Anne Rice
Elsewhere...
Rep. Michelle Bachmann argued that some people just like to roll the dice of life when it comes to health insurance.
"One argument that the government was trying to make is that somehow health care is uniquely different. That government can regulate it because everyone participates. Health insurance is not uniquely different. It's still an opportunity that some people choose to engage in, but 40 million people do not. And the premise was made that people don’t buy insurance because they can't afford it. That's not true. There are people who just decide they want to roll the dice and take their chances that they won't need insurance."
And, in other news...
Sen. Scott Brown's wife, former Boston television reporter Gail Huff, gave her husband a helping hand.
Brown said he's used to being surrounded by "strong willed women" and Huff said the family, including Brown and the couple's two daughters Ayla and Arianna, have open discussions around the kitchen table.
"The girls, now that they are 23 and 21, have very, very specific ideas about what they do and don't believe and they chime in with a lot of great ideas, and it's wonderful for both of us to be able to bounce things off of them because their generation sees things very differently," Huff said.
Brown declined to be more specific about the family discussions, but when a reporter asked Huff to name an issue that she and the couple's daughter have educated Brown on, Brown chimed in and said "how to cook."
"Yeah, how to cook, how to sew, how to clean," Huff added.
Meanwhile...
Rick Santorum manned up during a campaign stop at a bowling alley.
During a campaign stop with a group of young Republicans, Mr. Santorum took about 20 minutes for a round of bowling. As one of the young men reached for a pink ball — one that some of the women used — Mr. Santorum ribbed him.
"You're not gonna use the pink ball," Mr. Santorum said. "We're not gonna let you do that. Not on camera." The remark was posted to Twitter by a Reuters reporter and soon ricocheted around the Web.
Get your minds out of the gutter.
- Trix