When Mitt Romney says something, you can be sure he stands by it. Whatever it was. Regardless of whether or not he even remembers it.
But as with most hard-and-fast rules, there are a few exceptions. For instance:
Bottom line: This is shaping up to be a "choice" election.
Who are you gonna believe—Mitt Romney, or your lying eyes and ears?
Morning lineup:
Meet the Press: Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL); Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI); Roundtable: Mayor of Newark, NJ Cory Booker (D), Republican Strategist Mike Murphy, Jim Cramer (CNBC) and Kim Strassel (Wall Street Journal).
Face the Nation: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC); Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA); Tom Friedman (New York Times); Clarissa Ward (CBS News).
This Week: House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH); House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA); Roundtable: George Will (Washington Post), Democratic Strategist Donna Brazile, Republican Strategist Matthew Dowd, Radio Host Laura Ingraham and California Lt.Gov. Gavin Newsom (D).
Fox News Sunday: Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI); Former Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Austan Goolsbee; Roundtable: Bill Kristol (Weekly Standard), Former Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN), Republican Strategist Karl Rove and Democratic Strategist Joe Trippi.
State of the Union: Obama Campaign Senior Adviser David Axelrod; RNC Chairman Reince Priebus; Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA); Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-TX); Jeff Zeleny (New York Times); Dana Bash (CNN); NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen; Reliable Sources: Ramesh Ponnuru (National Review); John Avlon (Newsweek/Daily Beast); Erin McPike (Real Clear Politics); Sarah Lacy (PandoDaily.com); Larry Kramer (USA Today); Mike Rubens (Formerly of "The Daily Show").
The Chris Matthews Show: Clarence Page (Chicago Tribune); Kathleen Parker (Washington Post); Liz Marlantes (Christian Science Monitor); John Heilemann (New York Magazine).
Fareed Zakaria GPS: Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti; Iranian Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Shamseddin Hosseini; Paul Krugman (New York Times).
Up with Chris Hayes: Ezra Klein (Washington Post); Former Chief Economist at the Dept. of Labor Betsey Stevenson; Author William Black; University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Prof. Karl Smith.
Evening lineup:
a two-hour special edition of 60 Minutes will feature: a report on billionaire internet business pioneer Peter Thiel's program to pay students with promising ideas to drop out of college (preview); an interview with Dr. William Gahl about his Undiagnosed Diseases Program (preview); an interview with Pink Floyd founder Roger Waters (preview); a report on problems at America's cemeteries, including exhuming bodies so plots can be resold (preview); a report on the dangers facing the Israeli city of Tel Aviv; and, an interview with actress Meryl Streep (preview).
On Comedy Central...
The Daily Show and The Colbert Report were in reruns this week, so there are no new videos to share.
Instead, here's Jon Stewart's take on Mitt Romney's credit problem.
And Stephen Colbert's illuminating take on the secret world of Super PACs.
Note: The Daily Show and The Colbert Report will be pre-empted this week.
Elsewhere...
When former President George W. Bush isn't busy attending ornate elevator door-shutting ceremonies, he's hard at work on his latest project.
Gingerly, the 43rd president is beginning to add his voice back into the national dialogue. A month ago, he spoke publicly in favor of one of his defining domestic legacies, the tax cuts that still divide the country. Two months from now, he plans to publish a book outlining strategies for economic growth. And on Tuesday, he made a rare return to Washington to promote freedom overseas.
In other news...
Just a few short days after Ron Paul suspended his campaign, Americans Elect—the group hoping to field a bipartisan third party ticket—gave up the ghost, releasing the following self-congratulatory statement:
Over the past two years, Americans Elect has focused on achieving three clear goals:
- Gaining nationwide ballot access for a third presidential ticket to compete in the 2012 race;
- Holding the first ever nonpartisan secure national online primary at AmericansElect.org; and
- Fielding a credible, balanced, unaffiliated ticket for the 2012 presidential race.
Through the efforts of thousands of staffers, volunteers, and leadership, Americans Elect has achieved every stated operational goal. Despite these efforts, as of today, no candidate has reached the national support threshold required to enter the “Americans Elect Online Convention” this June.
Meanwhile...
One person who might be on the ballot this November is Allen Quist, who's competing to challenge Rep. Tim Walz (D-MN). Quist has received the coveted endorsement of Rep. Michele Bachmann, and it's not hard to understand why.
"The only reasonable explanation for the stegosaurus carved in stone on the wall of the Cambodian temple is that the artist had either seen a stegosaur or had seen other art works of a stegosaur," Quist writes. "Either way, people and stegosaurs were living at the same time."
Elsewhere, Quist provides scientific evidence for the existence of dragons, and suggests that the Book of Job be taught as a science lesson: "Today we know beyond a reasonable doubt—Job 41 is a picture-perfect description of SuperCroc."
I WANT TO BELIEVE.
- Trix