This week marks the 10th anniversary of the war in Iraq—George W. Bush's greatest legacy, other than his artwork.
As was widely predicted before the war's start, American troops were greeted with sweets and flowers in the streets of Baghdad, and within a few short months, Saddam Hussein's WMDs had been found (right where we knew they'd be).
Bush then triumphantly declared our mission "accomplished," and since then, everyone in the Middle East has lived happily ever after.
Ironically, this week also marks the third anniversary of Obamacare, which will literally kill people.
And, speaking of death panels, following the release of their post-election post-mortem, the Republican party looks poised to be resurrected like the Easter Bunny.
Morning lineup:
Meet the Press: NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I); CEO of the NRA Wayne LaPierre; Richard Engel (NBC News); Prop 8 Case Lawyer David Boies; Roundtable: Ralph Reed (Faith and Freedom Coalition), Democratic Strategist Hilary Rosen, EJ Dionne (Washington Post) and David Brooks (New York Times).
Face the Nation: Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI); Tony Perkins (Family Research Council); Prop 8 Case Lawyer Evan Wolfson; NFL Player Brendon Ayanbadejo; Roundtable: Tom Friedman (New York Times), Bobby Ghosh (TIME) and Clarissa Ward (CBS News).
This Week: Obama 2012 Campaign Manager Jim Messina; Republican strategist Karl Rove; Domestic Affairs Roundtable: Terry Moran (ABC News), Democratic Strategist Donna Brazile and Peggy Noonan (Wall Street Journal); Foreign Affirs Roundtable: Christiane Amanpour (ABC News), Jeffrey Goldberg (The Atlantic), Dan Senor (Foreign Policy Initiative) and Rana Foroohar (TIME).
Fox News Sunday: Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY); Republican Strategist Nicole Wallace and Gary Bauer (American Values); Roundtable: Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA), Former Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN), Jennifer Rubin (Washington Post) and Juan Williams (Fox News).
State of the Union: Veteran Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki; Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D); California Attorney General Kamala Harris; Austin Nimocks (Alliance Defense Fund); Republican Strategist Ana Navarro; Ron Brownstein (CNN); Reliable Sources: Bill Press (Current TV); Tim Carney (Washington Examiner); Marisa Guthrie (Hollywood Reporter); Joe Concha (Mediaite); Gail Shister (TV Newser); Annmarie Timmins (Concord Monitor); Author Zev Chafets.
The Chris Matthews Show: David Ignatius (Washington Post); Kathleen Parker (Washington Post); Helene Cooper (New York Times); Michael Crowley (TIME).
Fareed Zakaria GPS: Paul Krugman (New York Times); Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson; Author Kishore Mahbubani.
Up with Chris Hayes: University of California-Berkeley Law School Prof. Melissa Murray; Urvashi Vaid (Engaging Tradition Project at Columbia Law School’s Center for Gender & Sexuality Law); Camilla Taylor (Lambda Legal); Plaintiff in Gill et al. v. Office of Personnel Management et al. Dean Hara; Columnist/Blogger Dan Savage; Comptroller of NYC/Mayoral Candidate John Liu (D); NYC Mayoral Candidate Bill Thompson (D); NYC Mayoral Candidate Sal Albanese (D); NYC Public Advocate/Mayoral Candidate Bill De Blasio (D).
Evening lineup:
60 Minutes will feature: an interview with one of Russian punk band Pussy Riot's members who got away (preview); a report on the man-eating nile crocodile (preview); and, a report on NFL hopeful Brain Banks, who spent five years in prison on a rape charge for which he was later exonerated (preview).
On Comedy Central...
"The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" were in reruns (again) this week, so there are no new videos to share. Instead, here's Jon's take on politicians' gaffes.
The Daily Show
Monday: Actor Peter Dinklage
Tuesday: Author/Journalist Michael Moss
Wednesday: Actress Eva Mendes
Thursday: Author/Journalist Denise Kiernan
And Stephe's report on influential man Donald Trump.
The Colbert Report
Monday: MIT Prof. Junot Diaz
Tuesday: Author Eric Topol
Wednesday: Owner of Rustic Rooster Farms Carl Edgar Blake II
Thursday: Author Robert Lustig
Elsewhere...
We learned this week that Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich considered joining forces, but talks broke down over arguments about who'd get to be on top of the losing ticket.
"We were close," former Representative Bob Walker, a Gingrich ally, says. "Everybody thought there was an opportunity." "It would have sent shock waves through the establishment and the Romney campaign," says John Brabender, Santorum's chief strategist.
But the negotiations collapsed in acrimony because Gingrich and Santorum could not agree on who would get to be president. "In the end," Gingrich says, "it was just too hard to negotiate."
Meanwhile...
A West Virginia newspaper saw fit to transcribe and print a reader's charming voicemail rant.
"We were really glad to hear that School Board is getting rid of them queers. The next thing is we need to get rid of all the n****rs, the spics, the kikes and the wops. You know even them Catholics, they are wrong as baby eaters. We need to clear them people out and have good, white, God fearing Christians and everybody else needs to be put to death for their abominations. We'll keep Lincoln County white and right. Thank you."
And, finally...
Fox News argued that Democrats are trying to unjustly disenfranchise the poor. Or something.
Can poor people be trusted with guns? Overwhelmingly, Republicans thinks so. But while Democrats fight against taxes on the poor and oppose voter photo IDs because they impose too much of burden, they seem to be doing everything possible –- from fees, expensive training requirements, and photo IDs — to make it next to impossible for the poor to own guns…
That's too bad, because many law-abiding citizens, particularly minorities in crime-ridden neighborhoods really do need a gun for self-defense. There is little doubt that the people who are most likely to be victims of violent crime -– again, overwhelmingly poor blacks in urban areas — are also the ones who benefit the most from owning guns.
Just shoot me.
- Trix