With the nation's unemployment rate stuck around 9.5%, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs took to The Hill this week to unveil the Obama administration's latest job creation plan.
And while it's still early, I think I can say that it was a resounding success.
Within hours of the interview's publication, the ranks of the professional left had grown from a few highly-paid pundits to thousands of pajama-clad bloggers (most of them presumably on George Soros' payroll).
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Note: Those of you looking to cash in on this golden opportunity should keep in mind that there may be drug testing, and act accordingly.
Morning lineup:
Meet the Press: Commander of US Forces in Afghanistan Gen. David Petraeus.
Face the Nation: DNC Chairman Tim Kaine; Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D); Former RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie; Republican Strategist Ed Rollins; Karen Tumulty (TIME); John Harris (Politico).
This Week with Christiane Amanpour: Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN); Former New Jersey Gov. John Corzine (D); Member of the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board Laura D'Andrea; Martin Regalia (US Chamber of Commerce); Roundtable: Cokie Roberts (ABC News), Republican Strategist Matthew Dowd, Chrystia Freeland (Reuters) and David Ignatius (Washington Post).
State of the Union: Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD); Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA); Steven Pearlstein (Washington Post); Jeanne Cummings (Politico); Climatologist Heidi Cullen; NASA Scientist Tom Wagner; Reliable Sources: Julie Mason (Washington Examiner); Radio Host Michael Medved; Jane Hamsher (FireDogLake.com); Director Harry Shearer ("The Big Easy").
Fox News Sunday: Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX); Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI); Mark Zandi (Moodys.com); Liz Claman (Fox Business); Roundtable: Bill Kristol (Weekly Standard), Nina Easton (Fortune), Former White House Press Secretary Dana Perino and Ceci Connolly (Washington Post).
The Chris Matthews Show: Howard Fineman (Newsweek); Norah O'Donnell (MSNBC); Kelly O'Donnell (NBC News); John Heilemann (New York magazine).
Fareed Zakaria GPS: Jeffrey Sachs, PhD (Earth Institute at Columbia University); Patrick J. Michaels, PhD (Cato Institute); Gavin Schmidt, PhD (NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies); Ayaan Hirsi Ali (American Enterprise Institute); Irshad Manji (Moral Courage Project at New York University).
Primetime viewing:
60 Minutes will feature: an interview with whistelblower Bradley Birkenfeld, whose tips led to the disclosure of formerly secret info on Swiss bank accounts (preview); a report on the spillage of 130 million tons of coal ash into a Tennesse river and the dangers it poses (preview); and, an interview with Oscar winning actor Al Pacino (preview).
On Comedy Central:
Jon Stewart examined Republicans' newfound obsession with the deficit — their discovery of which seems to have coincided with President Obama's inauguration.
The Daily Show
Monday: Actress Emma Thompson (Nanny McPhee Returns")
Tuesday: Author Dick Armey ("Give Us Liberty")
Wednesday: Author Edward Kohn ("Hot Time in the Old Town")
Thursday: Actress Jennifer Aniston ("The Switch")
And Stephen Colbert named JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater the "Alpha Dog of the Week."
The Colbert Report
Monday: Former National Security Adviser Richard Clarke / Mayor of Braddock, PA John Fetterman
Tuesday: Executive Editor of The National Enquirer Barry Levine (MSNBC)
Wednesday: Author Thomas French ("Zoo Story")
Thursday: Author John Krakauer ("Where Men Win Glory")
Speaking of men behaving badly...
Republican brain trustee Newt Gingrich was profiled in Esquire, where second (of three) wife Marianne broke her silence about his serial infidelity.
He asked her to just tolerate the affair, an offer she refused.
He’d just returned from Erie, Pennsylvania, where he’d given a speech full of high sentiments about compassion and family values.
The next night, they sat talking out on their back patio in Georgia. She said, "How do you give that speech and do what you’re doing?"
"It doesn’t matter what I do," he answered. "People need to hear what I have to say. There’s no one else who can say what I can say. It doesn’t matter what I live."
As scummy as Newt is, Breitbart protege James O'Keefe unwittingly managed to top him.
O’KEEFE: I can’t get to the point where they finally admit to me that I’ve gone too far. And then they say that this is immoral. How is this immoral? Beloch has said that salaried — shouldn’t public servants should be perpetually watched, be kept under control, be suspicious? I think this is the nadir of morality. I think this is the most moral thing you could possibly do.
Nadir, of course, means "the lowest point." What O'Keefe probably meant to say is "zenith," which means "highest."
His disdain for it notwithstanding, it sounds like O'Keefe would fit right in with the mainstream media, as Politico's Mike Allen describes it.
HUGH HEWITT: Yes, I'm saying that Michael Bennet's going to get wiped out by Ken Buck. What do you think?
MIKE ALLEN: (laughing) I don't know, but I can tell you the press loves the fact that Ken Buck, he'll definitely be covered. Very colorful, he definitely will be good copy. It's just like the dream of every reporter is that the Republicans will pick up nine seats, and that Marco Rubio wins in Florida, because Hugh, you know what that means?
HUGH HEWITT: Impeachment! No. (laughing)
MIKE ALLEN: That's a 50-50 Senate. That's power sharing. Ben Nelson suddenly is huge.
It's hard out here for a media whore.
- Trix