With President Obama's approval rating hovering below the 50% mark, his reelection in 2012 is far from certain.
However, a quick look at the Republicans exploring the possibility of running against him should give us all reason to be optimistic.
Here they are, in alphabetical order:
All in all, I'd say that Obama's reelection is a pretty good bet.
Morning lineup:
Meet the Press: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; Secretary of Defense Robert Gates; Sen. Dick Lugar (R-IN); Roundtable: Bob Woodward (Washington Post), Ted Koppel (Formerly of ABC News), Tom Ricks (Foreign Policy) and Savannah Guthrie (NBC News).
Face the Nation: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.
This Week: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; Secretary of Defense Robert Gates; Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld; Roundtable: George Will (Washington Post), Former Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA), Jeffrey Goldberg (The Atlantic) and Egyptian Journalist Mona Eltahawy.
Fox News Sunday: Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA); Sen. John McCain (R-AZ); Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT); Roundtable: Brit Hume (Fox News), Nina Easton (Fortune), Bill Kristol (Weekly Standard) and Juan Williams (Fox News).
State of the Union: Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI); Former Director of the CIA Gen. Michael Hayden (Ret.); Former National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley; Nuclear Policy Expert Joe Cirincione; Reliable Sources: American University Professor Jane Hall; Radio Host Bill Press; Ted Koppel (Formerly of ABC News).
The Chris Matthews Show: Howard Fineman (Huffington Post); Elisabeth Bumiller (New York Times); Helene Cooper (New York Times); Major Garrett (National Journal).
Fareed Zakaria GPS: Richard N. Haass (Council on Foreign Relations); Former Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA); Robert Kagan (Brookings Institution); Former Ambassador to the U.N. John Negroponte; Malcolm Gladwell (New Yorker).
Evening lineup:
60 Minutes will feature: a report on how U.S. corporations are cutting their tax bills by moving business overseas (preview); an interview with Elissa Montanti, whose charity, Global Medical Relief Fund, has helped over 100 maimed children get surgery (preview); and, an interview with Bob Hurley, the man regarded as America's best high school basketball coach (preview).
On Comedy Central:
Jon Stewart examined Republican Governors' abusive relationships with their states.
The Daily Show
Monday: Middle East Expert Dr. Mansour O. El-Kikhia
Tuesday: Author Miguel Nicolelis ("Beyond Boundaries")
Wednesday: Actor Jake Gyllenhaal ("Source Code")
Thursday: Comedian Norm McDonald
And Stephen Colbert looked at the conflict in Libya through the eyes of Fox News' Steve Harrigan and CNN's Nic Robertson.
The Colbert Report
Monday: Filmmaker Michael Moore
Tuesday: Director of the National Institutes of Health Dr. Anthony Fauci
Wednesday: Chairman/CEO of the Special Olympics Tim Shriver
Thursday: Piers Gibbons ("Eating with Cannibals")
Elsewhere:
Sarah Palin gave up whining about the liberal media for Lent.
"I'm through whining about a liberal press that holds conservative women to a different standard, because it doesn't do any good to whine about it," Palin said. "When a shot is taken at me, it is water off a duck's back because I know the important things we need to concentrate on in life — especially the national and international issues that are so important in our country."
She then proceeded to whine some more.
Meanwhile:
Ginni Thomas landed another job that her husband can conveniently forget to include on his financial disclosure forms.
She has been hired by Tucker Carlson's "The Daily Caller," a web magazine that seeks to answer the question, "will people read literally any bullshit at all if we call it 'conservative' and occasionally throw in some sexism and homophobia?" Thomas will be a "special correspondent" for the Caller, which means she will "interview key political and community leaders -- from high-profile politicians to grassroots activists -- with a focus on listening to those outside the Beltway." [...]
The last time Ginni Thomas talked to the Caller as a subject, and not an employee, she lied to them about leaving her Tea Party group, which is pretty funny.
And speaking of money-making ventures:
James O'Keefe learned that it really is hard out here for a pimp.
O'Keefe explains that he and his friends have "hit a wall" after "running up major credit card debt" to finance their projects. He writes that it "cost us about $50,000 when all is said and done to produce the NPR video," which is incredible, and "If you help us raise over $50,000, it will go toward our next video — after we pay off our credits cards, of course." What other information could you possibly want from this notorious liar?
And then he asks for a million dollars: "If you help us pass $100,000 — we can do two new videos... And if by some chance, we raise $1,000,000 — we could expose 20 disturbing cases of government abuse and corruption. But, all I'm worried about is $50,000 right now."
Ease his pain.
- Trix
