Tuesday night, President Obama performed his Constitutionally-mandated duty and reported to Congress on the state of the union, and as it turns out, the state of our union is strong (or so the President would have us believe).
Though the speech drew high marks from those who watched it, and tears from the House Speaker, some people had problems with it.
Rep. Paul Ryan, giving the GOP's official response, found himself at a loss for words, and Rep. Michele Bachmann, giving the unofficial Tea Party response, was clearly just lost.
Meanwhile, Sarah Palin was so confused by the President's words that she ended up advocating for more socialism in her response.
Morning lineup:
Note: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be on all of the shows.
Meet the Press: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY); DNC Chair Tim Kaine; Roundtable: Republican Strategist Mike Murphy, Former Rep. Harold Ford, Jr. (D-TN), Chuck Todd (NBC News) and Katty Kay (BBC).
Face the Nation: White House Chief of Staff William Daley.
This Week: Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA); Reagan Offspring Ron, Michael and Patti Davis; Roundtable: George Will (Washington Post), Cokie Roberts (ASBC News), Sam Donaldson (ABC News) and Reagan Budget Director David Stockman.
Fox News Sunday: House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH); Roundtable: Brit Hume (Fox News), Nina Easton (Fortune Magazine), Bill Kristol (Weekly Standard) and Kristen Powers (New York Post).
State of the Union: Former US Ambassador to Egypt Edward S. Walker; Former US Ambassador to the United Nations John Negroponte; Sen. John McCain (R-AZ); Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY); Co-Chair of the Catfood Commission Alan Simpson; Reliable Sources: Margaret Carlson (Bloomberg); Jim Geraghty (National Review); Michael Shear (New York Times); Lauren Ashburn (USA Today); Lawyer Lisa Bloom; Andrea McCarren (WUSA-TV).
The Chris Matthews Show: Andrea Mitchell (NBC News); Rick Stengel (TIME); John Harris (Politico); Helene Cooper (New York Times).
Fareed Zakaria GPS: British Prime Minister David Cameron; CEO of JPMorgan Chase Jamie Dimon.
Evening lineup:
60 Minutes will feature: an interview with Julian Assange (preview); rare footage of jaguars in the wild of Brazil (preview); and, interviews with friends and classmates of Tucson shooter Jared Loughner (preview).
On Comedy Central:
Jon Stewart took on Fox News personalities' histories of making Nazi comparisons, much to the dismay of Bill O'Reilly.
The Daily Show
Monday: Philanthropist Bill Gates
Tuesday: Former RNC Chair Michael Steele
Wednesday: Actor Matthew Perry ("Mr. Sunshine")
Thursday: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen
And Stephen Colbert unveiled his Nazi-Ometer.
The Colbert Report
Monday: Author Dr. Paul Offit ("Deadly Choices")
Tuesday: Author Michael Lewis ("The Big Short")
Wednesday: Co-Author Sean Kelly ("All Things Shining")
Thursday: Author Jane McGonigal ("Reality is Broken")
Speaking of Nazis:
A coalition of 400 rabbis ran an ad in the Wall Street Journal this week calling on Fox News management to sanction Glenn Beck for his Nazi Tourette's.
"It is not appropriate to accuse a 14-year-old Jew hiding with a Christian family in Nazi-occupied Hungary of sending his people to death camps," says the ad. "It is not appropriate to call executives of another news agency 'Nazis.' And it is not appropriate to make literally hundreds of on-air references to the Holocaust and Nazis when characterizing people with whom you disagree."
"We respectfully request that Glenn Beck be sanctioned by Fox News for his completely unacceptable attacks on a survivor of the Holocaust and that Roger Ailes apologize for his dismissive remarks about rabbis’ sensitivity to how the Holocaust is used on the air."
Beck found the ad ironic, noting that some of his best friends are Jewish he's even more intent on going to war with Iran than Israel is.
In other news:
The new chairman of the House subcommittee overseeing the FDA put his faith (and our safety) in God's hands.
"Real Time" host Bill Maher asked Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) a fairly straightforward question: "Do you believe in evolution?"
Kingston not only said he rejects the foundation of modern biology, he explained it this way: "I believe I came from God, not from a monkey." He added, "If it happened over millions and millions of years, there should be lots of fossil evidence."
Seriously, that's what he said.
And, finally:
Plans to have Bristol Palin – who learned firsthand where babies come from – speak during Washington University's "Sex Week" were quickly aborted.
Anger over a decision to pay Bristol Palin several thousand dollars in student fees to talk to Washington University students about abstinence led to a decision Thursday night to nix Palin's appearance on a panel here next month.
Washington University's Student Health Advisory Committee had extended an invitation to Palin, a spokeswoman to prevent teen pregnancy, to speak on abstinence as part of the university's Student Sexual Responsibility Week.
But because of a growing controversy among undergraduates over the decision to pay for her talk with student-generated funds, the advisory committee and Palin decided Thursday night "that the message that they intended on sharing would be overshadowed by controversy," according to a university statement.
Just say no.
- Trix
