This past Thursday, the U.S. House and Senate met in a joint session to count and certify the Electoral College vote. When all was said and done, Barack Hussein Obama emerged as the President-Elect.
While this was certainly good news for Democrats, it was not such good news for the "Birthers" who had hoped that a courageous Republican Senator would stand up to this subversion of the Constitution.
It wasn't really good news for anyone who has bought Obama commemorative coins (pictured right) either, as this does not change the fact that they're not legal tender in the United States.
Luckily for those suckers (and you), it doesn't cost anything to keep reading below the fold.
As usual, let's begin with the lineup.
Meet The Press: Bill Cosby and Dr. Alvin F. Poussaint (Co-Authors of "Come On, People: On the Path from Victims to Victors"); Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA); Washington, D.C. Mayor Adrien Fenty (D); Roundtable with: Former Rep. David Bonior (D-MI), Paul Gigot (The Wall Street Journal), John Harwood (CNBC), Bethany McLean (Vanity Fair), and Mark Zandi (McCain Economic Advisor).
This Week: President-Elect Barack Obama. Roundtable with: Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA), Thomas Friedman (The New York Times), Peggy Noonan (The Wall Street Journal), and George Will (ABC News).
Note: ABC/Stephanopoulos is teasing that Obama answers the question "Will you appoint a Special Prosecutor -- ideally Patrick Fitzgerald -- to independently investigate the gravest crimes of the Bush administration, including torture and warrantless wiretapping?"
Face The Nation: Senator-Designate Roland Burris (D-IL); House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH); Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL).
Fox News Sunday: President George W. Bush; Former President George H.W. Bush; Roundtable with: Bill Kristol (The Weekly Standard), Mara Liasson (NPR), Charles Krauthammer (Syndicated Columnist), and Juan Williams (NPR).
Note: Brit Hume will be guest-hosting for Chris Wallace.
Late Edition: Vice President Dick Cheney; House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA); Former White House Advisor David Gergen; Tara Wall (The Washington Times); Democratic Strategist James Carville; Gloria Borger (CNN); Candy Crowley (CNN).
The Chris Matthews Show: Clarence Page (The Chicago Tribune); Kathleen Parker (The Washington Post Writers Group); Norah O'Donnell (MSNBC); Reihan Salam (The Atlantic).
Reliable Sources: Keli Goff (Media Analyst); Jim Geraghty (The National Review); Roger Simon (Politico); Jeffrey Goldberg (The Atlantic); Frank Sesno (CNN); Alicia Shepard (NPR Ombudsman); Mark Feldstein (GWU Professor); Jessi Klein (Writer/Comedian).
The Daily Show and The Colbert Report both have new episodes this week, but, unfortunately, neither show currently has upcoming guests listed on their site. I guess we'll just have to tune in to find out who's going to be on.
And speaking of tuning in [and turning on, and dropping out], as you may recall, in last week's Sunday Talk I highlighted Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's contention that her daughter Bristol and future son-in-law (?) Levi Johnston were "certainly not high school dropouts". She even went so far as to note that Levi was working as an electrical apprentice on Alaska's North Slope to bolster her claim.
Well, as it turns out, federal regulations require all members of apprenticeship programs to have a high school diploma... something Levi lacks.
After Palin's comments caused some to question how Levi got the gig, sans diploma, he quit the apprenticeship to focus on his education, according to his father.
One might think that having cost Levi his livelihood would cause Palin to keep her mouth shut for a while, but one would be wrong. The same day he was stepping down from the North Slope, she sat down with everybody's favorite poll sponsor, John Ziegler, to tape this nonsense:
Much of Palin's anger/frustration was directed at CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric over the "gotcha" questions she had asked her, such as "What magazines do you read?".
I don't know what Palin was complaining about... her answers were music to my ears.
And speaking of interviews, Dick Cheney took part in one with CBS radio this week.
As Politico reported:
Cheney conceded in an interview with CBS radio that he sometimes expresses himself “rather forcefully toward some of my compatriots, like Pat Leahy from Vermont” but dismissed as a caricature the idea that he is a “Darth Vader-type personality.”
“I think all of that’s been pretty dramatically overdone,” the vice president said. “I’m actually a warm, lovable sort.”
May the force be with you.
- Trix
Changes: Joe the Plumber is now Joe the War Correspondent, and Senator Norm Coleman is
now no more.