As one of the original 2255 members of the Daily Kos, I think I'm in as good a position as anyone to say that Barack Obama's presidency is off to the greatest start of any presidency in the site's history.
Only 97 days into his term, it's already clear that Obama is the hippest, red hottest, most photogenic/telegenic President that this country has had since color film was invented.
I can hardly wait to see what develops over the next 3 days.
Morning lineup:
Meet the Press: White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs; Jordan's King Abdullah II; Roundtable: Presidential Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin and Jon Meachem (Newsweek).
Face the Nation: Sen. John McCain (R-AZ); Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT); Roundtable: Tina Brown (The Daily Beast) and Bob Woodward (The Washington Post).
This Week: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad; Roundtable: Democratic Strategist Donna Brazile, Republican Strategist Matthew Dowd; Chrystia Freeland (The Financial Times), David Sanger (The New York Times), and George Will (ABC News).
Fox News Sunday: Director of the National Economic Council Larry Summers; Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO); Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI); Commanding General of Walter Reed Maj. Gen. Carla Hawley-Bowland; Roundtable: Brit Hume (Fox News), Mara Liasson (NPR), Bill Kristol (The Weekly Standard), and Juan Williams (Fox News).
State of the Union: Senior White House Adviser Valerie Jarrett; Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA); Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT); Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC); Republican Strategist Mary Matalin; Democratic Strategist James Carville; Ex-Clinton Chief of Staff John Podesta; Ex-Reagan Chief of Staff Ken Duberstein; White House Photographer Pete Souza; Reliable Sources: Dan Lothian (CNN); Chris Cillizza (The Washington Post); Joan Walsh (Salon); David Frum (NewMajority.com); Celebrity Blogger Perez Hilton.
The Chris Matthews Show: Clarence Page (The Chicago Tribune); Trish Regan (CNBC); Anne Kornblut (The Washington Post); David Brooks (The New York Times).
Fareed Zakaria GPS: Peggy Noonan (The Wall Street Journal); Author Walter Isaacson; Jon Meachem (Newsweek); Harvard University Professor Niall Ferguson; Author Malcolm Gladwell ("Outliers").
Primetime viewing:
60 Minutes will feature a profile of Vice President Joe Biden — including interviews with Joe, his wife Jill, and President Obama; and, a report on America's dependence on coal.
The National Geographic Channel will premiere Waking the Baby Mammoth — a documentary investigation of the most perfectly-preserved wooly mammoth ever discovered.
Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition. Least of all, as Jon Stewart shows, those who haven't studied their history.
The Daily Show
Monday: Finance Minister of France Christine Legarde
Tuesday: President of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies Cliff May
Wednesday: Presidential Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin
Thursday: Actor Hugh Jackman ("X-Men Origins: Wolverine")
On a related note, Stephen Colbert stressed the importance of linguistics.
The Colbert Report
Monday: Musical Group The Decembrists ("The Hazards of Love")
Tuesday: Richard Engel (NBC News); Author Daniel Gross ("Dumb Money")
Wednesday: Author David Kessler ("The End of Overeating")
Thursday: Advocate for Drug Legalization Ethan Nadelmann
In a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) took to the House floor this week and asked whether DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano has gone "absolutely stark raving mad".
"I think the question we need to ask now is what's next, political show trials? That's the concern. When you have disagreement of political opinion, and then you set up the grounds for punishment for disagreement with political opinion, then the government creates what's called political show trials. In other words, kangaroo courts where people are put on trial for their political beliefs."
And that's not all, folks.
Also on the docket this week was the Johnston clan's appearance on Larry King.
KING: We told the Palin camp that Levi Johnston would be our guest tonight and asked for a comment. We got this response today from Megan Stapleton, the Palin family spokesperson:
"Bristol is focused on going to college, raising Tripp and advocating abstinence."
Survey says...
And speaking of FAIL:
A conservative faction of the Republican National Committee is urging the GOP to take a harder line against both Democrats and wayward Republicans, drafting a resolution to rename the opposition the "Democrat Socialist Party" and moving to rebuke the three Republican senators who supported the stimulus package. [...]
But an April 8 memo from Steele to the RNC indicates that while he shares the view of the hard-liners that Obama is leading the country toward socialism, he’s not inclined to support making it party policy.
"The Democrats are indeed marching America toward European-style socialism, and I will continue to criticize their dangerous policies in that regard," Steele wrote. "But I believe these proposed resolutions will accomplish little than to give the media and our opponents the opportunity to mischaracterize Republicans."
When even Michael Steele thinks a proposed GOP strategy is a loser, suffice it to say, it probably is.
Only time will tell.
- Trix