Vladimir the Sonorous

Did someone put LSD in my coffee this morning?

Morning Must Reads: Coup

(White House/Pete Souza) –Obama’s tax cut deal is poised to sail through the Senate today. –What you missed Sunday: House Dems want to excise the estate tax concession. Rep. Van Hollen says they’re “not going to hold this thing up at the end of the day.” The White House doesn’t want to change anything. –Treasury [...]

Tonight’s 60 Minutes Today: John Boehner, Man In The Arena

On 60 Minutes tonight, John Boehner gets mostly friendly treatment. He also takes the opportunity to make clear that he is ready to deal with President Obama. An excerpt, per a release from CBS: BOEHNER:   We have to govern.  That’s what we were elected to do. STAHL: But governing means compromising. BOEHNER: It means working [...]

My Top 5 Songs Of 2010 (And 2 Holdovers From 2009)

You don’t come to Swampland for such lists, but it’s Sunday so I am indulging my access to a Time Inc. WordPress account. TIME’s official list of the Top Ten Songs of 2010 can be found here. This is my list of five, plus two. 1. Can’t Cash My Checks, Jamey Johnson Years ago, the [...]

In the Arena

Richard Holbrooke

The most awkward membrane in the life of a journalist is the border between source and friend. Richard Holbrooke and I crossed that border more than 20 years ago; we’ve known each other for more than 30. He has been an extraordinary mentor and an even better friend, not just to me, but also to [...]

1,000 Words: Chuck

Best Friday Ever: Bernie Sanders Is Still Talking

Update: Sanders yielded the floor at about 7 p.m. The clerk called the roll. If you are near a television, turn on CSpan2. If you are online, watch the feed here. He has held the Senate floor, more or less, since 10:25 a.m. Also you should check out isberniesandersstilltalking.com. Alex does some of the early [...]

Bill Clinton Takes Back The White House

Count this among the greatest miscalculations of President Obama’s career: “I’m going to let him speak very briefly,” Obama said Friday, upon introducing Bill Clinton in the White House briefing room for his triumphant, self-adulating return. Clinton, a former president who still pines for the limelight, did not speak very briefly. He spoke, rather, at [...]

Palin vs. PETA

To round out this week’s Palin-tastic coverage, a note on her latest foe. The PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) crew objected to the most recent episode of her reality show, Sarah Palin’s Alaska. In a statement issued this week, VP Dan Mathews said this about Palin’s caribou hunting, which PETA called “Sarah [...]

Serious Sarah

Even though Sarah Palin could start her own Oprah book club — the book she recommended in an interview with Barbara Walters last night, Confessions of an All-Night Runner, went from No. 13,086 to No. 4,764 on Amazon’s most read list overnight — she’s clearly switching gears to focus on her more serious side. Her [...]