Tom DeLay: People Are Unemployed by Choice
Well this probably won’t go over very well: On State of the Union, Former House Majority Leader-turned-reality-TV dancing star Tom DeLay says one reason so many people are jobless in the country is because they just want to take advantage of extended unemployment benefits. Candy Crowley isn’t buying it. Then again, DeLay managed to pick up some freelance work in these tough times. Although not everyone can throw on a sequined jumpsuit and cha-cha their way back to financial security.
Barbara Walters to Tiger: Don’t Do an Interview—Unless It’s with Me
After 29 years, Barbara Walters is finally putting an end to her Oscar special, but that doesn’t mean she’s done with her hard-hitting, personal interviews with the rich and famous. On Reliable Sources, Walters says she’s especially tired of the neverending number of post-rehab chats and has some advice for recently disgraced and rehabilitated golfer Tiger Woods: You don’t owe the world a sit-down interview… but if you do, give me a call.
Romney: Obamacare and the Massachusetts Plan Are Like Donkeys and Racehorses
On Fox News Sunday, Mitt Romney, who’s been making the rounds this week to promote his new book, trashed Obama’s health-care plan, comparing it to the current system in Massachusetts. He says the "ultimate pro-life effort" he pushed through in the state is “working well.” But host Chris Wallace points out repeatedly that the two plans are not as different as he’s making them out to be.
Lindsey Graham Warns That Reconciliation Will Be ‘Catastrophic’
Is this more of the “fear” tactics being used by the GOP to raise funds? On Face the Nation, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) used some strong language to describe what might happen if Democrats ram the health-care bill through without bipartisan support using the process of reconciliation. Millions more Americans will look forward to health-care coverage? It will be a boost to the economy? No, the results will be “catastrophic.”
Orrin Hatch and E.J. Dionne Spar Over Reconciliation
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne Jr. had a war of words over “reconciliation” on health-care reform in dueling articles in the Post this week, and both were on Meet the Press to duke it out in person. Hatch, along the same lines as Lindsey Graham, says the move would be “very, very dangerous,” but Dionne doesn’t quite understand why this is such a bad thing when Bush pushed through with another big policy decision: the “surge” of troops into Iraq.
So Health-Care Reform Is Like Ishtar?
What can the Senate learn from Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman in the fight to reform the health-care system? It must be Oscar fever, but on This Week, Republican strategist Torie Clarke had an interesting cultural comparison to make in a discussion over whether or not Democrats will move forward with the current bill and what the repercussions might be.
Gen. Petraeus: Iran Turning into ‘Thugocracy’
On Fareed Zakaria GPS, Gen. David Petraeus provided some updates on the situation in the Middle East. He warned that Iran is going from a theocracy to a “thugocracy,” as some pundits have dubbed it, and that it has become much more of a police state following the controversial elections which led to “outrage” and an uprising of the people.