Sanford Saga, Iran Update, BiPartisanship the Rahm Emanuel Way

Transcript of Mark Sanford
Kathleen Parker
Eugene Robinson
Dana Milbank

"Oddly enough, I spent the last five days of my life crying in Argentina so I could repeat it when I got here," -Mark Sanford

"Republicans touting family values can't seem to stay zipped. Democrats raising taxes can't seem to spare the change come April." -Kathleen Parker

"Sounds like a good time on the Appalachian Trail." - Dana Milbank


The links above should take care of the Mark Sanford saga, at least until reporters find out who his mistress is, and if he will resign as governor.. Haley Barbour will take over as head of the Republican Governor's Association, and should boost his chances for making it to the top of the list for 2012, along with Tim Pawlenty.

In this time of pain and confusion, whom can we turn to for words of wisdom? Could it be John McCain, who has had good words for Obama over Iran today? Oh, no, he had a sordid affair with a younger woman, while his wife was in a wheelchair, scratch him. How about Newt Gingrich, who's trying for a comeback after being tossed out as House Speaker by his own party? Nope, he also had an affair, while his wife was suffering from cancer, scratch him off the list, too. And asking Rush, who's been married multiple times and can't get it for free these days, would be the worst person in the world to ask. Guess that leaves Bristol Palin or Glenn Beck... Maybe what the Republicans mean by needing a bigger tent is because of all the testosterone in there...

The fake president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is acting like a punk again, dissing Obama for his recent public statement on the unrest in Iran, trying to equate him with Bush's former attitude: "Our question is why he fell into this trap and said things that previously [former US President George W] Bush used to say,"  Government honchos gave a victory party for Ahmadinejad, inviting 290 MP's. 105 showed up, leaving over 2/3 no-shows making a statement of dissatisfaction...

From the BBC "Mr Mousavi, a former prime minister, spoke of the "recent pressures on me" that are "aimed at making me change my position regarding the annulment of the election".
He described the clampdowns he and his staff were facing.
"My access to people is completely restricted. Our two websites have many problems and Kalameh Sabz newspaper has been closed down and its editorial members have been arrested," said Mr Mousavi, who has not been seen in public for days.

"These by no means contribute to improving the national atmosphere and will lead us towards a more violent atmosphere," he added.

Opposition leaders had called for a day of mourning on Thursday, but some reports say it has been cancelled.
The Guardian Council, which supervises elections, has already said it will not re-run the election.
Ayatollah Khamenei reiterated on Wednesday that he would "not yield" over the election result.
Hundreds of opposition protesters and activists are believed to have been taken into custody and at least 17 protesters have died in the unrest since the election.
The Iranian government has set up special courts to deal with those arrested and has threatened harsh sentences. So, the country appears at stalemate, in a game where the big guns will win. There are some ways that neighborhoods have been able to retaliate, one that the government will not report. They are noticing who among them are members of the Basij, and under the cloak of night, over 17 Basij have been ambushed and killed...

From the Christian Science Monitor comes an interview with Rahm Emanuel, where he gave, what he considers to be signs that a bill has had bipartisan input, especially for the upcoming health care reform: “The test of bipartisanship is not just how many Republican votes you have,” Mr. Emanuel told reporters at a Monitor breakfast. He laid out three tests of bipartisanship:

• The bill contains bipartisan ideas.

“That is a test the president laid out, and he has said it repeatedly: This will be bipartisan. There will be ideas from both parties and individuals from both parties in the final product,” Emanuel said. “Whether Republicans decide to vote for things that they’ve promoted will be up to them.”

• The president has reached out to Republicans.

“For [a bill] to be bipartisan, or appreciated for its bipartisanship, the president has to try,” Emanuel said. “As I said after the Recovery Act [economic stimulus bill], everybody said, ‘Oh you didn’t get Republican votes.’ But the American people saw the president trying. They saw the Republicans, implicit, instinctually and reflexively just rejecting any effort in the height of an economic recession as severe as the Depression.”

• The final vote count.

“Then you’ll get into the measurements that we have – ‘Oh, you didn’t get this many,’ ” Emanuel said."

Politico's Ben Smith reports on the latest riff from Sarah Palin: "Sarah Palin is again responding forcefully to a perceived attack on one of her children, this time attacking an Alaska blogger who edited a picture of her and her baby son, Trig, to replace Trig's face with the image of a conservative Alaska talk show host, Eddie Burke.

Emails Palin's spokesman Meghan Stapleton:
Recently we learned of a malicious desecration of a photo of the Governor and baby Trig that has become an iconic representation of a mother's love for a special needs child.
The mere idea of someone doctoring the photo of a special needs baby is appalling. To learn that two Alaskans did it is absolutely sickening. Linda Kellen Biegel, the official Democrat Party blogger for Alaska, should be ashamed of herself and the Democratic National Committee should be ashamed for promoting this website and encouraging this atrocious behavior.
Babies and children are off limits. It is past time to restore decency in politics and real tolerance for all Americans. The Obama Administration sets the moral compass for its party. We ask that special needs children be loved, respected and accepted and that this type of degeneracy be condemned.

The blogger, Linda Kellen Biegel, responded that she was makeing fun of Burke, a talker on KBYR who is a fervent Palin backer, not of Trig. "It's called 'Baby Burke' because it's Eddie Burke...basically his probable second-biggest fantasy about the Governor," Biegel wrote. "So, connecting the dots for you...WE'RE MAKING FUN OF EDDIE BURKE!!!!!!"

Senator John Kerry joked while talking about Mark Sanford: “Too bad,’’ Kerry said, “if a governor had to go missing it couldn’t have been the governor of Alaska. You know, Sarah Palin.’’


late night jokes:

"The Navy has dispatched a destroyer named the U.S.S. John McCain to deal with the North Korean ship that may have illegal weapons. Well, actually, the Navy didn't dispatch the John McCain, it just kind of wandered off on its own." --Conan O'Brien

"The mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa, announced he is not going to run for governor of California. Villaraigosa realized he had no chance of becoming governor of California because he was born in this country and you can understand every word he says." --Conan O'Brien

"Do you know anything about this swindling weasel Bernie Madoff? He's in jail now and they haven't even sentenced the guy yet. But he's in the cooler right now. And he is barred -- I heard this today -- barred from working in the securities industry. I'm thinking, well, great. How is the guy supposed to earn a living when he gets out of jail in 150 years?" --David Letterman

"And his attorney is looking for a shorter sentence. He wants 12 years. Bernie wants 12 years. Well, you know, if anybody deserves a break, it's this guy, really." --David Letterman

"Bernie could be going away for 150 years. Whoa, man, that's a long time. I mean, when he gets out, the Republicans could be back in." --David Letterman

"Have you been following what's going on in Iran? Oh, it's crazy. They had the election. Now it looks like there was some monkey business going on. And now people are demonstrating in the streets. And the government has imposed a curfew, in Iran. I was thinking, whoa, I just hope this doesn't ruin the swinging Iranian night life." --David Letterman

"Ahmadinejad has declared himself the winner of the election and is planning his inauguration. And I said, 'Well, why not? The country is really in a party mood. Let's go. Let's get those plans in order. Let's have some fun.'" --David Letterman

"And the leader of Iran's opposition party, Mousavi, the guy who apparently lost in the election, says he's ready to become a martyr. Don't kid yourselves. It's tough being a martyr nowadays, really. I mean, with the economy and all the budget cuts. When you die now, because of the economy, you're only going to be greeted by 35, maybe 40 virgins, tops." --David Letterman

"Anybody here from South Carolina? Well, their governor, their Governor Mark Sanford just disappears for four days. Literally, takes a hike. He's out. And now, he's back. And he says, 'Well what's the big deal? I was just on a vacation to clear my head.' You see, we never had that head-clearing problem with Bush. You know what I mean?" --David Letterman

"This is a big story because his wife, the governor's wife, had no idea where the guy was for four days. And today he gets a call from Bill Clinton saying, 'Hey, who's your travel agent? Who, where, how do I -- how do I get in on this?'" --David Letterman

"Here's a big story, ladies and gentlemen. Yesterday, there was an earthquake in Alaska. I'm kind of afraid to say anything." --David Letterman

"The Department of Homeland Security says that they will no longer use any U.S. spy satellites for domestic surveillance. In other words [on screen: Fallon whispers] yes, they will. An earthquake struck Alaska on Monday that registered a magnitude 5.4. But as Sarah Palin said, 'It felt like a 6 point oh, my gosh!'' --Jimmy Fallon