It's quite clear that the tradmed elites want you to believe that the "fiscal cliff" (which, I repeat, is NOT a cliff, not even a curb; it is, at best, a fiscal crossroads wherein we decide what the priorities of this country should be) is of the utmost importance. That's why the soon-to-be former Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is on five different shows this morning.

But I want you to keep in mind something as you listen to Geithner and the rest of the Village elites: the notion of social distance. Chris Hayes brings it up in his book The Twilight of the Elites, describing it as follows (h/t Howie Klein):

A wide distance between the governors and the governed will produce a state that is predatory toward its own citizens, indifferent to their desires, and subject to the inbred whims and compulsions of its ruling class... [T]hose members of the elite who occupy the high offices of our pillar institutions and organizations are already psychologically disposed to close themselves off to the perspectives of others... Time and again, in radically different contexts, we saw those in charge be so blind to the interests of those outside their small circle that they pursued a course of action that would ultimately bring ruin and disgrace.

The need for the social safety nets that the Republicans are calling to cut won't go away just because the money isn't there. What do these congressmen think Americans will do? And that's the point Hayes makes: it isn't even part of their calculation. They're too removed to bother to care.

ABC's "This Week" -- Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner; Round table: House Deputy Whip Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla.; Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus; former Romney campaign senior adviser Dan Senor; former Counselor to the Treasury Secretary and Lead Auto Adviser Steven Rattner; and ABC News' Cokie Roberts.

NBC's "Meet the Press" -- Geithner; Sens. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and Bob Corker, R-Tenn.; Round table: Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md.; Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, CNBC’s Jim Cramer and Maria Bartiromo.

NBC's "The Chris Matthews Show" -- author Annette Gordon-Reed, NY Times' Jodi Kantor, author Jon Meacham, Random House Executive Editor, author Michael Beschloss.

CBS' "Face the Nation" -- Geithner; Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich. Round table: Moody's Analytics Mark Zandi, Campaign to Fix the Debt's Maya MacGuineas, TIME Magazine's Rana Foroohar and CBS News Political Director John Dickerson.

MSNBC's "UP with Chris Hayes" -- Gov. Daniel Malloy (D-CT); Elizabeth Pearson, Fellow at The Roosevelt Institute; Bruce Bartlett, Contributor to The New York Times' blog, Economix , Columnist for The Fiscal Times & Tax Note and Author of "The Benefit and the Burden;" Maya Wiley, Founder & President of the Center for Social Inclusion; Tony Dokoupil, Senior Writer at Newsweek & The Daily Beast; Kevin Sabet, Assistant Professor at The University of Florida’s Drug Policy Institute & former Senior Advisor in the Office of Drug Policy in the Obama administration; Veronique de Rugy, Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

MSNBC's "Melissa Harris-Perry" -- Dorian Warren, Associate Professor of Political Science & International Public Affairs at Columbia University; Matt Welch, Editor-in-Chief of Reason Magazine & Co-Author of “Declaration of Independents;” Tara Wall, Former Romney Campaign Advisor & Conservative Writer; Raul Reyes, NBC Latino Contributor & Attorney; Stephen Spaulding, Staff Counsel at Common Cause; Ai-jen Poo, Director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance; Annette Bernhardt, Policy Co-Director at the National Employment Law Project & Fellow at the Roosevelt Institute.

CNN's "State of the Union" -- Geithner; Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H.; Round table: Former Chairman and CEO of Hewlett-Packard, Carly Fiorina, Governor Brian Schweitzer (D-Montana), USA Today’s Susan Page, and A.B. Stoddard of The Hill.

CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" -- Harvard University’s Tarek Masoud and Steven Cook, author of The Struggle for Egypt; writer Evan Osnos and Council on Foreign Relations fellow Elizabeth Economy; Nassim Nicholas Taleb.

CNN's "Reliable Sources" -- Frank Sesno, Director of the School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University, Fred Francis, former correspondent for NBC News, and David Zurawik, media critic for The Baltimore Sun; Keli Goff, political correspondent for TheRoot.com, and Ramesh Ponnuru, senior editor at The National Review; Emily Bell, of the Tow Center for Digital Journalism; culture commentator Lola Ogunnaike.

"Fox News Sunday" -- Geithner; House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. Panel: Bill Kristol, The Weekly Standard/Fox News Contributor; Mara Liasson, National Public Radio, Fox News Contributor; Evan Bayh, Fox News Contributor//Former Democratic Senator from Indiana; Ed Rollins, Political Strategist and Fox News Contributor.

So what's catching your eye this morning?