April 29, 2018

So the White House Correspondents Association Dinner (aka NerdProm--although I think that does a disservice to nerds) was last night. And apparently, the Sunday show producers decided to wait to book those who could opine on it because I didn't get my normal guest lists until the very last minute. I've no doubt that much of it will be pearl-clutching on how "vulgar" comedian Michelle Wolf was and how "mean" some of her jokes were.

Because it's so horrifying for these reporters to hear the word "pussy" (which they haven't heard coming out of the mouths of at least a dozen congressmen daily--I've been on press calls. These congresscritters have potty mouths) and have Sarah Huckabee Sanders referred to as "Aunt Lydia" from The Handmaid's Tale, donchaknow?

So I will just remind our Beltway gatekeepers in the media what they accepted two years ago: It's just locker room talk, fellas. No big deal. Move along.

And if you want to talk about vulgar and mean, let's talk:

About how Flint, Michigan still doesn't have clean water after four years.
About how Reality Winner is still incarcerated almost a year later without being charged.
About how children as young as 4 are being separated from their parents by ICE.
About how Puerto Rico has been ignored entirely after devastating hurricane damage.
About how Trump threatened to shut down the entire country if he didn't get funding for his wall by September.
About how partisans on the right and left are more concerned with 12 year old blog posts by NBC News' Joy Reid than the fact that NBC News paid tens of millions of dollars to white guys who appeared to consider female staffers part of their benefit package.

I could go on and on. A few pointed barbs from a comedian is nothing to that level of vulgarity.

ABC's "This Week" - New Secretary of State Mike Pompeo; Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. Panel: former Gov. Chris Christie, R-N.J.; conservative pollster Frank Luntz; Democratic strategist Donna Brazile; and Shannon Pettypiece of Bloomberg News.

NBC's "Meet the Press" - Former FBI Director James Comey. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo. Panel: Maureen Dowd of The New York Times; Eddie Glaude, professor of religion and African-American studies at Princeton University; Kasie Hunt of NBC News and Stephen Moore, former senior economic adviser to the Trump campaign.

CBS' "Face the Nation" - White House National Security Adviser John Bolton; Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C.; Jeh Johnson, former secretary of Homeland Security; Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group. Panel: Susan Page of USA Today, David Nakamura of The Washington Post, Jamelle Bouie of Slate and Jonah Goldberg of National Review.

CNN's "State of the Union" - Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla.; Gov. John Kasich, R-Ohio. Panel: David Urban, former strategist, Donald J. Trump for President; Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.; Amanda Carpenter; and Patti Solis Doyle, former HRC campaign manager.

CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" - A panel on North Korea with former GWB adviser Elliott Abrams; Tony Blinken, former Obama deputy national security adviser; and Sue Mi Terry, former senior analyst on Korean issues at the CIA (2001-2008). Ronen Bergman, senior political and military analyst, Yedioth Ahronoth; and CNN anchor Jake Tapper, author of “The Hellfire Club.”

CNN's "Reliable Sources" - A panel on the White House Correspondents Association's annual dinner with Margaret Talev, WHCA's president; Molly Ball of Time; and Eliana Johnson of Politico. David Zurawik of The Baltimore Sun; Anthony Scaramucci, former White House communications director; Sanjay Gupta, CNN chief medical correspondent.

"Fox News Sunday" - National security adviser John Bolton; Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del; Kay Coles James, president of the Heritage Foundation. Panel: Jason Miller, former Trump for President senior communications adviser; Marie Harf, former State Department spokesperson; Rich Lowry of National Review; and Mo Elleithee, former DNC communications director.

So what's catching your eye this morning?

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