September 9, 2018

Imagine, if you will, that we have crossed into another dimension, beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is in the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone.

As the news confirmed much of what we've already known about how incredibly unsuited for office Donald Trump is and how he's managed by everyone around him, I couldn't help but picture him as the petulant little child that everyone has to placate and praise, lest he throw a tantrum and send them out to the corn field. Did you know that Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan actually went up to the White House to show Trump glossy pictures of the wall being built (it's not) and articles praising him just so he won't shut down the government? "It's a real good thing you did there, Mr. President, a real good thing!"

The thing that kills me is that we'll have a whole lot of speculation this morning as to the identity of The NY Times' op-ed writer. As if that's the important part of the story. The actual author is irrelevant; every single person in the White House participates in this charade that Trump is at all functional. As do the Republican majority. They're all afraid. Not of him, exactly. They're afraid of losing power, of losing the grift. And yet, not one of the news shows will accurately report that.

It's a bad thing. A real bad thing.

ABC's "This Week" — George Papadopoulos, former Trump campaign adviser. Panel: Jonathan Karl of ABC; former Gov. Chris Christie, R-N.J.; Democratic strategist Stephanie Cutter; Republican strategist Lanhee Chen; and Michelle Goldberg of The New York Times.

NBC's "Meet the Press" — Kellyanne Conway, counselor to President Donald Trump; Sens. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill. Panel: Democratic pollster Cornell Belcher; radio host Erick Erickson, editor of The Resurgent; Danielle Pletka of the American Enterprise Institute; and NBC News' Katy Tur.

CBS' "Face the Nation" — Vice President Mike Pence; Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va.; Tom Perez, Democratic National Committee chairman; Ronna McDaniel, Republican National Committee chairwoman. Panel: Amy Walter of The Cook Political Report, Rachael Bade of Politico, David Nakamura of The Washington Post and and Mark Leibovich of The New York Times Magazine.

CNN's "State of the Union" — Conway, Warner, Sasse. Panel: David Urban, former strategist for Donald J. Trump for President; Nina Turner, president of Our Revolution; Bill Kristol of The Weekly Standard; and Jen Psaki, former Obama White House communications director.

CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" — former Secretary of State John Kerry; Carl Bildt, former prime minister of Sweden (1991-1994), co-chair, European Council on Foreign Relations; Jonathan Haidt, author of “The Coddling of the American Mind.”

CNN's "Reliable Sources" — Patrick Healy of The New York Times; Carl Bernstein of CNN; Tony Schwartz, co-author of “The Art of the Deal”; Olivia Nuzzi of New York magazine; Sarah Ellison of The Washington Post; Stephen J. Adler, editor-in-chief of Reuters.

"Fox News Sunday" — Pence; Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del. Panel: Juan Williams, conservative commentator Katie Pavlich, Liz Marlantes of The Christian Science Monitor and Josh Holmes, former chief of staff to Sen. Mitch McConnell.

So, what's catching your eye this morning?

Can you help us out?

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