Pink Martini -- Never on Sunday
This song comes from the Greek movie of the same name, made in 1960, and for some reason, was playing through my head last night watching the speeches of the Republican candidates. If you've never heard of the movie, Melina Mercouri played Ilya, a prostitute who is happy with her life and very independent-minded (itself a radical notion in 1960). An American classical scholar named Homer comes to Greece to see why this great empire had fallen from its former glory and projects upon the prostitute that she is the symbol of all that is no longer great about Greece and decides to "save" her. Ironically, all the money and books that Homer gives Ilya comes from an organized crime figure who worries that her independence gives all the other prostitutes ideas and wants to see her living a quiet, retired life.
It's an imperfect analogy, but I couldn't help but ask myself as I looked at the circus of primary, who exactly is Homer and who is Ilya? How do South Carolinians, who pride themselves on being the most extreme social conservatives, evangelical Christian, family values voter end up voting overwhelmingly for a thrice-married, philandering newly converted Catholic with a history of corruption charges and a revolving account at Tiffany's that is larger than most people's salaries? How in the hell did that kind of resume become the go-to candidate? The central crux of the movie is to see whose spirit will prove to be stronger, Homer's or Ilya's. I don't know if this country's spirit can take much more of this 'saving' by Republicans.
ABC's "This Week" - 2012 GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum. Panel: George Will, Matthew Dowd, Ron Brownstein, Katrina vanden Heuvel.
NBC's "Meet the Press" - 2012 GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich; Gov. Chris Christie, R-N.J. Panel: Joe Scarborough, Mike Murphy, Katty Kay, Chuck Todd. Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter; Washington, DC Mayor Vincent Gray
NBC's "The Chris Matthews Show" - Panel: Kathleen Parker, Major Garrett, ,Andrea Mitchell, Neil Swidey. Topics: What Makes Mitt Romney Tick? Who are the Republican Billionaires Funding the Anti-Obama Attack Ads?
MSNBC's "UP with Chris Hayes" - Panel: Melissa Harris-Perry, Eliot Spitzer, David Stockman, Catherine Rampell. Topics: Results and analysis of the South Carolina Republican presidential primary; Stephen Colbert's super PAC; Pres. Obama's upcoming State of the Union speech; The White House decision on the Keystone XL pipeline
CBS' "Face the Nation" - Gingrich; former Gov. Haley Barbour, R-Miss., and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. Panel: John Dickerson, Joe Klein, Kelly Evans.
CNN's "State of the Union" - Gingrich; Santorum; Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., and Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C.
CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" - Discussion of Private Equity with David Rubenstein, The Carlyle Group; Panel discussion on the GOP, the economy, Iran, and moreArianna Huffington, Mort Zuckerman, David Frum, Steve Rattner, Willett Advisors LLC.
CNN's "Reliable Sources" - Brian Ross, ABC; Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post; Arthur Brisbane, New York Times; Mark Barabak, Los Angeles Times; Ryan Lizza, New Yorker
"Fox News Sunday" - Stuart Stevens, chief Romney strategist; Rep. John Boehner, (R-OH); Panel: Liz Cheney, Liz Marlantes, Karl Rove, Joe Trippi.
So, what's catching your eye this morning?
