Normally, I start these bobblehead threads with a video of some sort. But today is a very special day in my family. Today is our beloved dog Sophie's 7th birthday. Sophie is a very smart animal and I just want you to keep in mind how my sweet puppy views the world of her humans as we listen to these allegedly smarter humans opine on the state of the world.

Sophie instinctively recognizes a hierarchy within the family and adjusts her behavior accordingly. With the children, she is ever-patient and gentle. She never pulls on the leash if they're holding it, even if they're much slower than I am. When we take her places, she considers it her responsibility to stand between the children and strangers to assess their safety. She has never mouthed either one of my kids--ever. They could shove their fingers in her mouth and she'll lick their hand and move away from them, although she has tagged them occasionally with her enthusiastic wagging tail.

With my husband, Sophie is much rougher. They'll wrestle and jump around and Sophie will occasionally mouth my husband, although she's never clamped down with her teeth. Dad is the person she has fun with but she respects him too, choosing most nights to come lie down near him as we watch TV. But if my husband yells at the kids, Sophie is right there between them, making sure he knows that she's there to protect the kids.

With me, Sophie seeks comfort. I'm the one who feeds her and takes her for her daily walks. When my neighbors were setting off firecrackers in advance of the 4th of July, Sophie stayed under my desk chair. She will never eat until I've eaten and she never goes to bed until I go to bed. But she's not above nudging me with that nose if she thinks I need to stop blogging and go to bed already. We haven't trained her to be like that, it's simply how she sees the world. I think the politicians and pundits we're going to watch this Sunday could learn from Sophie: protect the children, respect the elders (but have fun with them) and show as much courtesy to those who provide as they give you.

So this morning, Sophie and I will go on an extra-long hike to celebrate her middle age. Let us know if there's anything postworthy in the comments.

ABC's "This Week" - Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Orrin Hatch, R-Utah; Reps. Karen Bass, D-Calif., and Tom Cole, R-Okla., former Gov. Eliot Spitzer, D-N.Y. Roundtable: Wall Street Journal editorial page editor Paul Gigot; Politico senior political reporter Maggie Haberman; New York Times Magazine chief national correspondent Mark Leibovich, author of the new book “This Town”; and television and radio host Tavis Smiley.

NBC's "Meet the Press" - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Rep. Tom Cotton (R-AR). Panel: Rich Lowry; Former Democratic Governor of New Mexico Bill Richardson; President of the Center for American Progress Neera Tanden; and Republican Strategist Steve Schmidt.

CBS' "Face the Nation" - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.; Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., Mike Kelly, R-Pa., and Pete King, R-N.Y.

MSNBC's "UP with Steve Kornacki" - Kasie Hunt, political producer, NBC News; Fmr. Rep. Tom Perriello, (D-VA), President & CEO of Center for American Progress Action Fund; Fmr. Gov. Jane Swift, (R-MA); Michael Brendan Dougherty, TheSlurve.com; Fmr. Gov. Douglas Wilder (D-VA); Liz Kennedy, counsel, Demos.org; Ken Gross, attorney, Skadden Arps; Nick Acocella, writer, editor, publisher PolitiFax.

MSNBC's "Melissa Harris-Perry" - Salamishah Tillet, Assistant Professor of English and Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania; Billy Porter, Tony Award Winner / Plays Lola in “Kinky Boots”; Stark Sands, Plays Charlie in “Kinky Boots”; Chloe Angyal, Editor at Feministing.com; Dr. Willie Parker, Associate Medical Director of Family Planning Associates of Chicago / Board Member of Physicians for Reproductive Health; Jose Antonio Vargas, Pulitzer-prize winning journalist and Founder of Define American; Amy Hagstrom Miller, President and CEO of Whole Woman’s Health; Tianna Gaines-Turner, Formerly Homeless / Witness to Hunger Program.

MSNBC's "Disrupt with Karen Finney" - Paul Henderson, Legal Analyst; Karen DeSoto, Fmr. Prosecutor; Fmr. Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND); Victoria De Francesco Soto, MSNBC Latino Contributor; Kenneth Padowitz, Fmr. Homicide Prosecutor; Michael Tomasky, Newsweek & The Daily Beast; Ryan Coogle, Director, “Fruitvale Station”; Vivian Greentree, Blue Star Families; Pamela McBride, Blue Star Families.

MSNBC's "The Ed Show" - Anthea Butler, University of Pennsylvania; Bob Shrum, Democratic Strategist; Trymaine Lee, MSNBC.com; Jelani Cobb, New Yorker; Larry Cohen, President, Communications Workers Of America; John Nichols, The Nation; Perry Bacon, TheGrio.com.

CNN's "State of the Union" - Govs. Rick Perry, R-Texas, and Pat Quinn, D-Ill.; Reps. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., and Chaka Fattah, D-Pa., and NAACP President Ben Jealous.

CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" - U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew. Dalia Mogahed, the former executive director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies, Steven Cook, a senior fellow for Middle East studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, and Tarek Masoud, a Middle East specialist who teaches public policy at Harvard University.

"Fox News Sunday" - Reps. Steve King, R-Iowa, Steve Israel, D-N.Y., and Michael McCaul, R-Texas. Panel: Bill Kristol, The Weekly Standard; Jane Harman, President of Woodrow Wilson Center & Fmr Congresswoman (D-CA); Karl Rove, Former Bush White House Senior Adviser / Fox News Contributor; Charles Lane, Editorial Writer for The Washington Post.

So what's catching your eye this morning?