Wonkette

Happy Censure Day everyone! It’s gonna be a helluvalotta fun — we’re glued to C-Span, obvs, and you should be too! MORE »

This Sunday’s shows undertook a major military operation. Between the anniversary of the invasion of Iraq and “Operation Swarmer,” talking heads all but saluted. Russ Feingold managed to grab some of the spotlight, and his motion to censure President Bush gave Bill Kristol another chance to rock Chris Wallace’s world: Feingold “is smarter than the Democratic congressional leadership” and “deserves credit for taking a principled stand, and I honestly think he’s winning this debate.” That sound you heard is Nancy Pelosi’s head exploding. Dick Cheney did “Face the Nation” but did not make much news beyond the world’s most awesome Freudian slip: “Most of my predecessors spent a good part of their time as President–Vice President running for President.

Also, debuting this week on ABCNews.com was “The Green Room,” a brave attempt to wring every possible bit of hot air from the “This Week” panel while they stand around uncomfortably after the show wraps in the nondescript, motel-ish decor of ABC’s DeSale St. digs. Personally, I have always found pre-show green room chatter more interesting (everyone’s trying out their lines) and the whole thing strikes me as an empty attempt to show us another side of people who are basically one-dimensional, but I applaud this Taylorite approach to news content and hope that less practiced pundits do something stupid and/or inspired backstage in the future.

Top topics: Iraq, Feingold’s censure motion and by extension the NSA wiretap program.

One-hit wonders: Boston College’s Sweet Sixteen chances (”Meet the Press”); Joey Cheek, humanitarian (”This Week”); Mark McClellan, TREKKIE (”Fox News Sunday”)

Quotes to live by:
• Dick Cheney admits that shooting someone in the face is “one of those situations that’s difficult, that generates controversy.”
• Chris Wallace, SUPER GENIUS: “It seems to me that the Senators who are most critical of [the NSA wiretapping] program are the ones who know the least about it.”
• George Will lays it out: “We need to define victory down.”
• Sam Donaldson is totally high: “Russ Feingold threw the long ball… but it might connect, as the Washington Redskins learned in the mid-70s.”

Also, Shorter Chris Matthews Show: David Gregory observed that “George Bush is the George Clooney of Washington… but that’s a little bit of a patina.” Wha?

Full rundown appears after the jump.

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* Reliable Source: Former Clinton staffer tries to sell official White House program signed by Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin on eBay for $50,000. . . Robbery scare at the home of Ken Mehlman. [WP]
* Under the Dome: Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio) reads blogs of all persuasions. [The Hill]
* Inside the Beltway: Chief Justice John Roberts’s speech at the Reagan Library was “absolutely captivating.” [WT]
* Inside Politics: Wall Street Journal editorial board on Sen. Feingold: “He’s had the courage to put on the table what Democrats are all but certain to do if they win either the House or Senate in November.” [WT]
* Rush & Molloy: Bono thinks Bush is “funny” and recalls Bob Geldof spraying Tony Blair with saliva. [NYDN]
* Lloyd Grove’s Lowdown: George Clooney feels “abused” by the Huffington Post: “I stand by what I do, but I’m very cautious not to take giant steps onto soapboxes because I think they’re polarizing.”. . . Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer approached by staffers of “The Bachelor.” [NYDN]
* Cindy Adams: House Republicans schedule another vacation period from Friday to the 27th. [NYP]

* Ben Bradlee says Richard Armitage probably revealed Valerie Plame’s identity to Bob Woodward. [NYT]
* Sen. Feingold’s call for a censure of Bush has caused a “fierce debate on Capitol Hill that is likely to persist throughout the congressional campaign season.” [WP]
* Fellow Democratic senators refuse to comment on censure resolution; Sens. Clinton and Kerry deflect inquires. [WP]
* Rumsfeld suggests that troop levels in Iraq could temporarily increase to coincide with religious pilgrimage. [NYT]
* Senate Judiciary Committee takes testimony from executives of top oil corporations, this time under oath. [WP, NYT, W$J]
* Bush, on brief tour to tout Medicare, says drug plan is “a good deal” and “makes a lot of sense.” [WP, NYT]
* FBI photographed Pittsburgh antiwar group in 2002. [WP]
* House Republicans support temporary restrictions on lobbying. [NYT]
* Senate Republicans reject new budget rule that would have made fiscal changes harder to pass. [NYT]

* Bush: “As more capable Iraqi police and soldiers come on line, they will assume responsibility for more territory with the goal of having the Iraqis control more territory than the coalition by the end of 2006.” [WP, NYT]
* Iraq will define Bush’s legacy; his approval rating in Gallup poll slips to 36%. Mark McKinnon: “The war is really driving almost everything in government.” [USAT]
* Sen. Feingold (D-Wis.) introduces legislation to censure Bush. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.): “How many of his Democrat colleagues will follow him over the cliff?” [WP, NYT]
* Republican lawmakers seek to boost spending despite misgivings from party bosses. [WP]
* Bush’s optimistic message on Iraq fails to resonate. [WP]
* Former White House advisor admits to “committing fraudulent returns.” [WP, NYT]
* Rep. Katherine Harris is expected to drop her Senate candidacy. [NYT]

See? We didn’t imagine it. That guy was totally giving Russ the old “Can’t get mad, I’m just casually resting my head on my fist and oh, look, didn’t even notice which finger I’m holding up” routine — which, combined with the fact that Russ’ back is to him, makes for a perfect 10 in passive-aggression. Not bad. MORE »

UPDATE: SESSIONS WINS FIRST-TO-EXPLOIT SEN INOUYE’S WIFE’S DEATH FOR SILLY POLITICAL POINT AWARD! PRONOUNCES “FEINGOLD” SAME WAY HE PROBABLY PRONOUNCES “FAYGO.” MORE »

This week’s Sunday shows were best viewed with 20/20 hindsight.

Top topics: Dubai ports deal (dead) and the Southern Republican Leadership Conference straw poll (meaningless). This was leavened with some talk of Iraq and a single, lonely reference to Saturday’s Gridiron show.

Quotes to live by:
• Chris Wallaces curses us out: “Do the Democrats have — pardon the expression — a Newt Gingrich?”
• Bill Kristol also has the first Arctic Monkeys seven-inch: “I liked McCain before it was cool for conservatives to like McCain.”
• Everyone (except surprise mystery guest Joe Biden) avoids saying they’re running for President, though Huckabee does announce for 2016.
• Hospice-bound Art Buchwald stays wry: “I believe in God, but I’m not too certain that the people who are telling me that ‘it’s God’s will’ are the people I want to be listening to.”

Full rundown after the jump.

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So we’re all excited ’cause Russ Feingold’s gonna censure the President, we read about it on the FRONT PAGE of the Huffington Post in a really big font so we know it’s gonna be big, but we’re watching C-Span and there’s some Senator we’ve never heard of — Judd Nelson or Judge Reinhold or something, the junior Republican Senator from North Vermontana — and he’s pointing at a big graph and we think he’s trying to sell us a food processor or a rotisserie oven. And he keeps asking Frist how much he’d pay for a product that could do all that, and Frist says, well, no more than a $19.99, but that’s not counting the $91 billion in emergency funds. MORE »

If you’re like our neighbors, you may have been too busy yesterday frantically boiling water so that you didn’t have to brush your teeth with sewage to see Russ Feingold tell George Stephanopoulos that he was planning on introducing a resolution to censure President Bush over his illegal wiretapping scheme. It was a moment that had all the great Washington, DC touchstones you’ve become used to:

* The Patrick Fitzgerald Memorial Tortured Baseball Metaphor

In fact, this conduct is right in the strike zone. Even though the founding fathers, they didn’t have strike zones; they didn’t have baseball — but this is right in the strike zone of the concept of high crimes and misdemeanors.

* Member of the Pundit Class Acting Like a Yorkshire Terrier

Shorter George Stephanopoulos: “What about impeachment? Can we impeach him? Huh? Huh? Come on, Russ! Impeach! Impuh-puh-puh-PEACH! Yarf! Yarf!

* A savagely ironic missing of the point

Stephanopoulos: “But censure appears nowhere in the Constitution.”

Uhm, yeah. But “separation of powers” does.

[More after the jump]

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* Top White House staffers are “physically and emotionally exhausted, battered by scandal and drained by political setbacks,” say “insiders.” [WP]
* Bush has come to embrace globalization and interconnectedness. Close aide: “We’re seeing it in everything. Iraq. The ferocity of an irrational argument over the ports. Guest workers. China and India.” [NYT]
* Sen. Feingold (D-Wis.) calls for censure of Bush: “The president has broken the law, and, in some way, he must be held accountable.” [NYT, LAT]
* Most Republican presidential contenders agree that federal spending should be reduced and an optimistic tone should be presented. [NYT, USAT, LAT]
* Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf insisted that Bush stay the night, and he obeyed despite security concerns. [NYT]
* Texas pharmacists complain to Karl Rove about the shortcomings of the new Medicare plan. [NYT]