Barbara Walters: So. You in this for the money or the Presidency?

Sarah Palin: Barbara it is impossible to say what will happen in 2012 because it’s going to happen in 2012. Ha, oh Barbara, don’t you understand? That’s the thing about the future: it’s in advance. MORE »

Jeb Bush, the slightly less odious brother of former President George W. Bush, delighted the nation when he revealed he wouldn’t be running for Florida’s open Senate seat because huzzah, an election without Bushes! But even if he’s skipping the rounds for 2010, might he have bigger ambitions in mind for 2012? MORE »

All the networks are bummed about having to carry his boring ad-free economy lectures during prime time, but goodness gracious Barack Obama is the KING of after-hours interview show programming. His interview with Jay Leno last night got the dumb show its highest rating since Seinfeld’s final episode 11 years ago. President Obama must quit his day job immediately. [ArtsBeat Blog]

• OH THAT ROBERT GIBBS: WH press secretary Robert Gibbs responded to the comically inappropriate Dick Cheney teevee special yesterday — one in which CNN’s John King which did not even ask about Cheney’s secret death squad of assassins but did ask about whether Obama was “brazenly” trying to fuck & cripple America with his lies — with some modest inappropriateness of his own: “I guess Rush Limbaugh was busy, so they trotted out the next most popular member of the Republican cabal.” GEESH. [The Hill]

Here’s a major chunk of the big Jon Stewart-Jim Cramer Daily Show interview that aired earlier tonight. “Devastating” is just not the right word. It’s hard to remember the last time a teevee interview left us in such a state of stunned silence. As is often the case, Stewart interrupts his guest way too frequently given the breadth of his questions. But you can’t just cast this aside as some popular fake news comedy show host pulling a stunt for ratings. It’s the most ruthlessly honest, sobering conversation — from both sides — you’re likely to see on any show. Good. And note the lack of shouting. [YouTube]

Once a very long time ago (last year), Wonkette’s Liz Glover cornered Sam Donaldson and scored what she calls “my favorite interview ever.” But then shortly after the interview Wonkette was no longer owned by Gawker Media and all our own videos disappeared down a rabbit hole/server farm under Balthazar, and we were sad. The video has miraculously surfaced once again, (thanks Liz!), and we share it with you, the reader, to remind you of all that shall be lost when Mr. Donaldson retires. [YouTube]

Ok here is something annoying: when your journalistic media groups bill an interview as somebody “speaking out” on a topic when in fact they’re just mouthing the blandest pablum imaginable. Why even bother devoting another whole post to boring old Meghan McCain and her insistence that her boring mother has a really fun sense of humor? Well, because it’s a slow news day, that’s why. Plus HA, she had to be awake and in some terrible TV studio in Arizona at 5 o’clock this morning. [CNN]

Human dumpster Sarah Palin hasn’t held many unnecessary interviews in the last few weeks, what the hell is wrong with her? Does she want this thing in 2012 or not?? Her lazy ass needs to be in cold motherfuckin’ IOWA right now and every week for the next few years, going to fried steak dinners with the Des Moines Register people and what not. This is what one must do. John Edwards put four goddamn years into that state and look what happened, OH RIGHT, he’s President. Well, Sarah Palin may not have the “grit” of John Edwards, but she’s at least creeping her way back onto the interview circuit. The safe outlets only, of course. Now let’s see what she told the wingnuts at Human Events about her experience on the McCain campaign… ah, she did nothing wrong and wasn’t allowed to do enough right. MORE »

• COMICAL SUNDAY READING: The Independent landed a sit-down with former Hillary Clinton campaign chief strategist Mark “Bowser” Penn during one of his awful British speaking engagements and JESUS, the write-up reads as if Mark Penn had once sodomized and tortured and eaten every member of this reporter’s family! It’s titled “Mark Penn: The man who blew the presidency,” and along the way this reporter (whose name we cannot locate Cole Moreton!) calls him “fat,” “ugly,” and even — hide the children from this one — “indefatigable.” That is English for the American word “cuntmonger.” [Independent]

Everyone loves George W. Bush so much, and even more so when he gets all cute and modest about his epic record of WIN. Over the Thanksgiving holiday, Bush invited hungry street urchin Charles Gibson into his secret Appalachian masturbatorium, Camp David, for a series of interviews with himself and his first lady, Laura. There is a 7-page transcript. Page 3 is where the cool kids are hanging out. MORE »

That girl who nailed Eliot Spitzer, Ashley “Alexandra” Dupre, has given an interview to ABC’s Diane Sawyer as part of Sawyer’s “Prostitution in America” investigative journalistic reportorial KGB-spy series. Look forward to all sorts of juicy nuggets along the lines of: “In high school, Dupre was an honor student, worked in a restaurant and ‘never really socialized and went … to any of the parties, the high school parties. I got along with everyone, I was kind of popular. I was pretty popular.’” If she was so popular, WHY DIDN’T SHE GO TO THE PARTIES? You know, The High School Parties? That’s all. [ABC News]