Talking Points Memo

Al Franken is Officially Boring

2009-07-06T18:35:11Z

The transformation from comedian to senator is complete. Harry Reid and Al Franken held a presser this morning, and Franken, who will be sworn in tomorrow, came off as the more serious and sober of the two (Watch).

It's going to take some time being measured and monotone to put to rest his image as a rowdy bombthrower (which is both embraced and reviled by the right -- take, for example, this fake photo of Franken still making the rounds and being passed of as legit). Somewhere between the obnoxious Franken and the straight-arrow Minnesotan is a truly witty guy. I look forward to it being safe for that Franken to emerge.

Sucks To Be Them?

2009-07-06T17:08:06Z

Are Republicans losing control of the tea-bagging movement? That's what it looked like in Texas this weekend -- and possibly around the country as well.

The Vietnam Legacy

2009-07-06T16:13:28Z

The public life of Robert S. McNamara in pictures.

Beware Post-Dated Resignations?

2009-07-06T15:15:53Z

Let me start by saying I don't think this is likely. But given our experience with Larry Craig, I do think it's worth considering. Remember, former Sen. Larry Craig came out and announced he was resigning his office. But folks who listened closely noticed that he only announced his 'intent to resign'. And later he decided that his 'intent' had changed and he wouldn't resign after all. He ended up serving right through the last day of his term in January 2009.

Now, Palin's situation is different in as much as Craig was under great pressure to resign and the 'intend to' workaround ended up just buying him time. Palin did this totally out of the blue. But given the thundering derision that has greeted her decision and exposure as a quitter of gargantuan proportions, is it possible she'll reconsider? After all, if she's resigning, why doesn't she just resign? Why wait until the end of July?

Again, I don't think it's likely. And I can't fathom a scenario in which it was planned all along. But remember we're dealing with a deeply erratic and probably mentally unstable person who does lots of completely whacked things at the drop of a hat. So it's hard to figure that three weeks isn't plenty of time for her to reconsider. It might even be enough time for her to un-resign and decide to re-resign all over again in time for the deadline.

TPMtv: Sunday Show Roundup: The Sarah Palin Chronicles

2009-07-06T15:06:30Z

After an unexpected and clearly hastily organized resignation announcement Friday, the political question on everyone's mind these days is what is going on in the world of Sarah Palin? We search for answers in today's Sunday Show Roundup ...

Full-size video at TPMtv.com.

Cornering the Anti-MJ Vote?

2009-07-06T14:48:14Z

Rep. Peter King (R-NY) denounces round the clock coverage of "pervert" "low-life" "pedophile" Michael Jackson.

Okay, It Must Really Be Real

2009-07-06T13:42:55Z

At 10:30 this morning at the Hart Senate Office Building, a maintenance crew assigned by the Architect of the Capitol will install the official nameplate outside of Sen. Franken's new office.

All you TPMers up there, head over with your digital cameras!

The Real (D)eal

2009-07-06T13:10:37Z

Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) launches his "I'm Coming After You, Arlen" tour of Pennsylvania.

TPMDC Morning Roundup

2009-07-06T13:08:29Z

The FBI takes the unusual step of publicly declaring that Sarah Palin is not under investigation. That and the day's other political news in the TPMDC Morning Roundup.

Robert McNamara Dies

2009-07-06T12:58:22Z

The secretary of defense to JFK and LBJ was 93.

Presented By:

2009-07-06T12:58:22Z

Stability Watch

2009-07-05T18:12:51Z

Sarah Palin's decision to quit her job as governor was so long planned that her father-in-law was shocked to hear the news -- which he got as an email news alert on his cell phone.

Endless

2009-07-05T16:30:35Z

Latest Twitter comment from Gov. Palin ...

Critics are spinning, so hang in there as they feed false info on the right decision made as I enter last yr in office to not run again....

Till The End!

2009-07-05T15:37:17Z

"Halfway through her first term as Alaska's Governor, Sarah Palin has done so much for her state and her nation ... Still, there is much left to be done, so let's help Governor Palin continue the job she was elected to do without all these petty distractions."

From the presumably soon-to-be-revised 'About' page at the Sarah Palin Legal Expense Fund website. (Thanks to TPM Reader AL for the tip.)

Can I Get a Witness?

2009-07-05T14:59:10Z

I'm reading Philip Rucker's Washington Post piece on Sarah Palin's decision to resign her governorship. Supposedly, personal attacks, particularly attacks on her children, played a major role in her decision to step down. But can we still bring up the fact that most of the supposed 'attacks' on Palin's family and children were self-generated efforts to use her children to garner more publicity and keep herself in the spotlight? The infamously silly Letterman incident being only the most recent example?

Please?

Late Update: A very good point from TPM Reader RW ...

It is shocking that a paragraph like this could appear in one of the nation's 2 major newspapers (from the Washington Post):
Yet Palin's vulnerability masks her firepower, ambition and strong will, advisers said. Not one to fit comfortably into convention -- and not comfortable being a victim, either -- Palin spoke Friday as if she was rolling the dice and betting on herself. She presented herself as a game-changer stepping onto a stage of her own making.

That is absolutely unreal. I'm guessing Philip Rucker, the author of this article, didn't bother to listen to Palin's resignation speech (or pretty much any public speech Palin has given since McCain tapped her for VP). Just wow.

I'm sure Rucker saw the speech. But it is bizarre to say that Palin is uncomfortable in the role of the victim. In fact I'm not sure I've ever found a better use for this much over-used word. As Noam Scheiber explained in one of the earliest and perhaps most insightful profiles of Palin, victimhood and resentment are Palin's twin touchstones. They define who she is.

Don't Blame Me

2009-07-05T12:00:28Z

Rumsfeld, on abandoning Geneva Conventions: "All of a sudden, it was just all happening."