Sunday Talk Show Recap - March 13th

Nuclear Energy in the spotlight on the talk shows in light of the growing disaster.  What we witnessed was a breakdown of all redundant systems required to maintain temperature controls for the critical fuel rods.  With five reactors in jeopardy we are witnessing a systemic failure of risk, health, and safety controls.  That being said, it is too soon to condemn nuclear energy, as it was too soon to condemn off-shore drilling following the Deepwater Horizon failure in the Gulf of Mexico.  But we must understand the causes of these failure modes, and improve our controls to prevent further failures, improve detectability, and minimize severity. 

New short term continuing budget resolution to keep the government going for another three weeks.  Guys, just get the real deal done, but don’t do it piecemeal.  What will it take for our two and four year cycle politicians to take a long view and create 10 and 20 year comprehensive strategic plans that consider energy, entitlements, defense, education, tax code, regulation, science, and healthcare? 

Mitch Daniels, Indiana Republican Governor and potential 2012 Presidential candidate, was on Meet the Press saying that Congress needs to focus on fiscal issues and less on the nickel and dime issues.  Did you hear that Mr. Boehner?  Daniels went on to say “Don’t offer what you can’t pay for.”  Perfect.  Unfortunately Mr. Daniels was Bush’s Budget Director when that administration started two wars and approved the prescription drug benefit law.  Hmmm.  I like Daniels, and his support of Richard Lugar, and here is what I blogged about him back in December:

Indiana Republican Governor Mitch Daniels is getting some notice as a potential presidential candidate in 2012.  Although the odds are against him, he could carve out a patch of support from the moderates in the GOP.  As Governor he has shown innovation in the form of a statewide wellness program while balancing the state finances through a mixture of tax credits and tax increases, often pissing off both the Democrats and Conservatives in the state legislature.  He will probably get skewered by the social conservatives and the Grover Norquist clique for even talking about tax increases.  He is worth keeping an eye on.

Donna Brazile and George Will agreed (I know!!!) that the President is right to let others take the lead on this no-fly zone in Libya.  More shockingly, George Will echoed what Diggapedia has been saying since day one:  Who are these rebels?  This marks two weeks in a row that Digg and Will have agreed.  Sure sign of the Apocalypse?

Best inside story from ABC’s Jonathan Karl: Michelle Bachmann plans on running for President.  Oh happy days.  Where can I contribute to her campaign to make sure she gets the nomination?  Someone will have to get her a map and history book and hope she studies better than Palin in 2008.

I love listening to Republicans like Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) agree that revenue increases are necessary, but won’t call it tax increases, they call it tax reform.  Make no mistake about it, tax reform will result in winners and losers and many will be seeing fewer tax deductions to go along with their reduced tax rates.  Kudos to Mark Warner (D-VA) for having the stones to say that entitlement reform is necessary. 

Someone needs to tell Bill Kristol that oil is not a substitute for nuclear energy and vice versa.  Only Marty McFly and Doc Emmet Brown use nuclear energy in their automobile.  Why does Fox continue to push its bogus talking points that our gas prices are going up because we don’t drill enough here?  This is why they cannot be taken seriously.

I love the war chicken hawks at Fox: Kristol and Perino who have no clue about international relations and what happens when the US intervenes in ANOTHER Muslim conflict.  Kristol the same guy who said we would be welcomed as heroes in Iraq.  Perino the same ditz whose boss Bubba Bush led us to this situation in the Arab world.