links for 2009-05-11

Perhaps others are already saying this, and I'm just pointing out the obvious. But here goes.

The official story is: Botched photo op, now fully compensated for by the resignation of Louis Caldera (the director of the White House Military Office):

Caldera submitted his resignation yesterday and to no surprise, it was promptly accepted. The White House wants the memory of this fiasco to fade — and fast….

I've been to the White House Correspondents Dinner. And, if history is any judge, then comedians asked to perform there seem to do best when they joke with gentle jibes rather than go for the jugular. Someone should have reminded Wanda Sykes about that before tonight. Because not since Don Imus roughed up Bill Clinton at the annual event has a comedian been so mean-spirited. But, unlike Imus, Wanda Sykes didn't lay a glove on the sitting president Barack Obama. Instead, she reserved her barbs for George W. Bush, John McCain, Dick Cheney, Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity.

The fans have spoken. Out of all the shows currently on the fence for the Fall 2009 season, they want 'Terminator" to be back. Save One Show, a poll conducted by E! each year, asks television fans what's their pick for the show in danger of cancellation which needs to be saved. After 300,000 votes, "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" led the pack with 53% of the vote.

The runner-up, NBC's "Chuck" was a far second with 25%. "Dollhouse" followed with 10%, while "Life" earned 8% and "Privileged" another 4%. Previous winners of the Save One Show poll include Angel, One Tree Hill, and Veronica Mars.
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We can only hope. TSCC is a great show and deserves another season.

President Barack Obama, planning a meeting at the White House on Monday with "stakeholders'' in the health care debate, also plans a midday public address on "reforming the health care system to reduce costs.''

"We cannot continue down the same dangerous road we've been traveling for so many years, with costs that are out of control, because reform is not a luxury that can be postponed, but a necessity that cannot wait,'' Obama plans to say Monday, according to excerpts of his statement released by the White House this evening.

Basically, if it looked like Edwards was going to win the Democratic Party nomination, they were going to sabotage his campaign, several former Edwards' staffers have told me.

They said they were Democrats first, and if it looked like Edwards was going to become the nominee, they were going to bring down the campaign.

Dick Cheney made clear Sunday he'd rather follow firebrand broadcaster Rush Limbaugh than former Joint Chiefs chairman Colin Powell into political battle over the future of the Republican Party.

Even as Cheney embraced efforts to expand the party by ex-Govs. Jeb Bush of Florida and Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and the House's No. 2 Republican, Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor, the former vice president appeared to write his one-time colleague Powell out of the GOP.

Asked about recent verbal broadsides between Limbaugh and Powell, Cheney said, "If I had to choose in terms of being a Republican, I'd go with Rush Limbaugh. My take on it was Colin had already left the party. I didn't know he was still a Republican."