What the Buzzards Saw Atop the Republic

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin starts her new TV work tonight. She has evidently decided that scripted appearances, where she picks the topic and questions, better prepares her to face the electorate than, say, continuing to govern Alaska.

Meanwhile, the President of the United States is having a hard time scheduling his annual set-piece speech, the State of the Union, because of...television. The Hill has the story:

For all you Lost fans out there, don’t worry. The White House has promised that the upcoming State of the Union speech by President Barack Obama won’t cut into the premiere of the show’s final season on Feb. 2.


White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs recently said, “I don’t foresee a scenario in which the millions of people that hope to finally get some conclusion in Lost are preempted by the president.” But he didn't say when the SOTU will take place.
Lost fans created Facebook pages and tweeted to beg the White House not to cut into the three-hour time slot for the show that ABC set aside for that Tuesday.


The SOTU is typically delivered in late January, triggering speculation it will occur on Jan. 26. That's the same date as one of the popular first few audition episodes of American Idol.

At a time when the American military is openly fighting in two countries (and sub rosa, in who knows how many), the federal deficit as a percentage of GDP is reaching levels that would make Argentina blush, unemployment is at the highest level in a generation, and we are seriously debating whether or not the federal government should take over the most important one-sixth of the economy, it is, apparently, a question of priorities.