Tim Russert led with the economy, and "B-List-er" Paul O'Neill, a man sometimes too honest for his own political good.

How bad is the recession and when will we be out?  O'Neill gave a rosy forecast and said that the slowdown, a result of the Sept. 11 attacks, has stopped.  Tim confronted O'Neill with his comments from last March on MTP ("....are we headed for a recession?"  "No.") and said that the data shows it began in March.  O'Neill denied it, saying the economy took the big hit on Sept. 11.  Tim said that VP-elect Cheney had said to Russert in late 2000 that we were on the edge of a recession and O'Neill had said no; O'Neill clarified both statements and then talked about what a "success" the tax cut had been in speeding up the recovery.

Hilarious!  What recovery?

Tim then played a clip of Tom Daschle slamming "tax cuts that go disproportionately to the affluent."  Is O'Neill willing to live with tax cuts frozen at the present level? O'Neill said no.  Tim then previewed his interview with Joe Lieberman, who has said everything should be on the table.  O'Neill said, "Not while he's [i.e. The Twig is] around."

Is Cheney correct that Daschle's an obstructionist?  O'Neill said he'd leave that up to the VP to defend! 

Ha, ha, ha -- that is, if Tim can get a hold of him at his "undisclosed location."   

Is this partisan rhetoric?  O'Neill said "we need to work together... it is critical that we get the economy running faster than it has been running."  Will you continue to press for tax cuts even if it means deficits and/or tapping into Social Security?  O'Neill said the real question should be a focus on the degree of tax reductions.  But we had fiscal discipline -- are tax cuts feasible?  This, said O'Neill, is the year that counts -- we are living in the here and now, not 10 years from now, and Daschle has NOT called for raising taxes; we can work together.

Okay, he's completely wrong on policy, but right politically by pushing for negotiation of the issue to de-fuse it for the GOP.  This will not go over well with some in the White House or the RNC, who actually think they can succeed again with the issue even though they got no mandate for it in 2000.

What about the Domenici plan to eliminate the alternative minimum tax?  The idea, said O'Neill, was examined and rejected, but let's re-examine it.  The last time there was a tax cut of this magnitude, said Tim, was under Reagan -- and even he made a "mid-course correction".  Should we step back in a bipartisan way and consider such a correction?  O'Neill continued to push the goal of a 3% to 3.5% real growth rate as the way to balance the budget.

Can we keep the tax cut, increase defense and health plan spending and Medicare/Social Security fully financed without running a deficit?  O'Neill deflected a "yes" by again pushing the 3% to 3.5% real growth rate.

Tim then turned to Enron -- and the scandal involving pensions.  Will O'Neill investigate Enron?  O'Neill said that he'd look at -- shock -- REGULATIONS already on the book; there may be a need for rule changes.

Now THAT won't go over well at the Cato Institute.  Of course, don't hold your breath waiting for Twig and his Oil Administration to fund any enforcement of these regulations.

Should this be rigorously investigated because of the political questions surrounding the Enron meltdown?  O'Neill avoided an answer, going to broader economic issues, implying the fiasco was not such a big issue.  He had to backpedal, though, when Tim pressed him.

There was a brief exchange about Argentina -- O'Neill said we "should care about it much," but that the growth of the American economy in and of itself will help developing countries, along with the IMF.

Yeah, sure -- if you can prevent tin-pot dictators and their cronies from diverting IMF money to their Caymans bank accounts.  Good luck, Paul.

Tim's final comment -- the Washington Post calling for his resignation, along with the New York Sturmer... er, Post.  O'Neill said he has not been asked to step aside, and he will do nothing to detract from Twig's leadership.

The interview took up a full half-hour of MTP.  Considering that Tim would be interviewing the likes of Afghan president Hamed Karzai and Senators Lieberman and McCain, one has to ask why he was spending all this time with O'Neill.  The reason was obvious less than a few minutes into the interview: there are a lot of GOPers and even a few in George W. Twig's inner circle that want O'Neill out.  It seemed as if Tim had been put up to having O'Neill as a half-hour guest under the convenient pretense of the economy being issue one -- to "set him up" for a bad performance, more criticism, and yet more demands for his resignation.

If that's the case, it was a bad decision; O'Neill did a surprisingly effective job of deflecting Russert's attacks, even if he was using the ill-informed spin of Twig-O-Nomics.  

It should be added that O'Neill looks as if he's aged five years in just under one as Treasury Secretary -- but he out-preformed one other "stimulus plan" pitch man, Don Evans on ABC's This Leak, by quite a wide margin.

Tim then welcomed President Karzai, attacking him in effect whether Afghanistan let Mullah Mohammed Omar get away.  Karzai said that there were in fact no surrender negotiations, but an effort to dismantle the Taliban.  He is one man, said Karzai, and Afghanistan will keep looking, find him, and turn him over to the US.  Karzai also said he has no idea where Osama is.  Tim asked about the image Osama and Omar have given Islam.  Karzai: "They have damaged our religion.  They are criminals."  Should Muslim leaders be more outspoken about this point?  "Yes.  Absolutely."  Estimates of Taliban forces went as far as 40,000 -- where are they now?  Karzai said many had just gone home, and that the central, radical criminal element must continue to be tracked down and arrested.  How many hard-core members are still loose?  Karzai put the number at around (only) 35; "They will be found and they will be tried."  Will Karzai be able to control guns, roads and tax collection?  Karzai said yes to all.  Will the Afghan government be able to end all opium trafficking?  Karzai gave an emphatic "Yes!" before explaining the economic issues surrounding an end to opium cultivation.  With most Afghans making less than a dollar a day, international aid is sorely needed.   Karzai expects to be in the US before June.

Karzai, it should be said, was well-spoken, presenting the image of a leader who is poised and serene, but assertive and ready to play on the international stage.  The fact that he is reasonably "Westernized", speaks fluent English, and comes across as a modern and optimistic Muslim cannot be underestimated in the least.

After the final break, Tim welcomed Joe Lieberman and John "JJ" McCain.

McCain was asked if there should have been better control of the Pakistan-Afghan borders; he refused to second-guess Gen. Franks.  Lieberman said "It's not going to be over if we don't get bin Laden."  Tim raised the issue of billions of dollars in aid the Afghanistan; Lieberman defended them as helpful on the both economic and defense fronts, and made a point that Afghanistan and the region has gas and oil (a fact surely not lost on the Twig cadre).

Talk turned to Saddam.  McCain said that Iraq remains a threat and we did not finish the job in 1991; he also praised Turkey for its peacekeeping role in Afghanistan.  The lesson in Afghanistan, especially after the Taliban's war with the Soviet Union, is that "You can't walk away."  Tim mentioned Karzai's denunciation of what Osama and Omar have done to Islam; why are no leaders speaking out?  Lieberman said he's disheartened by the silence.

Should implementation of the tax cut be delayed?  McCain said no, but it's important to see that economic forecasts cannot be taken as gospel.  Lieberman wants everything put on the table to get the economy started again, and slammed the GOP's "ideological rigidity."  McCain mentioned that he opposed the tax cut because it didn't help working Americans.  Tim asked if we could support all the current  hot-button programs without running a deficit; Lieberman said he sees no option but deficit spending unless the economy rebounds, and McCain essentially agreed. So why not delay the tax cut if the money for programs is not there?  McCain said he does not feel postponing tax cuts is the answer; Lieberman again said that it's time to put everything on the table.

Tim then said he's heard that McCain is a mere three signatures from getting his campaign finance reform bill on the floor of the Senate; McCain said he thinks it will happen this year.  McCain also took the opportunity given him by Tim to slam the incoming GOP boss for continuing to work as a lobbyist -- but note that his name, Marc Racicot, was NOT used.

On the subject of Enron, Lieberman said he wants to find out where the regulatory entities in the executive branch were, and what was the role of offshore "partnerships" in the scandal.

Good, we say -- this is a huge scandal that hit a lot of Twig's fellow Texans in the pocketbook.  It's time to nail the crooks -- even if they're on the Twig team.

-- Dave "Doctor" Gonzo

Capitol Gangrene!
An appearance by Sen. Pete Domenici (R-Mars) makes for another crap-tacular extravaganza!

The Gang (minus Kate, darn it) jumped right into the story that's getting a good deal of attention, much to the right's chagrin: Daschle's policy speech on the Democratic proposal for an economic stimulus package.

Why is this a big deal? Well, I suppose because the press are excited that someone is actually daring to propose something OTHER than what the Un-elected Dunce wants. A Democrat dares to speak a fact that any child would know -- that the economy is severely hurt by Smirk's foolhardy tax giveaway to the wealthy -- and the press reacts as if it's a (shock!) bombshell.

Sadly, the fact is that it really IS news. And of course, the pundits feverishly rushed to assign all sorts of motivations and ramifications, and the right rushes to put words in Daschle's mouth and predict doom if his plan is adopted.

In dueling clips, Daschle and the Mud Puddle were shown. Daschle, calm and reassuring as usual, clearly laid out his winning case. And George, mustering up his weird bravado, ranted in a jarring, quasi-coherent style, saying that if anyone dare block further tax giveaways, "THAT'S a tax raise!" -- as if he's breaking some news to the masses that only he's smart enough to know. 

The fact of the matter is, only HE (and his trained monkeys) are saying that's a tax increase, because failing to give more of the OUR tax money disproportionately to the very wealthy is NOT a tax increase, or, in Bushspeak, a "tax raise."

Then, seeming to be on a bizarre excited jag -- and forgetting that the rousing "Read my Lips, no new taxes" sound bite killed his father's career -- Dim Son did Daddy one better by bringing the crowd (invited, hand-picked, mostly Republican party workers and donors, as always) to its feet with "Not over my dead body will they raise your taxes!"

What a cheap, no-class moron. I fervently hope that phrase will be hung around his neck forever -- and prove to be even more disastrous than Dim Dad's. I guess even he and his handlers KNOW with certainty that Daschle and the Dems will NEVER propose a tax increase -- otherwise he'd never stick his neck out like that.

But this allows Prince Mud Puddle to both lie that Daschle's proposal is a "tax raise" AND try to sound like he's the only one that can save us from it. He'd never go CLOSE to that statement if he didn't know with 100% certainty that there will never be any actual tax increases proposed by the Democrats.

I wondered, as I'm sure all of you do, what Bob Novak thinks about this attack on the tax giveaways to the wealthy. Thankfully, the Gang went right to The Prince of Gimme Gimme for his astute analysis.

I could have written his response 5 years ago -- and Bob the Blob did not disappoint.  Reverting to form, Sunbeam told us that the recession started under Clinton, it would have been worse if not for the Chimp's tax giveaway (although he hastens to add that the tax give-back wasn't BIG enough), and that Daschle "is having a presidential coming-out party." Bob said he thinks Daschle didn't come off well against Bush, that Daschle looked "restrained" (I guess that's a bad thing), and Bush came off "very well" and was "really feeling it" -- whatever that means.

It appeared to me that he was feeling some sort of searing gas pain, standing there yelling lame, macho platitudes like a rather dim junior high kid on the sidelines of a football game.  Guess his being a cheerleader at Yale is finally paying off! "Go guys! Those other guys are -- errr -- rotten! Win, guys!" One feels confident that if his school's team happened to win, Bush would believe that it was his personal accomplishment, and the actual players only incidental. And of course, the press would report it that way the next day.

Margaret repeated a phrase from Tom Friedman's recent op-ed in the New York Times saying that it may be fine for Smirk to be engaged in nation-building in Afghanistan -- something he condemned the Clinton administration for during the campaign and vowed not to do -- but that he ought to try to do a little "nation building" here at home and deal with the people unemployed as a result of the attack and stop worrying about the very wealthiest in the country.

Carlson also spoke the delicious true fact that the Republicans will never successfully demonize Daschle. 

But it should be fun to watch them try!

Then Pete Domenici, who is starting to resemble a sun-baked lizard from his home state of Arizona, babbled some of his patented convoluted nonsense and took a glancing stab at claiming that blocking any further massive tax giveaways is actually raising taxes. It was a curious piece of sheer lying that we're sure to hear repeated ad nauseam.

Mark Shields pointed out that instead of paying down the national debt, as was done in the last year of the Clinton administration, we're now going to have to raise the debt limit!

Then Al Hunt came out swinging. He really laid into both Novak and Domenici by slamming both of their BS, first quoting Robert Taft, who said that if someone can't dissent against the president in times of war, then democracy is dead. Hunt said every leader of the opposition has criticized the President in times of war, and Daschle's no different. Hunt said, "I think it's perfectly appropriate. You can disagree with what he did..." to which, Domenici, incredibly, replied, "Even disagreeing -- with the PRESIDENT?"

YES, you mental midget! Even disagreeing with that West Wing Squatter! Get used to it!

But Hunt, sadly, said it was OK to dissent "on domestic issues," implying that somehow it is forbidden to disagree on anything to do with the conduct of the war and/or foreign policy.

I couldn't disagree more. It's precisely the war and foreign policy that needs debate the most. No one should feel restrained from speaking out against it out for fear of being "unseemly."

Then Hunt continued, saying that he'd never heard a single soul say that the White House tax scam caused the recession, and the idea that the recession started under Clinton is absolutely false -- it started in March, and Bush was installed in January. Al urged Bob to get his facts straight. 

Don't hold your breath Al.

Then Lizard Pete tried to get a thought started, but first related a story about Al Hunt having come to Arizona with his young child and going to a baseball game together. This little exhibit of humanity bothered Novak. He grumbled, "Everybody's too chummy." 

I guess Bob Novak's contribution to "changing the tone" in D.C. is to feel that no one from the right should so much as speak to anyone even remotely on the left, let alone be sociable. But that's in keeping with Bob and his ilk on the right that believe firmly that this country should be run by a ruling plutocracy and the rabble is not to be trusted, and should be completely ignored. There shouldn't be any Democrats in the stadium sky boxes in Bob's brave new world.

Domenici spouted some numbers from a sheet of paper in front of him and maintained that the largest and quickest disappearance of a surplus into deficit in history was almost all due to "changes in economics." Someone tell me what that means, would you? Guessing is not allowed.

Margaret expressed skepticism about that. "Sept. 11 didn't do it?" she asked. "No, it contributed a little bit...", Domenici replied. 

And this is the guy that is the top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee. Be afraid --- be very afraid.

The Republicans have ALWAYS driven the economy into the ground. They never get it right, and never will. This is because they are primarily people with wealth, or who have been successful in business, or those that are deluded into thinking those with wealth are somehow smarter people. This causes a sort of mental illness where they then believe that since they can run a company or are successful (and/or lucky) at becoming well-off, that therefore they are the sole repositories for all economic wisdom, even when it comes to the entirely different matter of the economy as a whole. Never mind their connections, being in the right place at the right time, having never had even a chance at wealth without government help along the way, or any other circumstances -- what's good for them is good for the economy as a whole, they fervently claim. This is a delusion. It ignores the fact that what's good for the entire population, rich, poor, and in-between, is what's good for the economy. Very simple. But they can't grasp that concept. And never will.

And the slacker boy they installed in the White House is theirs, bought and paid for. He'll wreck the economy just like every other Republican president. No wonder he's so widely admired.

Next, another big lie of the right was exposed. You'll hear all the key Republicans saying that Daschle said the tax cuts caused the recession. This is sure to get the right riled up. The only problem is that it's not true. Daschle only said that it exacerbated the recession. It made it worse. But this critical distinction will be ignored by the ranting from the right.

Hunt pointed out the obvious insanity of saying that anyone would propose RAISING taxes during a recession. Al started to say, "If you want to do away with those huge tax...", and that was all it took for Novak to splutter, "That's an increase!"

Up is down, black is white, a lessening of a way too large tax cut is now RAISING taxes. Welcome to Repubworld.

And of course, the Simian Prince can bluster all he wants about not allowing the tax cuts to be altered, but they're not due to be done until years from now anyway. I'm sure the public's collective memory will be erased due to some new catastrophe Smirk and crew will have led us into by then.

The next segment dealt with the amazing disappearing "war" and the first death in combat of an American. Also, signals that the U.S. is considering taking over yet another dirt poor country without any organized government, namely, Somalia.

Hunt said that we should certainly let the warlords in Somalia know that we're keeping an eye on them and that if it appears that Al Queda is establishing a presence there, that there will be dire consequences. But, he cited the extensive Hart/Rudman report on terrorism (that the Smirk administration -- read Cheney -- shelved and set aside saying it needed "further study"), in saying that there is no central "headquarters" for terrorist organizations. They're scattered in small cells all over the world, including Canada and the U.S. This is another inconvenient fact that the Bushoids never mention, as it exposes the folly of their tactics.

What does Pistol Pete think? Well, first, he wanted to say what a "bold leader" Smirk has been, lauding the fact that he rushed right into a violent war and ignored every other option. Pete is concerned about whether the Chimp can get other countries to line up with us in eradicating these phantom groups that we label "terrorists".

I would suggest that before we expect anyone to come down on these groups in their countries that we at least have some clue as to who we're asking them to get. A far more daunting, if not impossible, task.

Carlson thinks that we're now deciding who to invade next based on a movie. She cites "Black Hawk Down" as the supposed reason that people are "bloodthirsty" to go into Somalia. That's probably true in some cases. And a great illustration of how shallow and stupid we can be.

Novak's take is that hawks in the White House are slobbering to invade Iraq, but Bush hasn't made a decision, so they're floating Somalia as a target instead. Sounds like a bunch of damn kids playing games to me. "Let's invade Iraq!" (silent pause) "Well, how about Somalia then?" "How about Liechtenstein?!!" "Guatemala? Burkina Faso?" (pause) "What's Burkina Faso?" "How 'bout California? Oh, c'mON! Let's invade SOMEone!" Smirk's cronies want to play war, and they want it bad.

The esteemed panel next dealt with the flap about the Secret Service agent of Arabic heritage tossed off an American Airlines flight. This was supposedly due to his papers not being in order, his having a loaded gun, and possessing a book about the Middle East.

If you believe the agent, and a witness seated next to him, it was yet another example of hysterical racial profiling. If you believe American Airlines, the guy was an arrogant asshole and deserved to be tossed.

I think it was a little of both.

One wonders if it was all pre-arranged anyway, as it hands the Chimp a perfect opportunity to come out thumping his chest against racial profiling, even while he and his henchmen often slip and describe the "war" as being against Islam, and his stupid remark about this being a "Crusade", as well as many other bone-headed and insensitive remarks.

The second half contained the usual two interviews. Al Hunt is to be commended by interviewing an immunologist working on the AIDS problem. This is a serious issue of global consequence, but attention to it has disappeared in the era of the Chimp. Clinton had made it a front line issue, but of course, Simian Boy's wonderful "Christian" faith prevents him from addressing any issue that is perceived as affecting primarily gays -- even if millions of victims are not gay at all. As we all know, causing people's deaths isn't exactly troubling to Smirk. I think he kind of gets off on it. He sure gets excited whenever he talks about it.

After the interview, Margaret asked, "Bob, would you say (AIDS) is the wrath of God?"

"I consider that a possibility." said Novak. Yeah.  And the right claims to have a lock on morality and "Christian values." These people are abominations to the faith. I have no doubt whatsoever that Bob truly believes that God has an opinion on tax policy too, and that he favors large tax cuts to the super rich.

It strikes me as supremely ironic that those that can easily afford psychiatric treatment, seem to be the ones in the most need of it, and don't take advantage of it. It's more likely that they just get a variety of prescription medications and don't bother with therapy, which results in their lunacy to running riot. But at least the drugs stop their consciences from nagging them.

Shields then interviewed James Cheek, the former ambassador to Argentina, who did the entire interview looking down at the desk in front of him. He didn't seem to have much to offer, and seemed scattered and rambling, though he did say that he worried that the near collapse of Argentina, it being one of the few South American countries that had gone along with the U.S. in being a close ally, and trying a free market economy, would only serve to prevent any other countries from going down that path.

Gee, you mean free-market economies don't always work? Naw -- that's impossible! Free market economics is a RELIGION of the right, (and the Democrats in Congress to a degree), so that's heresy!

Then -- (drumroll) -- the Outrages of the Week! Which is a totally misnamed segment, as the true outrages always precede this segment. [My comments within brackets]

SHIELDS: "Because the Dow Jones stock average tripled in value during the Bill Clinton presidency, candidate George W. Bush in 2000 could talk confidently and even glibly about privatizing Social Security partially. But since the 2001 Bush tax cut, gone is our estimated $1 trillion, which was needed to cover the cost of that privatization. Even worse for nervous Republicans on the ballot next November, up and down has been the roller-coaster of the Dow Jones.

"But wait! House Republicans now want to promise everybody 55 years old and over that their Social Security benefits will be guaranteed. That's exactly what the existing system already does, fellows."

[No sh** Sherlock! But what are the chances of that message getting out to the American public? Not much. When's the last time you heard anyone mention all the blatant lies and immediately broken campaign promises the Chimp made?]

NOVAK: "Ridiculous. All right. 'Thank God,' said Democratic Senator Robert Torricelli of New Jersey. After more than a year of presenting its case against him on page one of the New York Times, departing U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White announced without apology that no charges will be filed against the senator for alleged illegal fund- raising.

"In a typically nasty twist, Ms. White passed the Torricelli file on to the Senate Ethics Committee. What the Senate should really investigate is which federal prosecutors leaked the unsubstantiated charges to the New York Times."

[Boob gets one right.]

CARLSON: "Thanks, Mark. NBC's new motto: 'Anything for money.' The proud peacock is the first to shame itself by breaking the taboo against advertising hard liquor. Alcohol is among the country's top killers, raking misery on millions of families. Glamorizing it is the last thing we need."

[Tell that to the Bush brats!]

Former Democratic media consultants are producing the ads for Smirnoff, which will be seen by teenagers watching Frasier and Leno. Democratic consultants have now represented both alcohol and tobacco. What's next, firearms? Here's not looking at you, kid."

[Good point. It looks like NBC isn't the only one that will do anything for money. Dem consultants are obviously not exactly true believers either.]

HUNT: "Mark, thanks to the Washington Post, we know that Monsanto for 40 years dumped PCB, a toxic waste, from its Anniston plant into the creeks and landfills in that small Alabama town. This despite the fact the company privately knew that its own test showed alarmingly high rates of toxicity in fish and animals there. Monsanto's attitude: To hell with the citizens.

"Almost as outrageous is where's the rest of the media in covering this story?"

[Why, Al! Surely you don't expect anyone in the media to report on a corporation knowingly murdering innocent people! The media knows to keep it's mouth shut without even having to be told. Mega-corporate ownership of the media ensures this. It's taken a couple years, but the compliant media have been quick studies. Don't ever expect any negative press about any corporations. EVER. That's a thing of the past.]

Well, there you have it: another stomach-knotting, fist-clenching show comes to an end.

I survived without any apparent ruptured blood vessels or damage to other vital tissues. But of course, I am in top physical shape; otherwise, I'd be running an unacceptable risk of dangerous physical damage. Sure, a little steam escapes my ears, my eyes bulge, my head throbs and I go rigid for about an hour afterwards, but it's nothing that hours of running around the block screaming at trees and the occasional stray dog can't cure.

Dave "Doctor" Gonzo is an award-winning producer and political gadfly.  He has returned tanned, rested and refreshed from a stint terrorizing fellow skiers on the Vail slopes to his highly fortified high-rise compound on Manhattan's Upper East Side.

Donna Wynner is a senior partner with Reid, Whitney, Fine. She lives in Fort Lee, New Jersey, with a Weimaraner puppy named Mortimer and a housebroken husband.

Dash Riprock is a free lance smart aleck based in Moline, IL. His peeps can give him a shout out at dashriprockapj@hotmail.com!