Happy Mother's Day to one and all. Not to be a downer, but I want you to take a moment and step away with me from the lovingly prepared breakfasts in bed, crayon-scribbled Mother's Day cards, bouquets of flowers and sweet kisses from your little ones and remember those mothers who are having to experience their Mother's Day without their child. The newly revamped BagNewsNotes (one of my favorite sites--do check them out) has a photoessay by Ashley Gilbertson called "Bedrooms of the Fallen" chronicling the bedrooms of fallen Iraq/Afghanistan service members. Gilbertson intended it to be a look at the lives of the service members themselves, but as I watched the video, I imagined the grieving mother, unable to take down those last connections to their son or daughter. Because to pack away that trophy or throw away that poster is to acknowledge the finality of that loss. One family has left their daughter's room basically intact for six years. Can you imagine the emptiness that mother must feel today? So for my fellow mommies, especially those grieving for their sons and daughters, I salute your strength, your resilience and the powerful love that still connects you.
On to the Sunday shows. For as pleased as I've been with Jake Tapper's hosting of This Week of late, I'm disappointed to see the booking of Rudy Giuliani today. What value could Mr. "A Noun, A Verb and 9/11" possibly bring to any discussion? At least he'll give Politifact lots to work with. The Times Square "bomber" (I'm loathe to give anyone that inept such an official-sounding title--a bag of fertilizer and some personal fireworks are hardly the tools of a serious terrorist) has caused the GOP to trot out the tired talking points of how Democrats are weak on terror--the fact that the bombing was thwarted and the terrorist arrested within 72 hours notwithstanding. So of course, the White House goes on defense, sending out counterterrorism adviser John Brennan, AG Eric Holder and Coast Guard commandant Thad Allen to argue that there really wasn't much more the White House could have done. "Holy Joe" Lieberman will cozy up to his neocon buddies on Fox News Sunday and Richard Shelby will be on Face the Nation and State of the Union to concern troll both the banking bill and homeland security. Not on the official schedule but possibly worth checking out: Howard Kurtz will have on Jon Meacham to discuss the Washington Post's decision to sell Newsweek.
ABC's "This Week" - Attorney General Eric Holder; former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
CBS' "Face the Nation" - John Brennan, President Barack Obama's homeland security and counterterrorism adviser; Sens. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., and Richard Shelby, R-Ala.; Adm. Thad Allen, commandant of the Coast Guard.
NBC's "Meet the Press" - Holder.
NBC's "The Chris Matthews Show" - Panel: Joe Klein, Cynthia Tucker, Kathleen Parker, John Heilemann. Topics: Growing Outrage Over Immigrants Among Us/The Sale Of Newsweek: Is There No Hope For Old Media?
CNN's "State of the Union" - Brennan; Shelby; Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla.
CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" - To understand recent economic crises, Fareed talks with the foremost economic columnist in the world. Plus, we discuss terrorism and the Times Square plot with counter-terrorism expert Richard Clarke. Later, how does a guy like Faisal Shahzad - with a good job, a wife, kids and a mortgage - get radicalized? Who is to blame? Bernard Henri Levy joins our panel.
"Fox News Sunday" - Brennan; Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn.; Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y.
What's catching your eye this morning?
