The Hollywood Liberal

Late Late Nite FDL: State Bird Sings
I would like to dedicate this jubilant song to all who skipped the shopping madness today and to those who survived it.

State Bird “I Saw The Light” (Thanks to the gang at MOKB)

I would like to dedicate this jubilant song to all who skipped the shopping madness today and to those who survived it. 

What’s on your mind tonight?

Report: Some Obama Advisers Worried About Message Keeping Gates Would Send
So it turns out that during internal deliberations about whether to keep Robert Gates as Defense Secretary, even some of Barack Obama’s own advisers expressed the worry that we hit on yesterday: That keeping him risks sending the message that…

Last Chance
Today’s the deadline for applications for our Fall cycle TPM internship. Find all the details here….

Report: Murdoch ?absolutely despises? Bill O?Reilly; Ailes ?loathes him.?
In a forthcoming biography of Rupert Murdoch entitled “The Man Who Owns The News,” author Michael Wolff reports that the Fox News bosses have no fondness for Bill O’Reilly but are willing to tolerate him for his ratings: “It is not just Murdoch (and everybody else at News Corp.’s highest levels) who absolutely despises Bill O’Reilly, […]

In a forthcoming biography of Rupert Murdoch entitled “The Man Who Owns The News,” author Michael Wolff reports that the Fox News bosses have no fondness for Bill O’Reilly but are willing to tolerate him for his ratings:

“It is not just Murdoch (and everybody else at News Corp.’s highest levels) who absolutely despises Bill O’Reilly, the bullying, mean-spirited, and hugely successful evening commentator,” Wolff wrote, “but [Fox News chief executive] Roger Ailes himself who loathes him. Success, however, has cemented everyone to each other.”

“The embarrassment can no longer be missed,” Wolff wrote, in another section of the book. “He mumbles even more than usual when called on to justify it. He barely pretends to hide the way he feels about Bill O’Reilly. And while it is not that he would give Fox up—because the money is the money; success trumps all—in the larger sense of who he is, he seems to want to hedge his bets.”

GOP Looks to Young Louisiana Gov. Jindal as Its Own Version of Obama
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Last weekend, 18 days after Barack Obama decisively defeated their candidate for president, a mostly Republican crowd of self-described conservatives received their first introduction to someone many prominent members of the GOP think could be the party’s own version of Obama.

President Bush on the Mumbai Terror Attacks
12:51 P.M. EST THE PRESIDENT: On behalf of all Americans, Laura and I extend our condolences to those suffering from the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India. We mourn those who lost their lives, including American citizens. We pray that the injured will recover. We pledge the full support of the United States as India investigates these attacks, brings the guilty to justice, and sustained its democratic way of life. My administration has been monitoring the situation in India closely since the attacks on Wednesday. On Thursday morning, I spoke to Prime Minister Singh from Camp David. I sent our heartfelt condolences to the Prime Minister. This morning, I held a videoconference with Secretary Rice, our Ambassador to India, our Consul General in Mumbai, and other national security officials. We reviewed the latest developments, and we are working to ensure that American citizens in India are safe. Throughout the process, we have kept President-Elect Obama informed.

The Richardson Snub
SAN DIEGO — Check out this gold-plated resume: Seven-term member of Congress; special envoy to North Korea, Iraq, Cuba and Sudan; U.N. ambassador; energy secretary; governor; and five-time nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize. You would think such an overachiever would be a shoe-in for secretary of state in the Barack Obama administration, especially if that person was also a member of a highly sought-after ethnic group that gave two-thirds of its votes to Obama and helped him win four battleground states. And what if that person also happened to be a former presidential candidate who had stuck his neck out to endorse Obama over Hillary Clinton and wound up persona non grata among Team Clinton and even likened to “Judas” by ever-loyal Clintonista James Carville?

The Blame Game

Obama Cabinet Complete by Christmas
Transition chief John Podesta told Bloomberg that President-elect Obama would complete “virtually the whole Cabinet” by Christmas, and the new president’s team will reach beyond the Democratic Party. He said there will be “multiple Republicans” in the administration.

Said Podesta: “You’ll see them spread throughout the administration.”

Why Is Lou Dobbs Minimizing the Impact of Hate Crimes?
Dobbs got nervous after a news conference on link between the rise in anti-immigrant rhetoric and hate crimes against Latinos.

The Daily Muck
House leaders voiced their support for the Constitution’s “speech or debate clause” — a provision designed to protect members of congress from being arrested for their legislative activities — in a brief filed Monday in the case of outgoing Arizona…