The Blagojevich Blowout Gabfest
Listen to Slate's review of the week in politics.
Updated Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2008, at 12:13 PM ET
David Plotz, Terence Samuel, and Bill Smee talk politics. This week, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich appoints a senator to replace Barack Obama, war rages in Gaza, and it's NFL playoff time.
Here are links to some of the articles and other items mentioned in the show:
On Tuesday, embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich appointed Roland Burris to fill the remaining Senate term of President-elect Barack Obama. A quick reaction came from the U.S. Senate, where some members are vowing not to let Burris take office. David points to a Slate piece that advocated a speedy appointment.
Terence points out that with Obama leaving the Senate, there are now no blacks serving in that body.
Bill says the ongoing attacks by Israel in Gaza might lead to an outpouring of sympathy for Hamas leaders, at least in some quarters. David says the attacks will force Obama to take a stronger stand on the Mideast conflict.
It's playoff time in pro football, but one team set a historic regular-season low, prompting the group to ask, "The car companies may be in financial trouble, but who will bail out the Detroit Lions?"
Terence chatters about the inauguration. He says this weekend everyone in Washington will be talking about who is invited to which inaugural balls and who is leaving town because of the expected crowds. He predicts the hot ticket will be the Illinois inaugural ball.
Bill recommends two newspaper stories on the nation's financial mess: The New York Times' profile of the rise and fall of Washington Mutual and a three-part series in the Washington Post outlining how Wall Street stayed ahead of Washington regulators.
David hates Milk.
Emily Bazelon is a Slate senior editor and writes about law, family, and kids. She's working on a book about bullying.
John Dickerson is Slate's chief political correspondent and author of On Her Trail. He can be reached at slatepolitics@gmail.com. Read his series on Risk. Follow him on Twitter.
David Plotz is the Editor of Slate. He's the author of The Genius Factory: The Curious History of the Nobel Prize Sperm Bank and Good Book. He appears on Slate's Political Gabfest.