Washington Sketch Live

Post columnist Dana Milbank serves as the capital's foremost critic of political theater.

He was online Friday, Oct. 30 at Noon ET to take your questions and comments about the things politicians say -- and the absurd ways they find to say them.

Subscribe to this discussion

____________________

Dana Milbank: Good afternoon, Sketchreaders!

I'm pleased to say that, according to a report just released by the Office of Management and Budget, the Washington Sketch has created or saved approximately 3,000 jobs. Admittedly, virtually all of these are media critics and bloggers who are lamenting the decline of journalistic standards. Bust still, thank you for doing your part to help our country emerge from this recession.

In other news, our wise man of online chatting at the Post, Paul Williams, has asked whether it might be fruitful for me to float my weekly chat on different days of the week based on the subject of my column that day. For example, today's Sketch, about the unfortunate optics at Pelosi's health care rollout yesterday, was my favorite of the week (how often, after all, does one get to use the lyrics "at the corner of your lips/at the orbit of your hips" in a story about the Speaker of the House?). But the column earlier in the week, about Senator Inhofe's flat-earth objections at the climate change hearing, was more provocative.

Please send your thoughts on whether such a change should be made, and your questions or comments about anything else.

_______________________

Tis the Season: With what costume will you celebrate this All Hallow's Eve? I want to hit the themes of the year, so I will go as Glenn Beck, crying, in pirate garb, floating under balloon boy's aeropod.

Dana Milbank: I have a few smoking jackets in the closet. Haven't selected one yet.

_______________________

Colorado: Hi Dana,

Where does Inhofe stand on other scientific issues. Does he reject evolution or think the Earth is 6000 years old?

As a scientist, I wonder how the actual science of global climate change got so politicized. Who's the culprit here? As an American, I completely respect people with differing policy viewpoints, but come on, mis-representing scientific facts is just plain unethical.

Dana Milbank:

He is a man of science! In fact I believe he was trained in ballistics and forensics by Rep. Dan Burton (R-Melon).

_______________________

Montreal, QC: Unhelpful messages and sexual innuendo aside, couldn't Nancy Pelosi's office come up with something more interesting than U2 to play at her health-reform rally? I know she's old, but U2?

Dana Milbank:

Taking suggestions now. Your recommendation for future Nancy Pelosi processionals down the Capitol steps?

_______________________

Oldest Established Floating Chat Game at The Post: Wouldn't We, the Readers, have to like, you know, visit the Web site regularly to find out when the Chat was occurring? That seems like too much to ask.

Dana Milbank: That may be what they're up to. I suppose I could tweet it on Twitter or something, if I can remember what my password is.

_______________________

Evanston, Ill.: Why is Joe Lieberman so adept a pushing my red derangement button? He is all for aggressive war and indefinite occupations costing thousands of American lives. He draws the line at the government competing with the insurance industry, because that would be doing too much.

Dana Milbank: Didn't get to Joe Lieberman this week, but he is a great source of Sketch material. I'm guessing he's still mad about '06.

So if the public option goes down, you can blame Ned Lamont up in Greenwich.

_______________________

Arlington, Va.: Why was the abortion protester prevented from interrupting Pelosi yesterday? Is it illegal to use a bullhorn without a permit?

Dana Milbank:

Just as there is a rule stipulating that no building in Washington can be taller than the Washington monument, no citizen can be louder than a member of Congress.

Actually there is apparently a Capitol ordinance prohibiting amplification without a permit.

_______________________

Nancy Pelosi is sooo old: and sooo out of touch...Chariots of Fire would be inappropriate.

And I'm a former five year D staffer.

Dana Milbank: Chariots of Fire is out of touch?

_______________________

Z-Ro for Nan-ze: Pimp On.

Dana Milbank:

See? Brendan Daly, the speaker's spokes-man, could have saved a lot of trouble if he had come to Washington Post readers for theme song suggestions.

_______________________

Chicago: Hey Dana, why does everyone, right and left, pretend to understand climate science? The left screams that anthropogenic global warming is indisputable and imminently approaching a tipping point. The right has a host of positions that all agree the science isn't settled. Ask either of them to explain everything they know about climatology and you get very brief and very uninformative responses. I'm not claiming a strong grasp of climate science but it's clear to me that the vast majority of people with strong opinions on it don't either.

Dana Milbank:

Reminds me of the public option. Proponents have ascribed to it magical powers as the most crucial element of health reform. Opponents say it means a national takeover of the health system. And nobody has any idea what it will actually turn out to be.

_______________________

Greenwich: I don't know about Lamont personally, but frankly I think the country could blame Greenwich for great, great deal more of its disastrous condition than just the potential flameout of the public option. AIG, for starters.

Dana Milbank: Also hedge funds generally. And ridiculous traffic on I-95.

_______________________

Nancy Pelosi processional: How about the old Cab Calloway standard: Minnie the Moocher?

Thanks much.

Dana Milbank: Ok, so I'm thinking Brendan Daly won't go with that one.

_______________________

Seattle, WA: May I suggest for Nancy Pelosi "Good Love" with mentions of Doctor, Mr. MD.

or

"War: What is it good for?" Springsteen version

Dana Milbank:

Springsteen is always safe.

_______________________

Serious question: Dana-

I am wondering your thoughts on Obama's trip to Dover yesterday morning. I saw the pictures, and thought it was important that he did that. It made me think back to your article about the woman over at Arlington Cemetary, and how far we have come now on this matter.

Now I read Liz Cheney says Bush did this all the time, only without cameras. Two questions...do you know if that is true? And aren't the cameras sort of important?

Dana Milbank:

It will not surprise you to learn that Liz Cheney is full of poo-poo. This was a subspecialty of mine when I covered the Bush White House. He often met with families of the fallen but had nothing to do with the flag-draped caskets, at Dover or elsewhere, on camera or off.

I was pleased to see the footage from Dover when I woke up yesterday morning. I think that was one of Obama's best moments in office. A president should not be trying to hide and sanitize the war dead.

_______________________

Songs for Nancy Pelosi: XZIBIT "PLASTIC SURGERY"

Dana Milbank: Note to Brendan Daly: I am merely passing these on as a public service. The Washington Sketch does not necessarily agree with the opinions expressed herein.

_______________________

Fridays: No, don't move it. For one thing, if we never know when to find you, we're going to get frustrated and complain about it. (Just ask Ana Marie and Tucker.) For another, your tone just fits Friday. You and Cillizza both belong here. (Though if the Powers That Be want to shuffle times so that we don't have you, Kelly, Hax, and Pegoraro in the same time slot, that would be great. Maybe you could move up with Cillizza?)

Dana Milbank: I suspect the editors want to keep me and Cillizza as far as possible from each other.

_______________________

Joementum: "I'm guessing he's still mad about '06. So if the public option goes down, you can blame Ned Lamont up in Greenwich."

Don't mix up cause and effect. It's not that he's avenging his loss -- he lost that primary because he already had a history of bucking his own party. That's precisely why the party faithful tried to get rid of him.

Dana Milbank: Perhaps, but by failing to kill him they made him stronger. He is now a Liebermonster.

_______________________

Chattanooga, Tenn.: Picture Pelosi traipsing down the steps of the Capitol to the sassy jazz sound of "Fever."

Now isn't that a fitting tune for selling health care reform?

Of course, the visual may be just a little too much to take.

Dana Milbank:

Makes me think of swine flu.

_______________________

Peer Pressure: The word is that the House Ethics report was breached by a staffer on a peer-to-peer network, while downloading songs or something. I didn't know that the Congress had a House of Lords.

Dana Milbank: Very sophisticated English wordplay for this chat, but I believe our representatives or peerless.

_______________________

Pub Lick Option: Has the PO risen from the dead enough times to qualify for Zombie opt-in?

Dana Milbank: Now maybe that's a better Halloween costume than the smoking jacket.

_______________________

Rockville, Md.: "And nobody has any idea what it will actually turn out to be."

This may be your best line.

Ever.

Dana Milbank: Uh, thanks, I think. Though I prefer:

At the corner of your lips

At the orbit of your hips

_______________________

poo-poo: As a sewer engineer I must advise you that the accurate scientific term for what Liz Cheney is full of is biosolids.

Dana Milbank:

Honored, but not surprised, that my chat attracts sewer engineers.

_______________________

New Britain, Conn.: I'm surprised you chose to go after Pelosi in your editorial and not our hypocrite senator Sen Lieberman. Too easy a target? Or you'd rather go after somebody who is actually trying to help Americans get health insurance?

I'm not Nancy Pelosi's biggest fan, but I applaud her for sticking strong with this. Not to mention that she WAS vindicated about the CIA lying to her -- they did in fact lie to her. I don't expect to see an apology in your paper, but then again, your editorial page is apparently channeling Boehner these days, so whatever.

washingtonpost.com: Rally has a lot of salt, but little pep

Dana Milbank: I would say that it's not really "going after" Pelosi to make fun of the song at the rally, or to point out that they used 300 pounds of salt to hold down the American flags. Aren't we allowed to have a little fun now and then?

As for the Liebermonster, you have only yourselves to blame, Connecticut.

_______________________

Hackensack, NJ: Isn't the best costume this halloween to dress as a Death Panel?

Dana Milbank: That is so August. Now, a bending cost curve, on the other hand. . .

_______________________

NYC: Hey Dana, when are you going to sketch Charlie Rangel? As a political matter shouldn't the Dems strip him of his chairmanship before he becomes the poster boy for political corruption?

Dana Milbank: Came close to it a couple of times but got detoured. For some reason my editors won't send me on the fact finding trip to the Dominican Republic that I requested. Still, surely House Republicans will have another resolution on that in the coming weeks. He was definitely in a featured spot at yesterday's rally -- a special stool in the front row with his name taped to it.

_______________________

Pelosi's entrance...: "Momma Said Knock You Out" - but ONLY if she can procure the actual boxer's robe worn by LL Cool J (and, of course, some shadow-boxing up to the podium would be mandatory).

Dana Milbank: Mr. Daly, I think we have a winner!

_______________________

Senator Inhofe: Have him check out the American Farm Bureau Federation. They are opposing global climate change legislation (cap and trade) with farmer head gear that says "Don't CAP my future."

Dana Milbank:

What a readership spectrum! Sewer engineers and people who are up on the farm bureau.

I'm alerting John Podesta and the others at the Center for American Progress to this obvious copyright infringement. Although if they had a picture of Podesta on a tractor I would like one of those hats.

_______________________

Delaware: If Lieberman won't even vote with his caucus on procedural votes why shouldn't they take away his chairmanships? Stripping him of power may even hasten an early retirement.

Dana Milbank: Please, it is lunchtime and we will have no discussion of stripping Joe Lieberman. We can all agree that it would be very bad for the country to see the orbit of his hips.

Thank you for chatting. See you next week, at a time. . . of Paul Williams's choosing.

_______________________

Editor's Note: washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions. washingtonpost.com is not responsible for any content posted by third parties.