In: Courteney Cox. Sexy, funny, smart. The former Bruce Springsteen dancer in the dark has had a phenomenal week. Her new sitcom, though critically panned, resonated with strongly with viewers, garnering amazing ratings. Further, the term "Cougar" -- and it's present popularity -- has started conversation in the Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times Op-Ed page. It is, to be sure, a buzzy topic made for the digital age.
Courteney Cox's cultural intelligence extends beyond what plays well on the small screen and her production company. It was announced this week that she will star in Scream IV with her younger husband (lest he get jealous?), David Arquette as well as Neve Campbell. Production starts in the Spring.
Out: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He is playing a dangerous game. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stole an election. He plays fast and loose with whether or not there was a Holocost. And now he's overestimating his ability to stall international observers, hoping against all hope that Iran can conjure up a nuclear weapon that will be a game-changer. Iffy.
Now that the internationally-popular President is Barack Obama, that takes away some of Ahmadinejad's steam. Also: The West -- and the Security Council -- is unified behind the popular President, against the Iranian regime's rogue nuclear project.
He has been warned.
In: Steny Hoyer. Now that Rahm Emmanuel is White House Chief of Staff, there appears to nothing that stands in between Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Nancy Pelosi's House Speakership, except, of course, the length of which Pelosi want to -- and can -- hold on to the Democrat Majority in Congress. Politics being what it is -- and Hoyer and Pelosi being longtime political rivals as well as students of rough-and-tumble Baltimore politics -- that should make for an edgy relationship. And yet, Hoyer and Pelosi each have their strengths, and that holds the diverse coalition together. from TheHill:
"Hoyer has been touting their case in Democratic leadership meetings, but he’s managed to do so in a way that does not diminish Pelosi, the clear driver of the policy agenda in the lower chamber.
"Depending on the day and often the hour, House Democrats are either inching closer to a final bill on healthcare or are losing ground as factions in the Democratic Caucus continue to bicker.
"Progressives seeking a public option have found that Pelosi is their loudest advocate. While other Democratic leaders would shrug if the public option were buried for good, Pelosi has intensified her fight for it.
"Hoyer is for a public option, and will try to pass a bill that calls for one. But he has also let it be known publicly that he is most interested in the bottom line of passing healthcare reform legislation. In that way, his position is more in line with President Barack Obama’s than Pelosi’s.
"As the public debate has worn on, Hoyer has done a lot of listening, a key facet of his job. And while his long association with the centrist wing of the party has earned him trust among right-leaning Democrats, progressives also praise the 70-year-old legislator.
"'He’s a bridge builder and a pragmatist,' Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) said."
Pelosi originally backed her old ally, the centrist John Murtha -- who's historic first victory served as a bellwether in 1974 -- over her old rival, Steny Hoyer. Hoyer shows his political skill by, a) letting bygones be bygones and doing his job effectively, and b) taking on the role as Centrist sounding board for disaffected Blue Dogs.
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