As the Washington World Turns

I've never understood why more people aren't into politics like me. It's the world's greatest soap opera, it really is. And because I've been running crazy all week, I'm just going to give non-chronological re-cap of my favorite episodes:


"The Flyover"
Much hyped, fun to watch, but not an episode I'm going to remember a few seasons from now, kind of like that "ER" where they cooped Carter, Maura Tierney and that hot Croatian doctor in a classroom and made them do "Hamlet." (Yes, that really happened.) It started on a sunny day in Manhattan, with busy New Yawkers ignoring homeless people on their way to work. Then, suddenly, this giant 747 goes swooping over the lower part of the island, naturally reminding the jaded Manhattanites of that other sunny day eight years ago. Turns out, it wasn't a terrorist attack, just an ill-thought attempt to snap a picture of Air Force One over the Statue of Liberty. The mayor got all mad, the president got all mad, some chick that worked for the Bush Administration got all mad and accused the White House of "felony stupidity" (and she would know all about both felonies and stupidity, having worked for the Bush Administration). The episode ended in a too-quick montage of a staffer at the Defense Department insisting to his boss that he'd cleared the flight with the FAA and NYC authorities before getting fired anyway and a techie buying the White House an update for PhotoShop, all while the theme for "The West Wing" plays in the background.


"The 100 Days"
Clip show. Bo-ring.


"Flipper"
Previously on "As the Washington World Turns": two senators from rival parties share a train speeding away from the capital; one of them gets elected vice president; the other votes across party lines on a controversial stimulus bill, and now his own party is targeting him for electoral extinction. (Roll credits) The crusty longtime Republican senator holds a press conference to announce that he's switching to join the Democrats. (Note, we don't need any set-up scenes showing him meeting with his own party leadership to tell them first, because he didn't bother to do that.) He's not just becoming an independent, like the last guy who fled the GOP, or the guy the Democrats kicked out a few years ago. He's going full on to the other side. Now Democrats will have a basically fillibuster-proof 60 seats in the Senate (once the plotline about the Minnesota seat is resolved, probably during sweeps). Is the Republican party in trouble? Is there a place for moderates there? The episode ends with the president and vice president personally welcoming the newest Democrat, but a minor key line in the play-out music reminds the viewer that Sen. Specter (what a great character name!) may or may not be a friend. Kind of like Admiral Cain on "Battlestar Galactica."


"Hoof in Mouth"
This two-parter had its set-up in last week's episode, "The One With the Simulated Drowning," where the White House agonized over whether to make public the previous administration's memos outlining appropriate use of "enhanced interrogation techniques" such as waterboarding. Just when the WH though it had gotten out okay, the chief of staff went on a Sunday talk show and vacilated over whether the people who ordered the controversial methods would be prosecuted. While pundits argued over the wisdom of this, a mysterious illness began showing up in almost 200 people in a country of 100 million. Eager to change the subject and show some leadership, the WH swiftly moved to contain the new flu strain in the U.S., and finally got its Health and Human Services Secretary confirmed (a plot that had dragged on way too long). But then, right at the end of the episode, the vice president made some mildly boneheaded comments that would seem to contradict the "we've got this under control" message. In the "previously..." recap, we saw then candidate Obama deciding to select Joe Biden as his running mate despite his history of entertaining gaffes. Now the episode closes with Obama staring out from the WH residence balcony, taking a series of cleansing breaths while watching his children and becardiganed wife play with the new dog on the official WH swing-set.

"The Very, Very Short Goodbye"
One of the reliable liberal votes on the Supreme Court is retiring - like, practically immediately. It's something the president had anticipated doing, just maybe not quite this soon. By replacing a liberal justice with another (presumably) liberal justice, the president won't get as much flack as he would otherwise for changing the court's composition. But (added drama alert!) Justice Souter wasn't supposed to be a liberal vote back when President Bush the First appointed him, now was he? Once a judge gets his or her lifetime appointment, he/she may not always do what's anticipated.

To be continued...