Appearing as a guest on Tuesday's Conan show on TBS, the HBO comedian absurdly suggested that recent allegation of "bullying" in high school by Mitt Romney are worse than being molested by Michael Jackson, and asserted that he would be willing trade being beat up in grade school for being "gently masturbated by a pop star."

Maher also again attacked Mormonism and religion generally, using vulgarity, and seemed to hold Romney responsible for the polygamy of his grandfather.

The Real Time host brought up Michael Jackson to suggest that Romney had behaved worse than a child molester:

But as far as this bullying, you know, this made me think of the Michael Jackson situation. Because, you know, he was accused of being a child molester. We'll never know because he's gone, but even his worst accuser never said that he did anything like actually have sex with them. It was grabby, grabby under the covers. Which is terribly wrong.

Maher continued:

However, when I was 12 years old, I was beaten on the playground. Just like the Mitt Romney thing, I was held down and somebody just punched me in the face while other kids watched. And if I could go back to 1968 and trade that experience for being gently masturbated by a pop star- (AUDIENCE LAUGHTER) -I would do it in a second. Frankie Valli could jerk me off. Gary Puckett of the Union Gap. The Allman Brothers, if we could go back in time. Marvin Gaye.

A bit earlier in the segment, while trashing Republicans for opposing same-sex marriage, Maher singled out Romney's Mormon faith for particular ridicule:

Of all the people to be making this claim that marriage is between one man and one – a Mormon? Between one man and – except for my (Romney's) grandfather, who went to Mexico specifically to get away from a country that said you have to have a marriage that's only one – they went to Mexico, the Romneys.

He added:

I mean, Mormonism, I don't want to get off on Mormonism, you know how I feel about religion, it's all bat****. (AUDIENCE LAUGHTER) But, I mean, this is, this is a religion, this is a religion that is so stupid that Tom Cruise would not join it. (AUDIENCE LAUGHTER) And Glenn Beck did.
 

It wouldn't take more than a nanosecond for the establishment press and TV talking heads to rip into any white political candidate — Democrat or Republican — who carved out a web site devoted to "Whites for Candidate X."

About a week ago, President Obama, with his powers of incumbency in tow, has decided to revive something he created back in 2007: "African-Americans for Obama." And, as seen in the Obama video which appears at the site and in what appears to be a new twist, the Obama campaign is driving a Mack through the alleged wall of separation between church and state by finding so-called "congregation captains" to maximize African-American support on his behalf. As would unfortunately be expected, the press has not covered campaign's move; A Google News search on "African Americans for Obama" (in quotes) returns only 17 results, only four of which are arguably mainstream media items.

The results for CNN and Mediaite are only listed because commenters at otherwise unrelated posts brought up the "AAs for BHO" launch. One found at Kansas.com simply lists readers' brief comments, and also isn't a result of the publication's original work.

The fourth mainstream result comes from the Times Herald in Vallejo, California. It too isn't a product of the papers journalists or editorialists, but is instead a letter to the editor from a Doris Robinson. It's worth posting most of it here, especially its delicious final sentence:

Of the million ways our first black president could have honored Black History Month, he chose to debut "African-Americans for Obama." Once again, this self-indulgent man plays the race card, creating social and political division, and ignores the many, many accomplishments of past and present black Americans.

Are you aware, Mr. President:

* That it was Republicans who supported the Civil Rights Act while the Democrats conducted a 57-day filibuster against racial equality. Sen. Robert Byrd, the late Democrat from West Virginia, spoke against the civil rights bill for 14 straight hours.

* That it was a Democrat governor (George Wallace) who blocked the schoolhouse door to keep out black students

* That the police chief of Birmingham, Ala., was Eugene "Bull" Connor, a Democrat and KKK member who ordered the police attack on thousands of peacefully demonstrating black children. They assaulted with high-pressure hoses, clubs and dogs and then jailed nearly a thousand children. "Bull" Connor was Alabama's Democratic National Committeeman and was later elected to statewide office.

* That it was a Republican federal judge, Frank Johnson, who in 1956 ruled in favor of Rosa Parks and who in 1965 ordered the Democratic governor, George Wallace, to allow Martin Luther King's voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery.

African Americans have suffered greatly at the hands of your political party, Mr. Obama.

… What have you really done for black Americans in the last three years? You have used them and their painful history to create your own personal playground while they stand outside the fence looking in.

You should be as ashamed of rallying "African-Americans for Obama" as I would be if Newt Gingrich was pushing "Whites for Gingrich" or Mitt Romney's campaign slogan was "Mormons for Mitt."

… you call yourself the "great uniter" while you systematically pit one half of your heritage against the other whenever it suits your political career.

Ouch.

It should also be noted that the 2007 version of "African-Americans for Obama" was marred by its original selection of a certain person to represent it in Nevada:

In other Mayweather news, it was reported by the AP last week that Floyd was MIA from a Las Vegas campaign event for Illinois Senator Barack Obama after the campaign had concerns about his rap sheet. He had been billed as the co-host of African Americans for Obama in Nevada.

In 2004, Floyd was convicted of misdemeanor battery for punching two women at a Las Vegas nightclub in 2003. He was given suspended prison sentences, $1,000 in fines, and ordered to complete impulse control counseling.

In 2005, he was acquitted of a felony domestic violence charge after his accuser, former girlfriend Josie Harris, changed her story. He was also convicted of misdemeanor battery for a bar fight in Grand Rapids.

This is the same Floyd Mayweather who recently tweeted is disdain for New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin's sudden and unprecedented breakout success as follows: "Jeremy Lin is a good player but all the hype is because he's Asian. Black players do what he does every night and don't get the same praise." It shouldn't surprise anyone that Mayweather won't back down.

Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.

Appearing as a guest on Wednesday's Tonight Show on NBC, HBO's Real Time host Bill Maher mocked GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum's pro-life views, inspiring laughter from host Jay Leno.

After Leno brought up presidential politics, Maher cracked that the former Pennsylvania Senator "thinks life begins at erection":

JAY LENO: What do you make of Rick Santorum's surge? You must be thrilled.

BILL MAHER: Oh, don't even say that word about Santorum. It sounds dirty. He's a, Rick Santorum, a little conservative for me. Thinks life begins at erection, this guy, I mean. what, I mean.

After Leno and the audience laughed, the HBO comedian continued:

There are people like that who think life begins the second the sperm hits the hooha. Before the man can even light a cigarette or get up and get a towel, there is a third person in that room. Before the woman can even say, "What are you thinking?" there is a third person in that room.

He went on to mock Tea Party activists for being willing to support Santorum, and brought referred to his opposition of the modern gay rights agenda:

But I think it's funny that, you know, this election, remember, up until recently was going to be election all about money. Deficits and jobs and the deficit and the spending too much, this is what the Tea Party was so upset about, right? Weren't they made at the bankers and the bailouts? And then, you know, somebody shoves a big, gay penis in their face, and they jump at it.
 

One web site devoted to "fighting the smears" (i.e., pretending that what is true really isn't) apparently isn't enough for Barack Obama's reelection campaign. There are now three, plus so-called "truth teams" of activists whose mission it will be to serve as rapid-response purveyors of what will likely heaping helpings of fabricated refutations.

This news is now officially 24 hours old; its first appearance, at least per Google News, came via the Washington Post and appeared at the web site of the Minneapolis Star Tribune shortly after midnight Monday morning. To no one's surprise, a search of the Associated Press's national site on "Obama truth" (not in quotes) returns nothing relevant, as does an advanced search at the New York Times on "Obama truth team" (also not in quotes). Here are key paragraphs from David Nakamura's story as it appeared at the Washington Post:

---

Obama’s ‘Truth Team’ aims to network its way to a reelection win

With his decision to embrace an independent super PAC last week, President Obama issued a plea for deep-pocketed allies to help his campaign fight back against Republican rivals in the increasingly expensive and sophisticated arena of television attack ads.

Now, the Obama campaign is putting out a call for its grass-roots network to join the battle for free.

On Monday, the president’s reelection team will unveil a trio of Web sites dedicated to providing supporters with information on the president’s record — and more than a little dirt on his Republican rivals. The campaign has named it Obama’s “Truth Team,” and the goal is to arm millions of surrogates with the facts, figures and talking points they need to engage in ground-level political combat — on their Twitter and Facebook feeds and in old-fashioned conversations with friends and neighbors.

… Of the three Truth Team portals, just one, KeepingHisWord.com, could be described as positive in tone, listing Obama’s accomplishments. A sample page provided by the campaign has the headline “Fighting for the U.S. Auto Industry” and explains that Obama extended “emergency loans” to Chrysler and GM in 2009. Now, the Detroit auto companies “are creating jobs.”

The other two sites are far more negative. AttackWatch.com aims to rebut political attacks against Obama. A sample page deconstructs Romney’s contention that January’s upbeat jobs report was a byproduct of private-sector innovation, not Obama’s policies.

… The third Web site, KeepingGOPHonest.com, allows Obama supporters to play offense, providing damaging material about his rivals. A sample page ridicules Romney’s comment during a Republican primary debate in South Carolinathat he has lived on the “real streets of America” and lists his connections to Washington lobbyists.

… The Obama campaign has arranged for surrogates — including members of Congress and state politicians — to lead the Truth Teams in battleground states.

… the approach can backfire, as the Obama team learned last fall when it debuted AttackWatch.com and the site was ridiculed by conservatives for the over-the-top, alarmist design — red lettering on a black background. The Obama campaign said 1 million supporters signed up on the site, but it has since been redesigned for the re-launch Monday.

A Google News search at about 12:30 a.m. ET on "Obama truth teams" (not in quotes, with duplicates) returned 91 relevant items. Many of them appear to be ABC News TV affiliates who picked up portions of the Devin Dwyer's post at the network's "Political Punch" blog on Monday morning. This is extremely light volume for a story of this magnitude, and is surely a small fraction of what we would be seeing if a Republican or conservative attempted such an Orwellian maneuver.

It will be interesting to see how much coverage this gets on the Big Three news networks' TV shows. My prediction: very little.

Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.

The aforementioned facts are generally not known by people who don't closely follow the news, because not much was made of them. But from the point of view of ABC News, particularly the hatchet men disguised as investigative reporters Matthew Mosk and Brian Ross, Mitt and Ann Romney have a much bigger problem than the Gores, Bidens, and Clintons: They, and particularly Mitt through Bain Capital (dubious, as we'll see), have given too much money to a particular charity. Because the reporters apparently want readers and viewers to see this as something underhanded, they describe charity as "sending" instead of "giving":

---

Mitt Romney Sent Millions to Mormon Church

Underscoring the prominent, if little discussed role that Mitt Romney played as a Mormon leader, the private equity giant once run by the GOP presidential frontrunner carved his church a slice of several of its most lucrative business deals, securities records show, providing it with millions of dollars worth of stock in some of Bain Capital's most well-known holdings.

Romney has always been a major donor to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which requires that members "tithe," or give 10 percent of their income to the church. His family charity, called the Tyler Foundation, has given more than $4 million to the church in the past five years, including $1.8 million in 2008 and $600,000 in 2009. But because Romney, whose fortune has been estimated at $250 million, has never released his personal tax returns, the full extent of his giving has never been public.

Newly uncovered stock contributions made during Romney's Bain days suggest there is another dimension to Romney's support for the church — one that could involve millions more than has been previously disclosed.

As part of just one Bain transaction in 2008, involving its investment in Burger King Holdings, filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission reveal that an unnamed Bain partner donated 65,326 shares of Burger King stock to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, holdings then worth nearly $1.9 million. And there were numerous others, giving the church a stake in other Bain properties, such as Domino's Pizza, the electronics manufacturer DDi, the phosphates company Innophos Holdings, and Marquee Holdings, the parent to AMC Theaters.

… The Mormon church is distinct from many other American denominations in what it asks from adherents in money, time and commitment — and not just because it asks young Mormon males to spend two years proselytizing for the faith as missionaries, said Jan Shipps, a religion professor at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis, and one of the preeminent non-Mormon authorities on the church.

… Romney appears to have lived up to rigid financial requirements within the church that asks parishioners to contribute 10 percent of their annual earnings.

… Securities records show that Romney found ways to help include the church in some of the companies most lucrative deals, just as other executives at the firm found ways to generate support for their favored charities. Among the companies named on securities filings as "Bain charitable institution donees" were the Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston, The Boston Foundation Inc., Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund, and family foundations run by several top Bain executives.

… Romney's own family nonprofit, The Tyler Charitable Foundation, was also cut into numerous Bain deals. The nonprofit, run by Bradford Malt — the Romney personal attorney who oversees all of the candidate's financial holdings — passed those stock earnings along to a variety of other charities, including the church.

It's hard to believe that ABC really bothered with the previous paragraph — or for that matter the entire report. What does "an unnamed Bain partner" donating stock to the Mormon church in 2008, nine years after Romney ceased his involvement in the business, have to do with anything? Romney still receives millions in annual distributions from Bain entities, but has represented in his financial disclosure statements that he has had no active involvement. Really, Matthew and Brian, those weren't "Romney's Bain days."

And what's with the use of dealmaking words and phrases to describe charitable donations? There's "sent," "carved his church a slice," "include the church in … lucrative deals," and "cut into numerous Bain deals."

Here's part of Rush's take on this nonsense earlier today:

So what? Valerie Jarrett just broke the law! She went into a church and gave a political speech ripping into the Republicans and then after the church speech, they did a voter registration drive in a church. Romney's not breaking the law.

What's wrong with giving to your church? It's a charity! He didn't take all the money himself like the Clintons do. He's not hiding it in some family foundation where he can get access to it later, plus a charitable deduction off the top of the donation he's made. Zero interest in Obama from the ABC investigative unit. Zero. I don't know how much money Obama gave Reverend Wright. We don't know how much money Obama gave Reverend Wright. We don't know how much money Reverend Wright gave Obama.

Breaking the law by a Democrat isn't news; but a Republican being generous with his money to an entity which someone doesn't seem to like must be sinister in some way, even though it's clearly lawful. Makes perfect sense to me. (/sarc)

It seems that Ross might have taken the assignment to atone for his breakout report on Jeremiah "Go D**n America" Wright four years ago. If so: For shame, Brian — especially since you seem to be conveniently setting the stage for an all-out attack on Mormonism should Romney get the GOP nomination.

Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.

On Friday's CBS Evening News, anchor Scott Pelley tagged Rick Santorum as the "very conservative Pennsylvania Senator" as he introduced a full report on the GOP presidential candidate's views on gay rights, abortion, and contraception, with correspondent Dean Reynolds warning that the GOP candidate's views on social issues that helped him in Iowa "have energized his opponents here in New Hampshire."

After noting a recent poll shows Santorum "coming on strong" in the Granite State since his near win in the Iowa caucuses, Pelley, applied the "very conservative" label to the Pennsylvania Republican:

The very conservative former Pennsylvania Senator is getting a lot of attention, and Dean Reynolds is chasing his campaign in New Hampshire.

Reynolds forthrightly noted that it is not Santorum who usually brings up his views on gay rights, as critics often show up at events and ask questions on the subject to which he responds. Reynolds:

That's Senator Santorum behind me on the podium now, and he's been talking up economic solutions here in New Hampshire. But over the last couple of days, virtually everywhere he goes he's getting questions about his social agenda and opposition to gay marriage. (…) The Senator rarely volunteers his views on homosexuality at campaign stops, but the crowds he addresses here regularly raise the subject.

After clips of Santorum interacting with audience members interested in his views on gay rights, the CBS correspondent recounted the Pennsylvania Republicans's opposition to abortion and contraception without elaborating on what Santorum's views are on how the law should treat these areas.

Santorum also opposes abortion, including in cases of rape. And he's spoken of the dangers of contraception or birth control as, quote, "a license to do things in a sexual realm that is counter to how things are supposed to be."

After asserting that "sometimes it gets heated" when he interacts with people who disgree with him, and after showing more clips of these interactions, Reynolds warned that Santorum's views on social issues could hurt him in New Hampshire:

Now, it may just be that he's in a different state. But it looks like the positions that helped Santorum win over evangelicals in Iowa have energized his opponents here in New Hampshire.

Below is a complete transcript of the report from the Friday, January 6, CBS Evening News:

SCOTT PELLEY: The GOP candidates face New Hampshire voters next Tuesday, and here's a look at today's new poll there. Mitt Romney way ahead, but Rick Santorum is coming on strong after his unexpected virtual tie with Romney this week in Iowa. Santorum is at 11 percent now, but look at this: He had just three percent this past Monday, January 2. The very conservative former Pennsylvania Senator is getting a lot of attention, and Dean Reynolds is chasing his campaign in New Hampshire. Dean?

DEAN REYNOLDS: Scott, that's Senator Santorum behind me on the podium now, and he's been talking up economic solutions here in New Hampshire. But over the last couple of days, virtually everywhere he goes he's getting questions about his social agenda and opposition to gay marriage.

FORMER SENATOR RICK SANTORUM (R-PA): Thank you so much.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: Thank you, nice meeting you.

REYNOLDS: The Senator rarely volunteers his views on homosexuality at campaign stops, but the crowds he addresses here regularly raise the subject.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: You say that gay men shouldn't be able to be married, have, adopt kids, and be allowed to serve in the military.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #3: I have a question, too, and it's about gay people.

REYNOLDS: Today, in Keene, New Hampshire, a question was asked on whether gay people should be allowed to marry.

SANTORUM: It's discrimination to deny rights. I don't want to deny any rights to anyone. Everyone has a right to live their life. That doesn't mean that they're entitled to certain privileges that society gives for certain benefits that society obtains from those, from those relationships.

REYNOLDS: For the record, Santorum believes marriage should be between a man and a woman only.

SANTORUM: Why? Because I believe we are made that way.

REYNOLDS: Santorum also opposes abortion, including in cases of rape. And he's spoken of the dangers of contraception or birth control as, quote, "a license to do things in a sexual realm that is counter to how things are supposed to be." Those who raise the issues are mostly the young, and sometimes it gets heated.

SANTORUM ON STAGE: So anyone can marry anybody else?

AUDIENCE MEMBERS: Yes.

SANTORUM: Okay, so anybody can marry anybody else? So anybody can marry several people?

AUDIENCE MEMBERS: No.

SANTORUM: Oh, wait a minute, whoa, whoa, whoa, stop being dicordant, or we're not going to do this.

REYNOLDS: Now, it may just be that he's in a different state. But it looks like the positions that helped Santorum win over evangelicals in Iowa have energized his opponents here in New Hampshire.

During Saturday's GOP presidential debate moderated by ABC, after the moderators had devoted six minutes to a discussion of what the candidates would say to a gay couple "sitting in their living rooms" about same-sex marriage and adoption, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich highlighted the double standard in the media's left-leaning sympathy toward gay rights issues but lack of concern about anti-Christian "bigotry" from the left. Gingrich complained: (Video below)

I just want to raise, since we just spent this much time on these issues, I just want to raise a point about the news media bias. You don't hear the opposite question asked. Should the Catholic Church be forced to close its adoption services in Massachusetts because it won't accept gay couples? Which is exactly what the state has done.

Should the Catholic Church be driven out of providing charitable services in the District of Columbia because it won't give in to secular bigotry? Should the Catholic Church find itself discriminated against by the Obama administration in a key delivery of services because of the bias and the bigotry of the administration? The bigotry question goes both ways, and there's a lot more anti-Christian bigotry today than there is concerning the other side, and none of it gets covered by the liberal media.

Below are video of Gingrich's criticism of the media, along with a transcript of the moderator questions on the subject of gay rights, from the Saturday, January 7, presidential debate on ABC:

DIANE SAWYER: I want to turn now, if I can, from the constitutional (INAUDIBLE) here to something closer to home and to maybe families sitting in their living rooms across this country. Yahoo sends us questions, as you know. We have them from real viewers. And I'd like to post one because it is about gay marriage. But, at the level, I would really love to be able to ask you what you would say personally sitting in your living rooms to the people who ask questions like this. This is from Phil in Virginia:

Given that you oppose gay marriage, what do you want gay people to do who want to form loving, committed, long-term relationships? What is your solution?

And, Speaker Gingrich? [NEWT GINGRICH]

SAWYER: Governor Huntsman, you've talked about civil unions. How do you disagree with the others on this stage?

[JON HUNTSMAN]

JOSH McELVEEN, WMUR-TV ABC 9: I'd like to go to Senator Santorum with a similar topic. We're in a state where it is legal for same-sex couples to marry – 1,800, in fact, couples have married since it became law here in New Hampshire. The legislature passed it a couple of years ago. And they're trying to start families, some of them. Your position on same-sex adoption, obviously, you are in favor of traditional families. But are you going to tell someone they belong as a ward of the state or in foster care, rather than have two parents who want them? [RICK SANTORUM]

McELVEEN: Well, what would be – I just need to follow up on that, if you don't mind, Senator. With those 1,800, if you've got a federal constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, what happens to the 1,800 families who have marriage here? Are their marriages basically illegitimate, at this point?

[SANTORUM]

SAWYER: If I could come back to the living room question, again, Governor Romney, would you weigh in on the Yahoo question about what you would say sitting down in your living room to a gay couple who say, "We simply want to have the right to," as the person who wrote the email said, we want gay people to form loving, committed, long-term relationships. In human terms, what would you say to them? [MITT ROMNEY]

SAWYER: Speaker Gingrich-

GINGRICH: I just want to raise, since we just spent this much time on these issues, I just want to raise a point about the news media bias. You don't hear the opposite question asked. Should the Catholic Church be forced to close its adoption services in Massachusetts because it won't accept gay couples? Which is exactly what the state has done.

Should the Catholic Church be driven out of providing charitable services in the District of Columbia because it won't give in to secular bigotry? Should the Catholic Church find itself discriminated against by the Obama administration in a key delivery of services because of the bias and the bigotry of the administration? The bigotry question goes both ways, and there's a lot more anti-Christian bigotry today than there is concerning the other side, and none of it gets covered by the liberal media. [AUDIENCE APPLAUSE]
 

ppearing as a panel member on Friday's Inside Washington on PBS, Politico's Evan Thomas – formerly of Newsweek – made claims about the existence of "angry, white, middle class" men in the Republican Party who are "seething."

And fellow panel member and Washington Post columnist Colby King accused GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum of "pandering" to a racist view "that black people are just shiftless, lazy and hands out" because of a recent comment in which Santorum appeared to bring up "black people" who receive welfare benefits, although the former Pennsylvania Senator denies that he used the word "black."

Early in the discussion, Thomas predicted that Santorum would lose the GOP nomination because of his social conservatism: "This will drag on for a while, and we'll try to gin some excitement into it, but Santorum is a social conservative who cannot beat Obama. And I think enough Republicans are going to figure that out."

The Politico writer soon brought up the subject of angry white men in the GOP: "It's interesting that Perry stayed in because there is still this angry, white, middle class male out there that is a seething, and Romney is not really their guy. It's not clear who is, I'm not sure, I mean, Santorum for the moment, but in some ways, that is a force to be tapped, and nobody's really found a way to do it."

King soon suggested that Santorum had made racist comments about African-Americans during a recent visit to Sioux City, Iowa. King:

He talked to the audience, and he told them, talking about entitlements, that I don't want black people, to make black people's lives better by giving them someone else's money. Suggesting that black people are just shiftless, lazy and hands out, and the hard working people are white people. But when you look at the statistics, of course, it blows his thesis out of the water as to who is getting entitlements and who's not getting entitlements. But that pandering that he did in Sioux City is something that's going to haunt him.
 

Thomas jumped in to complain that "pandering works" because of the existence of angry white men in the Republican Party. Thomas: "Well, except that pandering works, and there are a lot of angry, white, middle class males out there. They're there for somebody to tap into."

Below is video of relevant portions of the Friday, January 6, Inside Washington on PBS:
 

In light of the development this weekend that Mitt Romney and Ron Paul were the only two presidential candidates who had enough valid signatures to appear on the Virginia Republican primary ballot on March 6,  the American Spectator's John Fund appeared on Sunday's Fox and Friends on FNC and suggested that Newt Gingrich may yet find a way to secure a spot on the Virginia ballot. (Video below)

Appearing as a panel member on Friday's Inside Washington on PBS, Politico's Evan Thomas – formerly of Newsweek – took a jab at Senate Republican Leader Mitch Mcconnell, suggesting that he is normally not a "good guy," during a discussion of the Kentucky Republican's role in reaching a deal with Democrats to extend the payroll tax cut by two months. (Video below)

After panel member Margaret Carlson of Bloomberg News asserted that it was difficult to see the point of why House Republicans were trying to hold out for a longer-term payroll tax cut extension, host Gordon Peterson turned to Evan Thomas and observed: "But Mitch McConnell rode in the white horse, Evan, it looks like."

Thomas responded: "And when Mitch McConnell is the good guy, you know how bad things have gotten…"

Below is video of the relevant portion of the Friday, December 23, Inside Washington on PBS