hawaii

pWhen Travis ran away to Hawaii on “Cougar Town” (Tue., 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC), he ran into Ted Buckland (Sam Lloyd) from “Scrubs.” It was the same actor and the same character across the two Bill Lawrence shows, but Lloyd wasn’t the only returning “Scrubs” alumnus in attendance at this week’s “Cougar Town,” though he was the only character./ppTed and his a cappella group showed up in Florida for a competition, bunking at Jules’ place for a while.

Can the Internet fix politics? The question, of course, presumes that politics is broken which, in my view, it isn’t. I think that politics - meaning a two party representative democracy built upon a separation of powers between the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government - actually works relatively well in this country.

There are days where the punchlines really do write themselves : Sarah Palin released a statement yesterday announcing that she and husband Todd have cut their Hawaiian vacation short, after some controversy over a McCain campaign visor Palin wore with former running mate John McCain’s name blacked out with a Sharpie. The mini-flap began when the pop culture/gossip icons over at TMZ published photos of Palin sitting in Hawaii wearing a McCain visor with the McCain logo blacked out using a marker.

On Tuesday I wrote : I’ve now heard from multiple sources that the AFL-CIO and other labor unions have promised to stand firmly with Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter if he becomes a rare crossover Republican vote on EFCA when that issue hits the floor of the Senate. This is a life-and-death issue to unions, many of which are dwindling in membership, and they’re willing to give cover to one of the most endangered Republicans if it helps passage. Today, Greg Sargent got more confirmation of labor’s plans to shield Specter next year if he sticks with them in the EFCA battle.

Millions turned up to Washington to witness history. HBO exclusively broadcast the inaugural concert at the Lincoln Memorial with acts like U2 and Mary J. Blige . And record numbers tuned in on inauguration day to CNN for exclusive coverage like, “Obama wipes his nose” on the parade viewing stand. And millions more watched the live feed. We can’t remember Washington ever being so cool. What follows are our most unforgettable moments from the inauguration festivities in honor of the 44th President Barack Hussein Obama .

When a party gains Senate seats over the course of two consecutive elections, conventional wisdom holds that the bill is set to come due the third time around. But even as the media keeps its focus on 2008’s lingering Senate contests, there are some early indications that 2010 could be another strong year for Democrats. Republicans will once again be defending more seats ( 18-15 ) unless several Democrats retire unexpectedly from the body in the next 24 months. Jennifer Duffy, an analyst with the Cook Report, says it’s shaping up to be another bad year for Republicans.