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This past week’s Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington D.C. was supposed to mark the beginning of the reemergence of the conservative movement. Attracting a record setting crowd of individuals, the event took on a decidedly urgent tone: don’t write the GOP obituary just yet.

It’s been fascinating watching the once imperious Republican machine staggering around the very institutions in which they only so recently swaggered. The all-encompassing cluelessness that Repubs have lately shown is far more stunning than even the years of Democratic ball-lessness during the bleak Bush years. That was just maddening. This is ball-less, brainless, senseless, gormless—and downright enjoyable. Yeah, enjoyable. Good to have them stripped of their arrogant, impervious facades and exposed to the world as the things we always knew writhed beneath.

I know that there are many Republicans out there, who think that Sarah Palin is a complete “whack job” (to quote a source in the McCain campaign). I know this because I just had dinner with one of them the other night. My impression was that she voted for Obama, almost out of desperation, because she wouldn’t be able to sleep at night knowing Sarah Palin was a heartbeat away from the presidency.

“Oh God,” muttered Chris Matthews, before Gov. Jindal had begun. If you’re going to enter like a wanna be president the least you can do is have a clue what has come before you show up. Michael Gerson should be hiding after tonight: Some have compared Jindal to Obama, but the new president has always been more attracted to platitudes than to policy. Rush Limbaugh has anointed Jindal “the next Ronald Reagan.” Happy Mardi Gras is how Gov. Jindal started. It got worse from there.

Gov. Bobby Jindal’s task tonight, to rebut President Obama’s first address to a joint session of Congress, was a thankless one. But it still constituted an opportunity for the Louisiana Republican to show that he could handle the national spotlight, present himself as a fresh face of the Republican Party, and stand up to the current president oratorically. On each of these three hurdles, he came up short.

Welcome back to Wife Watch!, the only blog post that ranks the most powerful wives on this week’s Big Love. This week’s contest, however, will be a little bit different, since the latest episode, “Come, Ye Saints,” is never about power. Instead, playwright Melanie Marnich , writing her first segment for the series, undoes some of the biggest secrets in the Henrickson family. And when they’re out in the open, secrets just aren’t powerful anymore. When secrets are out in the open, everyone is vulnerable, so everyone is on an equal playing field.

Original caption: Kim Jong-il Giving Field Guidance at a Chewing Gum Factory in North Korea. YESTERDAY’S FAVORITES FRIDAY’S WINNER: “And Ladies, you hold it just like I’m holding this microphone…” By ameliawizard.
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Southern Republican Governors Haley Barbour of Mississippi, Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Rick Perry of Texas, and Mark Sanford of South Carolina are making noises about “refusing” federal dollars from President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus package. They are posturing in a way reminiscent of an earlier generation of Southern governors who stood for “states’ rights,” which was a euphemism for Jim Crow racial segregation.

What’s with the wedding cakes? Clearly Michelle Obama’s inaugural night confection by Jason Wu set Hollywood stars into envious copycat mode. White, frothy, tiered and layered full-length poofs have been the biggest trend and misstep of the night. That is except for Brad and Angelina snubbing both Tim Gunn and Ryan Seacrest in the Oscars pre-show coverage. Now they’re known as Snobalinga! HERE CAME THE BRIDES Here’s my list of biggest bridal girls: Miley Cyrus : Prom Queen bride in a multi-layered petaled gown by Zuhair Murad edged in sequins.

WASHINGTON — To take federal stimulus money for your state or not to take it. That is the big question for Democratic and Republican governors in town for the National Governor’s Association meeting this weekend. Democrats claim those Republican governors who turn down money from the federal stimulus package are “fringe” Republicans eager to score political points. The head of the Republican governors says the Democrats are out of touch.