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While I do not agree with all of the points Fareed Zakaria made during this segment, like comparing protecting our social safety nets to the Republicans rigidity on tax increases and painting those as being somehow equivalent; especially if you're talking about raising the retirement age on Social Security instead of raising the income cap to keep it solvent for the long term. That said, I was glad to see someone point out just how destructive the Republicans use of the filibuster has been as he did here. And I agree with his points on the need to do more spending on education and infrastructure to get our economy growing again.

Transcript via CNN:

ZAKARIA: We've downgraded ourselves. We've demonstrated to ourselves, the world, to global markets that our political system is broken and that we are incapable of implementing sensible public policy.

The actual cut to the 2012 budget, which is the only budget over which this Congress has any control, is $21 billion out of a total of $3 trillion in expenditures. Everything else can and will be changed by future Congresses. What the deal does is once again kick tough choices down the road, this time to a Congressional supercommission that will have to come up with a larger plan to reduce our debt. And it does nothing to spur growth, and, without growth, the debt and the deficit will expand well above current projections.

The manner in which the deal was produced has added poison to an already toxic atmosphere in Washington, making compromise even more difficult. Democrats now feel they need to mirror the Tea Party's tactics because they worked and they are becoming unyielding on any cuts to entitlement programs like Medicare. Republicans, emboldened by the success of their bullying, have closed ranks more solidly around a no-tax agenda, which is great, but the only solution to America's debt dilemma needs to involve both cuts to entitlement programs and higher tax revenues. Congress is more polarized than ever before, and that polarization has resulted in paralysis. More than two years into the Obama administration, hundreds of key positions in government remain vacant for lack of Senate confirmation. The Treasury Department, for example, had to handle the global financial crisis, recession, bank stress tests, the automaker bailouts, as well as its usual duties with about a dozen of its senior positions, almost its entire top management, vacant, nobody in there.

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Oh boy. Looks like Fox found another "Democrat" besides Doug Schoen to bash Democrats for them -- Evan Bayh. We're all shocked, right? It appears he's also got himself a new lobbying gig as well.

After Leaving Senate Because Of ‘Too Much Partisanship,’ Former Sen. Evan Bayh Takes Job At Fox News:

When former Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) surprised Washington one year ago and announced his decision not to seek re-election, he blamed “too much partisanship and not enough progress — too much narrow ideology and not enough practical problem-solving.” Bayh said that “what we need to do is come together as a people and solve the problems facing our country.”

Today, the Huffington Post reports that Bayh has taken a job at Fox News Channel:

Fox News is expected to announce Monday afternoon that former Indiana Senator Evan Bayh will become a contributor to the network, The Huffington Post has learned.

Bayh will be a commentator and political analyst across all of Fox News’ platforms.

[...] Bayh has indeed succeeded in creating jobs, for himself. In addition to his Fox News position, Bayh accepted a job at Apollo Global Management, a multi-billion dollar private equity firm, and also McGuireWoods LLP, a D.C. lobbying firm that engages on banking and climate change legislation, on behalf of “well-heeled” clients.

It's too bad that mean old Amato made him leave Congress, isn't it?? -- I guess it's my fault Evan Bayh quit Congress:

I was reading a column written by Jill Lawrence of Politics Daily and I learned that I helped cause Evan Bayh to quit his day job.

Evan Bayh and the Senate's Lonely Moderates: Bridge-Builders No Longer Needed

During the long, still incomplete march to pass a health reform bill, Democratic moderates – in particular Montana's Baucus and Nebraska's Nelson -- routinely took incoming from liberal bloggers for dragging the bill rightward. The left was especially critical of Bayh's take last month on Republican Scott Brown's victory in Massachusetts. Bayh told ABC News that voters up there "just don't believe the answers we are currently proposing are solving their problems." He said Democrats would court catastrophe if they ignored the wakeup call. John Amato wrote at CrooksandLiars.com that Bayh was promoting Fox News talking points.

Yes, I am that mean and scary and Bayh just couldn't handle the heat from C&L, baby.

Read on...

Now he's finally getting paid by Fox to repeat them.

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Two senators who normally find themselves on opposite sides of the aisle are casting partisanship aside for one night.

Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Tom Coburn (R-OK) announced Sunday that they would buck the tradition of sitting only with their own party during President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech Wednesday.

"I called up Tom... and he graciously agreed. We're going to sit together Wednesday night at the State of the Union and we hope that many others will follow us," Schumer told NBC's David Gregory Sunday. "That's symbolic, but maybe it sets tone and everything gets a little more civil. We believe in discourse in America. We believe in strenuous discourse. We don't sweep differences under the rug. Tom and I have real differences, but we can do it civilly."

"I think the key, David, is people go back to motive and what we can't question is our president's love for our country, Chuck Schumer's love for our country," Coburn noted. "Where we get in trouble is when we start looking at motives rather than differences of ideology. And I think where we've had problems in the Senate, it's been small. But the fact is that always comes about when people are questioning motives."

Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO) asked lawmakers Wednesday to show unity by sitting together during the annual speech following a shooting in Tucson, Arizona that left six dead and Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) in the hospital.

Both senators from Alaska also have agreed to mingle with the other party during Obama's speech.

"Congressional reaction to the President's State of the Union address has increasingly come to symbolize the sharp partisan divide in Congress," Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) observed. "So we think a good first step towards greater civility would be for senators and congressmen, Republicans and Democrats, to sit together in the House chamber on Jan. 25 when President Obama addresses a joint session."

Sen. Mark Begich (D-AK) suggested that he could join with Rep. Don Young (R-AK) and Murkowski to sit together as a delegation.

"Democrats and Republicans sitting together at the State of the Union is an excellent way to show we share a common goal of working to make this country a better place for every American," he said. "It may only be a symbolic gesture on one evening, but I believe it's a positive step toward showing unity and ending some of the partisan practices that have become common."

Partisan division may have a reached a high point during last year's State of the Union address when Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) shouted "You lie!" reacting to the president's pledge that his health reform laws would not extend taxpayer dollars to cover illegal immigrants.

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I can't believe the Obama administration almost hired this guy. John King allows Judd Gregg to blame Republican obstruction on the 24/7 news cycle and when asked if he's worried about Republicans being seen as the party of no he replies blames it on this centrist administration he almost worked for moving too far to the left.

GREGG: Well we do and we need to when we're confronting things that are very bad for our country either fiscally or from a standpoint of policy. I do not want to see this country move down the road of Europeanization of our nation and basically you've got a government now that's moving to the left. I think the fundamental area that this administration --

KING: That far left? You came pretty close to joining this --

GREGG: Yes, I did and that was my mistake. But the -- all American politics is historically played between the 40 yard lines. But this administration came in with what was essentially super majorities in the House and Senate and they decided to govern like a parliamentary system and they went down to the 20 yard line or the 15 yard line on the left and they basically moved very aggressively out on an agenda --

This kind of thing is just so irresponsible but we see it out of these guys day after day after day. I would love to see an honest debate about just what the "Europeanization" of our country would actually mean and see how many people would not like it if the issue was debated honestly. Shorter work weeks, more vacation time, universal health care, education paid for through college in many countries, more unionization... the horror. How could the people ever survive something like that happening in America?

Of course we're not going to get any push back from the likes of John King. I'd like to see this clown have to debate Thom Hartmann. He wouldn't let Gregg throw "Europeanization" out there like it's a dirty word without challenging him on specifically what he thinks is so bad about it.

But then, that's why Gregg is a guest on CNN and not the Thom Hartmann Show. Hartmann would chew him up and spit him out in a debate. Hell, he could barely hold his own debating a 94 year old woman. No, instead we get softballs from John King who just allows him to spew his talking points.

Full transcript below the fold.

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What in the hell is Donna Brazile smoking? When asked about George W. Bush being unwilling, like his former Veep Cheney, to attack President Obama, Brazile says he's trying to be an "elder statesman" and put partisanship aside. Well Donna, that's just mighty kind of him not to say too much about the guy left to clean up his mess after he took a wrecking ball to the joint, but "statesman" is about the last word I ever think of when I hear George W. Bush's name.

BLITZER: Let's let to our "strategy session." Joining us now our two CNN political contributors, Donna Brazile the Democratic strategist and Mary Matalin, the Republican strategist. Guys, thanks very much for coming in.

Mary, I'll start with you, talk about your former boss, the former president of the United States, George W. Bush. He was in Naples, Florida, giving a speech, together with his brother, the former governor, Jeb Bush. One of the reporters who covered it wrote this, "George W. Bush said more competitive congressional districts are needed so that politicians have to work harder on their campaigns. That, he said, could help diminish the partisanship as political leaders would be forced to focus more on the issues. He said those who call names shouldn't be elected." All right. So when I read that report, it sounded to me, tell me if I'm going too far, it sounds like he's being critical of the tea partiers.

MARY MATALIN: I didn't read it that way at all. There's been a long discussion about redistricting creating untouchable seats, where there's no competition of ideas and it produces Congress people who can walk their party off the edge, like Nancy Pelosi. No one can touch her seat. I took it as part of that discussion. When I think of name-calling, and I'm sure what George W. Bush thinks of when he thinks of name-calling is being called a Nazi or liar or a warmonger, or names that were thrown at him for policies that have been continued by the Obama administration. I know Donna and I agree on this, name-calling is a far different kind of politics than partisanship. There's nothing wrong with being partisan. There's something wrong with vile, personal attacks.

BLITZER: Which is a fair point. Mary, he also refused to be critical of the Obama administration. It's now more than a year since the president took office. Unlike the former vice president, Dick Cheney, President George W. Bush is still holding back. I guess he thinks it's inappropriate at this point for a former president to be critical of the current president. I guess you think that's the right thing to do, right? Let me ask that of Donna.

MATALIN: Sorry.

DONNA BRAZILE: Well, let me just say this. The think the former president is clearly trying to walk a fine line and demonstrate that he is ready to move beyond the politics of personal destruction, and to become an elder statesman. We need more elder statesmen, more former political leaders willing to use their time and talent to help lead the way to a better future for all of us. I also think that beyond trying to eliminate all of this hyper- partisanship, we need to overhaul our campaign finance system. I didn't get a chance to watch the smackdown between Joe Biden and Dick Cheney. I heard it was an interesting match, but I was more interested in watching Drew Brees.

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Bob Schieffer fawns over Scott Brown during this cringe-inducing commentary segment on Face the Nation. And I thought Tweety was bad. Of course in typical Villager fashion Schieffer uses this as an excuse for calls of bi-partisanship without bothering to explain to his audience which party is caving into the other one and which one is obstructing. Hint to Schieffer, it's your miracle worker's party that's causing the gridlock along with the ConservaDems who are pretending to be Democrats.

BOB SCHIEFFER: Finally, there's been so much wonder expressed about the election of Scott Brown, I'm beginning to think that if it had happened in ancient times it might have been included in the Bible.

For sure, back then people were always looking for signs, and the politicians saw Brown's victory as more than just a sign. It gave them Old Testament-level shivers worse than Moses felt when he realized that burning bush was talking directly to him.

But was it more than that? I wondered. Did it herald a new Age of Miracles? Utter Brown's name and the waters part? Think about it.

Republicans tried for a year to kill health care reform. If Brown's victory didn't kill it in a second for sure it shoved it to the back burner.

And with great fanfare and the blessing of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the

administration planned to try the 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed in lower Manhattan. But Brown railed against civilian trials for terrorists, and in an epiphany worthy of the road to Damascus, the mayor of New York suddenly wanted no part of the trial--too expensive.

The heavens also parted for the administration: No backdown on civilian trials yet, but it looks like the proceedings will be moved.

And when the President went to Baltimore and had a very adult debate on issues with

Republicans--a debate that did both sides proud--I thought, stars above, maybe they are ready to work together. Well, silly me. An hour later that the partisan sniping and nastiness was going again full bore.

It's going to take a real miracle to stop that. But, we can hope.

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O'Reilly and Bob Barr go at it over Obama's anti-terror policies. Of course we get more chest thumping and support for torture out of tough guy O'Reilly.

O'REILLY: Continuing with our lead story. President Obama defending his terror policies. Joining us from Washington, former Congressman Bob Barr who left the Republican party to be a libertarian.

And Mr. Barr, you say the president deserves some respect in the national security area. So do you disagree with Karl Rove and I?

REP. BOB BARR: On some issues, very strong on some, but not on everything. My main criticism of those who are criticizing the president, such as the former vice president, Mr. Cheney, is that I think it's simply politics and partisanship and not substantive criticism, because when you have the vice president from the prior administration criticizing the current administration, really what they're criticizing is themselves because the problems that we see, and I think the president has done a good job of laying out the problems that we have, I disagree with him on some of the solutions. But the problems long predate January 20th of 2009 when Mr. Obama came in.

For example, the problem with the State Department issuing visas when perhaps they shouldn't or not telling people who they've issued visas to was the result of then Secretary Colin Powell early in the Bush administration coming up to the Congress, myself on the Judiciary Committee, for example, and saying don't give the authority to approve visas to Department of Homeland Security. We want to keep it in the State Department.

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The responsibility for the most partisan atmosphere is Washington history goes to President Barack Obama, according to Sen. John McCain. "[Obama] said there would be a change in the climate in Washington. There's been a change. It's more partisan. It's more bitterly divided than it's been," McCain told Fox News' Chris Wallace.

A few Republicans have participated in crafting major legislation during Obama's first year in office. Three Republican Senators voted for the stimulus bill and Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe voted for the health care bill coming out the Senate finance committee.

But for the most part, Republicans have voted together to block Democrats' attempts to pass legislation more often than any Congress in history. On December 18, Republicans broke the modern-day record for the most filibusters in history, according to Campaign for America's Future.

John Amato:

John McCain is one of the biggest sore losers in all of American politics. The media for some insane reason gives him unlimited face time on my TV to bash President Obama who soundly defeated him and the conservative movement in 2008. When will the Villagers go after conservatives for being ideologically against this president and their efforts to block every piece of legislation is all for political gain. America is on the receiving end of their very destructive games. John McCain is a bold-face-liar for blaming Obama for the lack of that stupid word called bipartisanship.