The First Rule of Sanford Scandal: You Don’t Talk About Sanford Scandal

Sen. Mitch McConnell, appearing on Fox News Sunday, manages to dodge not one, but FOUR questions about how the Mark Sanford scandal may have affected the Republican Party.

Media Feud of the Week: Dana Milbank vs. Nico Pitney

Last week, it appeared that Nico Pitney of the Huffington Post was granted a question at an Obama press conference by an advance arrangement with the White House. Dana Milbank of The Washington Post slammed Pitney for it in a June 24 column, and on Reliable Sources, Pitney fires back. It’s hard to say who the winner was—Pitney goes right for the ad hominem, but seems to have the legit point that the question he asked was unknown to Obama.

Tony Blair: Why Iran Hates the U.K.

The condemnations of Iran’s government have been far stronger from the U.K. than from the White House, and former Prime Minister Tony Blair keeps the heat on in this interview with Fareed Zakaria, saying Iran’s verbal attacks against his country are “nonsense,” and that “there are elements within the Iranian system that do cause genuine instability—and worse— around the Middle East.”

Pawlenty Not Especially Unhappy About Sanford Implosion

Self-interest isn’t a small consideration for politicians, which may explain the repressed glee Gov. Pawlenty seems to be feeling in expressing condemnation of Mark Sanford. Sanford’s Argentinian adventures mean, after all, that Pawlenty has just moved up one notch on GOP’s 2012 presidential candidate shortlist.

Axelrod Won’t Entertain Ahmadinejad’s ‘Bloviations’

On This Week with George Stephanopoulos, White House adviser David Axelrod says Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is not running Iran’s foreign policy, and that his verbal attacks on Obama and the United States are all just political theater. Axelrod takes particular delight in using the word “bloviations,” whose translation in Farsi we can only hope doesn’t make relations between the U.S. and Iran any worse.

Hume on Iran: Obama is Just Beating Around the ‘Bush’

On the Fox News Sunday roundtable, political analyst Brit Hume says the president has constantly been two steps behind the situation in Iran, and that by distancing himself from the uprising and avoiding using words like "freedom," he is also distancing himself from his predecessor, George W. Bush. Even Bill Kristol looks skeptical—which may mean Hume is on to something.

Romney and Graham: We Are the Future of the GOP

Mitt Romney, who is still refusing to admit that he is already setting the stage for a 2012 run, tells David Gregory on Meet the Press that both he and Sen. Lindsey Graham are leaders of the Republican Party, and that (contrary to what folks like David Axelrod might think) they do have ideas.

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