When I wrote about 34 Obama Nominees Not Named Dawn Johnsen being confirmed by the Senate on the heels of the healthcare vote, and before they left town, I was not aware, in addition (h/t earlofhuntingdon), the nomination was now completely dead.

Morning! Robert Gibbs is making the rounds this week, Jake Tapper auditions (perhaps) on This Week. The other usual suspects are out and about. And as we re-learned this week, the Dirty F@#*ing Hippies Were Right!

Pixie & Dixie (and Mr. Jinks) — Boxing Buddy. This Hanna-Barbera Studios cartoon was released March 26, 1959.

Happy Boxing Day.

We, the greatest nation on earth, are supposed to be Collectively Freaked Out because some sad little geek couldn’t make his fucking underpants explode properly? Uh, no. Rock on.

The author of Liebercare slaps a “Do Not Disburb” sign on the Senate.

Here are two pairs of numbers which look awfully similar. The cloture vote for the Senate health care bill: 60-39. The vote for final passage of the Senate health care bill: 60-39. Thanks to Democratic caucus members like Joe Lieberman, Ben Nelson, Blanche Lincoln and Mary Landrieu, the distinction between cloture and the bill itself has disappeared.

There’s a fair bit of confusion about what’s next. Although the term “conference committee” is a proper catch-all phrase for where House and Senate Democrats will go at this point, it’s probably not entirely accurate. The House and Senate will not both return from Christmas break until mid-January, so they wouldn’t even have the opportunity to vote on a formal conference, and the conferees, until then. There are a number of options.

The times call for a leader of Churchillian or Rooseveltian magnitude; what we have instead is a cautious risk-averse manager. Bold progressives must fill the leadership vacuum in order to restore and support a vibrant US middle class.

Happy Holidays to all.

I want to thank you for your lively discussions and comments on our Book Salons. You are what makes the FDL Book Salon a must for many of authors now. And most of the authors comment on how much they enjoyed the quality of the discussions.

The only congressional body that was mildly responsive to populist pressure is now irrelevant. Evidently you can forget about any efforts to influence your member of Congress, because corporatist Senators who write all our laws say the House no longer exists. “Democratic centrists have informed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) they will accept few changes in the final healthcare bill negotiated between the House and Senate.”