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A busy Political Junkie segment on today's Talk of the Nation.

Yesterday was the easy part: naming a successor to retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter. Now the confirmation fight begins. And will it be much of a fight? Special guest: Ken Duberstein.

Plus: how the California court ruling on same-sex marriage affects next year's gubernatorial race. How Roland Burris' phone calls with Blago's guys affects his tenure as a senator from Illinois. And, without even waiting for today's program to begin, how we answer the pressing questions of the day. This one is from Brandon George of Gilbert, Ariz.:

Who are all those people speaking in the intro to your Political Junkie segment on Talk of the Nation each week?

Every Wednesday, the segment begins with a tape montage of notable political lines. They are:

"There you go again" -- Ronald Reagan, responding to what he said were exaggerations in his 1980 debate with President Jimmy Carter.

"Where's the beef?" -- Walter Mondale's put down of Gary Hart during their 1984 Democratic debate.

"Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice" -- Part of Barry Goldwater's acceptance speech at the 1964 Republican convention.

"You won't have Nixon to kick around anymore" -- Part of Richard Nixon's bitter "final press conference" after he lost the race for governor of California to Pat Brown in 1962.

"Lipstick" -- The difference, according to Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, between a pit bull and a hockey mom, during her acceptance speech at the 2008 GOP convention.

"But I'm the decider" -- President George W. Bush, acknowledging that he's been hearing the criticism of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld but insisting at the same time that it's his call "what is best," April 2006.

"[scream]" -- The end of a rousing speech by Howard Dean, following his second-place finish in the 2004 Democratic caucuses in Iowa.

OK, back to the topic at hand. Join host Neal Conan and me every Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET for the Junkie segment on TOTN, where you can often, but not always, find interesting conversation, useless trivia questions and sparkling jokes. And you can win a Political Junkie T-shirt!

Last week's segment, with special guest Richard Viguerie, can be heard here.

If your local NPR station doesn't carry TOTN, you can hear the program on the Web or on HD Radio. And if you are a subscriber to XM/Sirius radio, you can find the show there as well (siriusly).

categories: On The Air

9:43 - May 27, 2009

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