World’s Two Greatest Leaders December 30, 2014December 26, 2014 LOVE THIS POPE If you missed it, here’s his Christmas guidance to his cardinals. Loosely translated from the Latin, and summarized: “Shape up, guys. Do what Jesus would do.” Fifteen areas where they really need to get back to basics. Amazing. LOVE THIS PRESIDENT As the economic numbers get revised upward, and despite SO many Republican attempts to impede the economy — blocking the infrastructure bill and the minimum wage hike and the bi-partisan Senate immigration bill, all three of which economists agree would have boosted the economy and thereby improved our lives — it’s just phenomenal, really, to see how far we’ve come from the brink of Depression President Bush handed Barack Obama just six years ago. If you missed it, here’s his year-end news conference. And here’s Chris Hayes’s montage of clips on Republicans predicting stuff — with complete certainty — that just proved to be so wrong. (Because you know, “by any standard,” in Mitch McConnell’s still fairly recent prepared remarks, President Obama “has been a disaster for America” — stock market at record highs, health care inflation at record lows, deficit slashed, Debt growing slower than GDP, more private sector jobs created in six years than under 12 years of the two Bushes combined, gas prices down, housing start healthy, Detroit booming — just one disaster after another.) And by the way? Benghazi scandal was not a scandal after all. (“A two-year investigation by the Republican-controlled House Intelligence Committee has found . . . no wrongdoing by Obama administration appointees.”) And the President was born in America. And John Kerry really was a war hero. And Al Gore never said he invented the Internet. And John McCain really did choose Sarah Palin to lead the world in the event his presidency were cut short. And it just makes me crazy that TVs in so many airline lounges around the country are set permanently to FOX News. We need to speak up more: CHANGE THE CHANNEL. Oh, God — see? You got me all worked up again.