If you don’t at first recognize the byline on the front of Sunday’s WaPo Travel section, you will by graph nine. This is when Steven V. Roberts mentions his wife, Cokie, as in NPR’s Senior News Analyst Cokie Roberts. They are authors of the newly released book, Haggadah.

But this story isn’t about their book, but rather their delightful jaunt to to southern France. In St. Jean, they rented a restored 17th Century house by a church called Maison Rose. Cost: $3,000 for the week. The town is described as a “storybook village.” Staying in a home makes the couple feel like town residents as opposed to tourists. Maison Rose is worth it if you can stand the continuous (all night long) church bells, which eventually, Roberts writes, fade into the beauty of the scenery. The trip includes long lazy meals full of wine and succulent veal.

The story jumps not once but twice, but stick with it. You might want to purchase a plane ticket by the end. The persuasion is in the details. Roberts had us at “France.”

QUOTES of the DAY

“Hey Veggies, I’m giving up meat for #Lent. Went out for 40 days on this bad boy. Wish me luck.” — MSNBC’s Luke Russert in a Tuesday night tweet with this accompanying serious piece of meat above.

Downfalls of not knowing the lingo

A short scene from MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” this morning. Jeff Greenfield is senior political correspondent for CBS News.

Mika: What if Blago is never caught?

Jeff Greenfield: Who?

Mika: What if Blago, Blago, Blago Voyavich?

Jeff Greenfield: I’m sorry, I don’t know your strange ways.

Politico‘s Highlights Magazine headline of the day

In Politico‘s new Kids’ Section, anything can happen. Today’s headline from a story by Amie Parnes is: “Obama in ‘Unfamiliar Fishes’ book.” The short post features news of Obama’s favorite dish, which is apparently the heart healthy Hawaiian fish that is “breaded, fried meat with rice, macaroni and brown gravy.” This is not a cookbook.

Cokie on NPR: ‘Not a good season.’

“The state of journalism is fabulous. It’s not a  good season for the executives at NPR but the journalists keep churning it out.” — Senior News Analyst of NPR Cokie Roberts on this morning’s “Morning Joe. ”

Ash Wednesday: redundant?

“Is it just me, or does Ash Wednesday seem redundant this year? Either way, my home state of Illinois is giving up the death penalty on this first day of Lent – and will become the 16th state to abolish capital punishment.” — Politics Daily Editor-in-Chief Melinda Henneberger, who has assumed former Executive Editor Carl Cannon‘s morning duties of sending out the morning e-mail.

Overheard…

“#onlyinwashington you get: 10 reporters gabbing @ a bar about Issa, only to figure out that he’s 10 feet away and heard them.” — RealClearPolitics‘ Erin McPike in a Monday tweet referring to House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) who fired his Spokesman Kurt Bardella last week after it was reported that he leaked journalists’ emails to a NYT reporter.

A GOP pundit gives praise to NYT

“Pleasant surprise: The NYT does a pretty fair and balanced job covering the video prank against NPR. Good story.” — Former Bush White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer in a Wednesday morning tweet.

A special Happy Birthday to….

Shani Hilton, the woman who refused to comment when we asked her if she had anything to do with writing @DCJourno, who is all but extinct at this point despite being featured in NYT. She’s pals with a number of Boy Banders who include Wired‘s Spencer Ackerman, who remarked, “Happy happy birthday to @shani_o. So happy she moved to DC.” We are too. Shani is Associate Editor of the Center for American Progress’s CampusProgress.org and Washington correspondent for Colorlines magazine.

• NBC’s Meet the Press: Gov. Haley Barbour (R-MS) Chairman, Republican Governors Association; Fmr. Gov. Tim Kaine (D-VA), Chairman, Democratic National Committee; Tom Brokaw, NBC News; Charlie Cook, National Journal; Mark Halperin, MSNBC and TIME; Michele Norris, NPR; Chuck Todd, NBC News.

• CBS’ Face the Nation: Representative Pete King (R-New York); Governor Tim Pawlenty (R-Minnesota); Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota); Governor Ed Rendell (D-Pennsylvania). 

• ABC’s This Week: Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) Chairman, National Republican Senatorial Committee; Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) Chairman, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee; Dick Armey, Former House Majority Leader; Donna Brazile, Democratic Political Strategist; Cokie Roberts, ABC News; George Will, ABC News. 

• CNN’s State of the Union with Candy Crowley:  Michael Steele, RNC chairman; Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), Majority Whip; William Bennett, CNN political contributor; national talk radio host; Bob Kerrey (D), former U.S. Senator; former Nebraska Governor.  

• CNN’s Reliable Sources with Howard Kurtz:  Arianna Huffington, co-founder, HuffingtonPost.com; Paul Farhi, Washington Post; Michael Medved, Radio talk show host; John Avlon, TheDailyBeast.com; Jim Geraghty, National Review; Julie Mason, Washington Examiner; President Jimmy Carter.

• Washington Week with Gwen Ifill and National Journal: Dan Balz, The Washington Post; Major Garrett, National Journal; Jeff Zeleny, The New York Times; Jeanne Cummings, POLITICO.

• Bloomberg’s Political Capital with Al Hunt: Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Representative Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). 

• CNN’s GPS with Fareed Zakaria:  GPS Special: Lou Gerstner, former chairman of the board & CEO for IBM Corporation; Muhtar Kent, chairman of the board & CEO for The Coca-Cola Company; Eric Schmidt, chairman of the board & CEO for Google, Inc.; and Klaus Kleinfeld, chairman & CEO for Alcoa, Inc.

• NBC’s The Chris Matthews Show:  John Heilemann, New York Magazine National Political Correspondent; Howard Fineman, Huffington Post Senior Political Analyst; Norah O’Donnell, MSNBC Chief Washington Correspondent; Helene Cooper, New York Times White House Correspondent. 

• Washington Watch with Roland Martin: 

•Politico’s “Turn the Table” after the jump. 

We’ll update as we get ‘em!

Read more

Three guesses.

Who didn’t make NPR’s beautiful new 271-page coffee table book, This is NPR,  packed with pictures and stories from the past four decades? The book is to honor NPR’s 40th anniversary with essays, behind-the-scenes photographs and transcripts of memorable interviews.

1. Cokie Roberts. Wrong. She made it.

2. NPR’s media reporter David Folkenflik. Wrong. He made it and writes an essay on the future of media.

3. Juan Williams. You’d be right. He didn’t make the cut.

When asked about Williams, who had been with NPR for a decade before being fired last week, not making the cut, NPR Spokeswoman Anna Christopher told FishbowlDC: “Of course there are hundreds of NPR people who aren’t in the book. This Is NPR is written by several dozen staffers – we are an organization of many hundreds. We put out an open request to all employees to tell the story of NPR as they experienced it. Many, from on-air hosts and personalities, to engineers and librarians, did just that – submitting their personal accounts of events in our history.”

Quote(s) of the Day

CBS reporter has gift advice for FLOTUS

“A quick web search shows some companies make golf cart air conditioners. Christmas just 5 months from today, Mrs. O.”
- CBS News White House radio correspondent Mark Knoller in a Sunday tweet. President Obama played golf on Sunday in the blistering heat.

Teachable Moments

“Everybody talks about this being a teachable moment. Well, let’s learn.”
- Cokie Roberts, a regular roundtable analyst on ABC’s “This Week,” on Sunday in regards to the incident with USDA’s Shirley Sherrod who was forced out for racially-charged comments she made 24 years ago.

Speaking of teachable moments…

“Saw a tourist have a ‘teachable moment’ — got stuck in the metro doors.”
- The Hill‘s White House correspondent Sam Youngman in a tweet late last week.

Check your facts

“In the olden days you were supposed to check it out.”
- American University Associate Prof. Jane Hall on Sunday on CNN’s “Reliable Sources.” The remark also referred to the Sherrod matter.

Say hello to NPR’s Mara Liasson. She’s also a FNC contributor and appears regularly on “Fox News Sunday”, where she sits on the weekly roundtable and spars with FNC’s Brit Hume and The Weekly Standard‘s Bill Kristol. She often sides with NPR’s Juan Williams.

If you were a carbonated beverage which would you be? Seltzer.

How often do you Google yourself? Once. That was enough!

Who is your favorite working journalist? Robert Siegel, host of NPR’s “All Things Considered.”

What’s the worst thing you’ve ever said to an editor (or vice versa)? You can’t fire me-I quit! (just kidding)

Do you have a favorite word? auschkaflipped

Who would you rather have dinner with – First Lady Michelle Obama or Bestselling Author and former V.P. candidate Sarah Palin? Michelle Obama.

What word do you routinely misspell? Recommend.

What’s the name of your cell phone ring? Old fashioned phone.

What swear word do you use most often? No comment.

What word or phrase do you overuse? “Heave the health care bill over the finish line” … but hopefully I will never have to say that again.

What TV show do you have to watch? None.

Where do you shop most often for your clothes? Online.

Who do you prefer for daytime talk, Dr. Phil, Oprah, Tyra or the women of The View? I clearly am a cultural ignoramus. I’ve never watched a whole show of any of them.

Pick one: Leno, Letterman or Conan? Letterman.

If you were trapped on a deserted island, which public official would you want to be trapped with and why? President Obama. He’d get us rescued fast.

Who has been your mentor? Cokie Roberts.

What’s the best advice you ever received in the course of your career? From Cokie-keep your eye on the horizon-think long term.

What and where was your first job in journalism? Reporter for the Vineyard Gazette on Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts.

Read more on Liasson after the jump to find out about her embarrassing bout of seasickness…

Read more

Call it chivalry. Or just another voice needed to temporarily quiet the others down.

ABC interim “This Week” host Jake Tapper interrupted a tense back-and-forth between Sam Donaldson and HuffPost Editor-in-Chief Arianna Huffington on Sunday’s show to help Cokie Roberts get a word in edgewise.

Donaldson and Huffington were getting into a heated discussion about the situation in Afghanistan and Roberts’ comments kept getting chopped off, to the point where Tapper stepped in.

As you’ll see below, Roberts is as surprised as anyone that she needed any assistance in the first place. Word has it that the interruption got the roundtable “back on track.”

DONALDSON: If we get out now, who comes back, the Taliban quite
clearly comes back.
HUFFINGTON: The Taliban is not our enemy.
ROBERTS: Then we really prove that the United States –
DONALDSON: Then we throw in them.
TAPPER: Let Cokie talk for one second.
ROBERTS: Thank you, Jake. That’s never happened before. The — we really prove at that point that America is a worse friend than enemy if we pull out at this point from Afghanistan.

• NBC’s Meet the Press: Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), WH Director of Health Reform Nancy-Ann DeParle, Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA), President and CEO of National Urban League Marc Morial, BBC’s Katy Kay and Atlantic Media’s Ron Brownstein.

• CBS’ Face the Nation: Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND), Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Politico’s Jim Vandehei

• ABC’s This Week: Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), NYT’s Paul Krugman, ABC’s George Will, Sam Donaldson and Cokie Roberts.

• CNN’s State of the Union (with Candy Crowley now): Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

• Fox News’ Fox News Sunday: Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ), Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), Dale Earnhardt Jr. and a panel with Weekly Standard’s Bill Kristol, NPR’s Mara Liasson, Liz Cheney and NPR’s Juan Williams.

• CNN’s Reliable Sources with Howard Kurtz: WaPo’s Dana Milbank, David Frum of FrumForum.com, The Nation’s Katrina Van Heuvel, ABC News’ Brian Ross, Fred Francis.

• Washington Week with Gwen Ifill and National Journal: John Dickerson of SLATE Magazine and CBS News, TIME’s Karen Tumulty, WSJ’s Naftali Bendavid, David Shepardson of The Detroit News

• CNN’s GPS with Fareed Zakaria: The Soros Foundation’s George Soros, Columbia University’s Simon Schama, FT’s Lionel Barber

• NBC’s The Chris Matthews Show: NBC News Capitol Hill Correspondent Kelly O’Donnell, Washington Post Columnist David Ignatius, TIME Assistant Managing Editor Michael Duffy, Washington Post Columnist Kathleen Parker

• Bloomberg’s Political Capital with Al Hunt: Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT), Bloomberg’s Mike Firn, Lizzie O’Leary, Julianna Goldman, Margaret Carlson and Kate O’Beirne.

• CNN’s Amanpour: Ehud Barak, Israeli Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense

• C-SPAN’s Newsmakers: Sunday at 10:00 AM / 6:00 PM
This week’s guest is George Miller (D-Calif.). Guest reporters are Perry Bacon of WaPo & Steven Dennis of Roll Call.

We’ll update as we get ‘em.

• NBC’s Meet the Press: Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY, )WaPo’s E.J. Dionne, BBC’s Katty Kay, Peggy Noonan of WSJ and NBC Chief WH Correspondent Chuck Todd

• ABC’s This Week: Senior White House Adviser David Axelrod, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) and a roundtable with ABC News columnist George Will, Sam Donaldson, former Bush strategist Matthew Dowd, and ABC’s Cokie Roberts

• CBS’ Face the Nation: Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) and a roundtable with CBS’ Nancy Cordes and Jan Crawford

• Fox News Sunday: WH Press Sec. Robert Gibbs, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) plus a panel with FNC’s Brit Hume, NPR’s Mara Liasson, Weekly Standard’s Bill Kristol and NPR’s Juan Williams

• CNN’s State of the Union: David Axelrod, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Dem. pollster Celinda Lake and Rep. pollster Neil Newhouse

• CNN’s Reliable Sources with Howard Kurtz: NBC News Chief Medical Editor Dr. Nancy Snyderman and National Enquirer’s Barry Levine

• CNN’s GPS with Fareed Zakaria: Former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski, author Robert Caro, The Aspen Institute’s Walter Isaacson, WSJ’s Peggy Noonan

• NBC’s The Chris Matthews Show:

• Washington Week with Gwen Ifill and National Journal: Joan Biskupic of USA Today, Nat Journal’s Alexis Simendinger, ABC News’ Martha Raddatz, John Harwood of CNBC and NYT.

• Bloomberg’s Political Capital with Al Hunt: Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN), Bloomberg’s Rich Miller, Julianna Goldman, Heidi Przybyla, Margaret Carlson and Kate O’Beirne

• Washington Watch with Roland Martin: White House Senior Advisor David Axelrod, AP’s Sonya Ross, Roll Call TV host Robert Traynham, Democratic pollster Cornell Belcher, Democratic strategist Karen Finney and News One/Interactive One Chief Content Officer Smokey Fontaine

• CNN’s Amanpour: Managing Director of IMF Dominique Strauss-Kahn, author Edwidge Danticat, U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Edmont Mulet

We’ll update as we get ‘em.

Helen Thomas, the Grande Dame of White House reporters, is set to celebrate her 50th anniversary of covering the White House at the Kalorama home of Gloria Dittus.

Dittus, founder of Dittus Communications, is throwing Thomas an upcoming party on Jan. 19 to not only celebrate her anniversary, but toast Thomas’s new tome, Listen Up, Mr. President: Everything You Always Wanted Your President to Know and Do, which she co-wrote with veteran political writer Craig Crawford, a blogger for CQ/Roll Call Group and contributing analyst for MSNBC and CNBC.

Members of the host committee include: Reps. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), CNN’s Candy Crowley, NBC “Today” show host Ann Curry, NPR’s Cokie Roberts and PBS’s Judy Woodruff.