Meet the Press may have reached new levels of flackery last Sunday. James Carville, Mary Matalin and Paul Begala appeared to promote their latest gigs, as Arianna Huffington helpfully explains:

James and Mary, plus their straight man Paul Begala, were on to promote Carville and Begala's new book Take It Back: Our Party, Our Country, Our Future -- which, I'm sure to their publisher's immense satisfaction, was mentioned 12 times in the course of the show. But what made this appearance extra-special is how it was so luckily timed to coincide with Carville's upcoming gig as the host of a sports show on XM satellite radio. And what made it all even more special is the relationship of Carville's radio co-host to Meet the Press's host...

...As announced earlier this week, Carville is hosting a weekly show with Tim's son Luke Russert.

> Public Eye asks: "Does it surprise anyone else that people in power in Washington aren't even really trying to conceal the coziness of their relationships anymore?"