Sunday shows: Oil and foreign policy

Lawmakers from Gulf states will make the rounds on the Sunday talk show
circuit this weekend as the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill nears
the beginning of its third month.

The oil spill and foreign policy will be at the top of the agenda.

{mosads}Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R) and Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.),
whose home states have both been acutely affected by the Gulf spill,
will headline “Meet the Press,” alongside Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), a
top Democrat on energy and environmental issues who also grilled BP CEO
Tony Hayward during his appearance before Congress on Thursday.

Gulf coast Sens. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) and Richard Shelby (R-Ala.)
will meanwhile appear on “Face the Nation” on CBS to talk the spill,
along with Rep. Anh “Joseph” Cao, the Republican freshman from a
heavily Democratic district in New Orleans.

White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel will almost certainly face
questions about how the administration has handled the spill, too, when
he appears on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday.

Senate Minority
Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) will also no doubt sound off on the
spill and the many unfinished issues still facing the Senate when he
appears on “Fox News Sunday.” Also appearing on Fox will be Defense
Secretary Robert Gates, who will face questioning on the latest issues
facing the military, from the repeal of “Don’t ask, don’t tell” to
some lawmakers’ demands that the military take over the cleanup efforts
in the Gulf.

Defense and foreign policy are also sure to dominate on CNN’s
“State of the Union,” where three veteran senators on those issues will
appear. CNN will play host to Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne
Feinstein (D-Calif.), Homeland Security Committee Chairman Joe
Lieberman (I-Conn.), and Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), the ranking
member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.