The Doubleheader: Oil Subsidies, Town Halls, Drafts and Playoffs

THE DOUBLEHEADER -- April 29, 2011 at 7:00 PM EDT

The Doubleheader: Oil Subsidies, Town Halls, Drafts and Playoffs

As many as "two billion" viewers may watch tonight's Doubleheader with syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times Columnist David Brooks. Though I do not have the finely tuned research apparatus of the British Cultural Affairs Minister to make such claims -- and have them echoed unchecked by any of some 7,000 credentialed media who covered the "news" today -- let me also put into quotes that this is "not intended to be a factual statement."

For the sport of politics: We look at a conversation my former colleague Jonathan Karl at ABC News had with John Boehner, where the Speaker of the House conceded that Congress should consider cutting subsidies to oil companies. We also talked a bit about the tough town hall meetings Republicans are facing as they explain how their budget would and would not change health care for seniors. Meetings got feisty for Rep. Paul Ryan in Wisconsin, for Rep. Lou Barletta in Pennsylvania, for Rep. Dan Webster in Florida among others. Is it a strategy straight from the Republican playbook from two years ago?

For the politics of sport: We skim over the NFL draft and the NBA playoffs. Thanks for stopping by. Now please have a great weekend driving your vintage blue Aston Martins converted to run on English wine.

Follow Hari on Twitter. Video shot and edited by Crispin Lopez.

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