AC360°

Anderson is anchoring from New Orleans tonight where he reports on how locals are coping four years after Hurricane Katrina devastated the area. Some residents continue to face challenges as the Big Easy keeps trying to rebuild. Earlier today, Anderson met up with CNN Political Contributor and New Orleans native James Carville for a tour of the city. Check out this photo gallery of where they stopped.

Anderson and James Carville sit down at a Pascal Manale's restaurant in New Orleans.

Anderson meets a New Orleans resident who tells him she's glad he came back and shares her own story.

Outside of Pascal Manale's restaurant.

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James Carville
CNN Contributor

Over the course of history, governments, political regimes and leaders have done some stupid things despite all arguments to the contrary, at times even against their own self-interest.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Barbara Tuchman (best known for "The Guns of August") chronicled this in "The March of Folly," examining the Trojan War, the provocation by the Renaissance Popes that led to the Protestant secession, the unnecessary loss of American colonies by Britain and the now well-documented United States loss in Vietnam.

Fast forward to 2009. The Republican Party has just suffered a bad but not unprecedented defeat. The U.S. economy is in shambles. And the patch of ground some leading figures in the GOP have chosen to occupy to rally back is to oppose expanded unemployment benefits in the middle of a recession.

They could have chosen a stronger national defense and terrorism policy, personal responsibility or even market-based health care reform. Arguing that President Obama's publicly-supported economic stimulus bill was full of wasteful spending (Rush Limbaugh termed it "Porkulus") was not enough.

No, their cause in this time of crisis is to deny expanded unemployment benefits to tens of thousands of jobless workers by saying they would not accept added federal funding for them.

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White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel briefs President Obama in the Oval Office.

John F. Harris
Politico.com

The conversations don’t begin with hello. They don’t end with goodbye. Most often they pick up with a low, drawling voice uttering something between a sentence and a grunt.

“Wahzgoanawn?”

For those accustomed to hearing James Carville only when he is trying to enunciate more clearly for television, that translates to: "What's going on?"

So begins another morning in what may count as Washington’s longest-running conversation — a street-corner bull session between four old friends who suddenly find themselves standing once more at the busiest intersection of politics and media in Washington.

Carville calls White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel.

Emanuel calls ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent George Stephanopoulos.

A bit later, CNN commentator Paul Begala, who is not quite the early bird that his friends are, will complete the circle with a rapid set of calls to all three.

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Simple math says Democrats are more likely get caught up in a scandal, Carville says.

James Carville
CNN Contributor

You know, people will insist that 2008 had 366 days. I don't believe it. I think it had 36,066 days.

It certainly felt much longer than any year that I've ever experienced. Only time will tell what's in store for us in 2009, but first I have a few predictions.

Internationally, I believe there will be a peace agreement between Israel and Syria in the next 18 months. It is something that will be a priority for the incoming Obama administration.

In domestic politics, my first prediction is one that pains me to make, but I'll make it anyway.

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Program Note:
It's the showdown everyone's been waiting for.
Sarah Palin and Joe Biden face off on the issues.
Join the best political team on television for your front row seat!

Debate Night in America: Vice Presidential Debate
Tonight, beginning 8p ET

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James Carville
CNN Political Analyst

Let's just call this the NASCAR debate. If Palin doesn't crash, the spectators will surely be left feeling like they didn't get their money's worth. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to tonight's Vice-Presidential debate in St. Louis, Missouri.

Shortly after John McCain announced Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate, I was accurately quoted as saying that she is "uniquely and supremely unqualified" to seek the position for which she is running. And I have seen nothing to date that refutes that notion.

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