THIS WEEK ON THE SUNDAY CHAT SHOWS

Obviously, the new Congress with Democrats in the majority will be the primary topic of discussion throughout the chat world this weekend.

ABC / This Week with George Stephanopoulos: The topics and guest list have not been released as of Saturday morning. Please check back later for possible updates.

CBS / Face The Nation with Bob Schieffer: New Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D - CA) will be Bob Schieffer's guest for the hour to discuss the new direction of Congress for the next two years.

CNN / Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer: The fresh flames of unrest in Iraq and what will happen there will be discussed with Iraqi National Security Adviser Dr. Mowaffak al-Rubaie, Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander General George Joulwan (Ret.), Former Secretary of Defense Lawrence Korb, American Enterprise Institute Vice President Danielle Pletka, New York Times Baghdad Bureau Chief John Burns, and Rajiv Chandrasekaran of the Washington Post. Also, Iraq along with talk about Congress and politics with U.S. Senators Trent Lott (R - MS / Minority Whip) and Barbara Boxer (D - CA / Foreign Relations Committee) as well as Congressmen Dennis Kucinich (D - OH / 2008 Presidential Candidate) and Roy Blunt (R - MO)

FOX / Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace: Discussing the Congress under new management will be new House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D - MD) and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R - KY).

NBC / Meet the Press with Tim Russert: The direction of our action in Iraq will be discussed with U.S. Senators Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D - DE / Chairman, Foreign Relations Committee) and Lindsey Graham (R - SC / Member, Armed Services Committee). Then will be a roundtable discussion with New York Times Chief Military Correspondent Michael Gordon, CNBC Chief Washington Correspondent and Wall Street Journal columnist John Harwood, and Judy Woodruff of The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.

Syndicated / The Chris Matthews Show: Chris' panel --- Joe Klein of Time magazine, NBC News Chief White House Correspondent David Gregory, Elizabeth Bumiller of the New York Times, and CBS News National Political Correspondent Gloria Borger --- will ponder the issues of 1) Wheather President Bush's intended troop surge will save Iraq, or simply delay defeat, 2) Will Republican senators back the Commander-in-Chief on the escalation, and 3) Can Senator Joseph Biden (D - DE) establish himself as the anti-Hillary Democratic presidential candidate for 2008.

If I may simply enter a personal reply to the latter question: ARE YOU KIDDING????? With Obama in the picture, and now John Edwards entering the fray, maybe old school Dems like Chris Matthews may hold out hope for someone like Biden, but not a chance.

Bay News 9 / Political Connections: This week's programme will feature a recap of the activities surrounding the inaguration of Florida's new governor, Charlie Crist.