Welcome to It's A Free Country's The Mix, where we take some of the notable clips and other voices found on WNYC this week and mix 'em up. This week, a look at a magical (or at least, other-wordly) week in political theater, from Sarah Palin to Charlie Rangel. As always, characters in bold, connections in italics; link for more information.

Is Sarah Palin going to run for President? It's a question that we'll be asking for months, but Barbara Walters got Palin to say enough to get the chattering class going this week, eliciting a terse response from Vice President Joe Biden. Biden was presiding over a lame-duck congress that still had plenty on its plate, including a vote by Zoe Lofgren and the House Ethics Committee to recommend censure of the suddenly-contrite Charles Rangel. Back in Rangel's home state of New York, the appointment of Cathie Black as schools chancellor was drawing lots of criticism, enough to get former mayor Ed Koch to publicly state his support for Bloomberg's pick. While Koch praised Black as a top manager, UFT President Michael Mulgrew and others raised the very question of whether it should be an administrator or a teacher at the head of the school's system. The clinical manager's approach was on display as Mayor Mike Bloomberg announced his new budget, which includes significant layoffs and controversial cuts. While many criticize Bloomberg for running New York as if it were a giant corporation, GM VP Stephen Girsky is, in fact, trying to resuscitate his giant corporation. The American taxpayers, Detroit workers, and the country as a whole watch eagerly. And that's that. Enjoy standing in line for the newest HP tonight -- or don't. It's A Free Country.