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Hello and welcome to the plate political gabfest for November 15, 2013, the Don't You Dare call it a Catfight edition.

I'm David Plotz, the editor of Slate.

I was both glad and sad as a citizen.

Glad as a Slate person, sad as a citizen, discover that the GabFest reached more people in October than HealthCare.gov.

But I mean, that's... I hope that isn't the state than HealthCare.gov. But so it goes.

But I mean that's...

I hope that isn't the state of Healthcare.gov forever.

We reach more people with our Monday show than HealthCare.gov, us.

We reach more people with shows that we don't even do than HealthCare.gov.

That was John Dickerson, Slate's chief political correspondent here by my side in Slate's

Washington studio. Hello, John. And from New Haven is, of course, Slate senior editor, Emily Bazelon.

Hello, Emily. Hello, David. This week's political gab fest, Obamacare in full retreat, the Mongol hordes.

The archers are harrying all supporters of Obamacare in full retreat, the Mongol hordes, the archers are harrying all supporters

of Obamacare with long-distance arrows, the ax-man have taken the prisoners and are lining

them up to decapitate them.

...