In what has to go down as one of the ballsiest questions of the campaign, video journalist Elizabeth Glover point blank asked Newt and Callista if they are in an open marriage. The question went down at a crowded campaign event in Miami. The funniest part: Glover placates them by first gifting them a commemorative navy silk scarf from Ronald Reagan‘s inauguration. Just after Callista oohs and ahhs over it and once their defenses are sufficiently down, she goes in for the kill. Meanwhile, her partner in crime, Elizabeth Gorman, snaps pictures of campaign party sights that include crowd shots, Callista’s glimmering blond helmet, and an overweight, bosomy woman.
Create a social media strategy, launch your campaign, and track the results in our Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting February 16. The online event and workshop will feature speakers including The Onion‘s Baratunde Thurston (left), Facebook’s Morin Oluwole, and bitly’s Tim Devane. Register now.
GQ released it’s “50 Most Powerful People in Washington” list today.
Journalists who made the list include NBC Chief White House Correspondent Chuck Todd (#19). They write, “Through sheer ubiquity alone, Todd might be the most important political journalist working today. Throw in the fact that he’s widely liked, not at all flashy, and smart as hell, and it’s no contest.” The burnt orange hued background on his picture is the least offensive among the backdrops, but it still turns your stomach a little. UPDATE: Todd remarked to FBDC, “I’m feeling a tad self-conscious about my wardrobe. Not sure I could get into GQ for how I dress.” WaPo‘s wonky and obviously stylish Democratic strategist Ezra Klein rolls in at #34. “…[the] not-yet-30-year-old has become a singular journalistic force.” Congratulations Ezzy! We don’t care for the ugly canary yellow backdrop they placed you in, but life goes on. At #38 is WaPo‘s Capital Weather Gang a group of 15 meteorologists/weather geeks. Politico‘s Mike Allen slips in at #40. After dunking his mug in a funky neon green background, they say Playbook is what most people read before they roll out of bed but insist the field of morning newsletters is getting awfully crowded out there. Finally, at #45 is syndicated conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer.
See the full power list here. WaPo‘s “The Reliable Source” wrote up a broader item on this list this morning that included politicians, a chef and event planners Jayne Sandman and Barbara Martin.
The deadline for the $5,000 (Robin) Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting has been extended to midnight today. Entry is simple: All online. No entry fee. No long nominating letter. Reporters can enter themselves. For more info, and the entry form, please visit here.
AnonymASS writes in: “You all sound pretty miserable, bitter and angry. at least that’s the way you come across with all your pissy little, sniping whiney [sic] items. so, um, do you do any actual ‘reporting’? you know, the thing that you criticize everyone else for doing badly? Just curious.”
Dear mASS: Yes, in the midst of our snippy, pissy, whiny (actual spelling), miserable lives we do manage some actual reporting on occasion. Behind the Curtain…when I showed your note to Fishbowl Peter, he wrote back, “I can honestly say I LOVE getting these. They always sound SO fucking desperate. You KNOW it’s [--r--s]. All drunk on Chardonnay.” — FishbowlDC Management.
The S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse U. is currently accepting entrants for the second Annual Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting. The prize, which carries a $5,000 dollar reward, honors Robin Toner, the first woman to become national political correspondent for the NYT. It is rewarded for the best strictly political reporting in print, broadcast and online. Commentary pieces are not eligible. Last year, Craig Harris from The Arizona Republic won for his eight-part series on a broken public pension plan in the state.
You can submit a piece at the Toner Program’s website. Charlotte Grimes, Professor & Knight Chair in Political Reporting at Syracuse, tells FishbowlDC, “The winner is notified in late February, after all the judging. And the award is [given at a] ceremony at the Newhouse School on March 26.” So make your late winter plans accordingly. The deadline for submission is January 14.
An AnonymASS tipster writes in to complain about our “Top 10 Moments that Hooked us in 2011″ list: “I am still amazed at how DCFB could miss one of the BIGGER DC media stories this past year without a single mention. I’m, talking about the self outing of illegal immigrant Jose Antonio Vargas working as a reporter at the Washington Post. I mean WTF? Not a single mention of the incident here on a DC media site? Only a lot of puff pieces in the archives on Vargas. What’s up with that? Guess he was doing work that American Journalism School grads would not do like working at the Washington Post. Seriously, why did you ignore this story? Was somebody at DCFB sleeping with this guy?”
Note of explanation: I’ve checked in with Peter and Eddie and can vouch for myself that no, no one at FishbowlDC had sex with Jose Antonio Vargas to avoid him making our list. But we like your 70s-80s-style Hollywood casting couch kind of thinking. Vargas could have made a worthy addition to the list. So could a lot of other stories that didn’t make the list because it was our list. As in we decide what makes it. And besides, Vargas is based in New York. Didn’t quite fit on all levels. Maybe next year. That is, if we don’t have sex with him and he’s deported.
The year 2011 was the year the 7-second TV delay failed miserably, that members of Congress behaved badly and Weiner headlines became something of an art form. Today we’ve pooled our wisdom into another annoying year-end list, although we hope ours will hold your interest. We’ve picked the moments that stood out most in our minds and the journalists who made them happen. Here’s to you CNN’s Wolf Blitzer for gracefully using the word “underwear” on television and to you, TIME‘s Mark Halperin, for being baited into calling the President “a dick” live on “Morning Joe.” Ed Schultz also gets points (at least for the purposes of this list) for calling conservative Laura Ingraham a “slut.” And to CBS’s Lara Logan, there are not adequate words to describe her courage.
In November, Fox News anchor Bret Baier sat down with GOP Presidential candidate Mitt Romney. It was a hard-hitting interview that saw Romney bristle at several of the questions. When Baier brought up Romney’s penchant for flip-flopping, Romney scolds Baier like a mommy with a 5-year-old and says, “We’re going to have to be better informed about my views on issues.” To Baier’s credit, he continued pounding Romney who kept twisting and turning in his seat. The interview certainly didn’t help Romney. That marked the beginning of a surge for second-tier candidates to make runs at Romney’s frontrunner status. Baier went on The O’Reilly Factor the following day and boasted that after the interview, Romney approached him and called some of the questions “uncalled for” and “overly aggressive.” Calling Bret Baier, a “boy scout” according to Mike Allen, “overly aggressive” is like calling Andrew Breitbart a “serious journalist.” For Baier, let’s stop at fair and mostly balanced and call it a day. — Peter Ogburn
9. The Talented Mr. Nelson Lewis
Nobody is ever going to accuse Washington of being an honest place to work, but Nelson Lewis took things to a whole new level. For starters, Lewis, a former producer for Laura Ingraham‘s radio show, tried to pull off impersonating Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA), an old family friend. Police arrested him for “illegal possession of a congressional lapel pin.” If that’s not humiliating enough, NYP‘s Page Six reported that Lewis claimed to be related to former Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis. He even went as far as creating a fake email account from Lewis to vouch for him. It didn’t take long for the fake world to come tumbling down around him and he was left with no other option but to admit he had a lying problem. According to Page Six, Lewis checked himself into a treatment center at the beginning of this year to address his problem, which he blamed almost entirely on his former employer, Ingraham! He was led to all this lying because, according to Nelson, “she emasculated me.” Psst….there are whisperings that Lewis is working on a weekly TV program here in Washington. Stay tuned. – Peter Ogburn
8. Politico Reporter Kendra Marr Forced to Resign for Plagiarism
This year saw highs and lows for former Politico Pro transportation reporter Kendra Marr. On one hand, she got engaged in April. On the other, she was essentially fired for insufficiently attributing information to the NYT and other publications in her stories. FishbowlDC broke the story of Marr’s misdeeds in October. At the time, her colleagues said newsroom culture was in large part to blame for Marr’s sloppiness. Politico founders John Harris and Jim VandeHei referred to Marr as “a valued colleague and friend” in a memo explaining what happened. WaPo media reporter Erik Wempleempathized with Marr, writing, “When you combine Politico Pro’s pressure for originality with Politico Regular’s factory conditions, you get a force powerful enough to corrupt an otherwise good journalist.” In a recent follow-up, Wemple broke news of a new mentoring program at Politico meant to cultivate young reporters; a system that would have likely benefited Marr. Marr has essentially disappeared. Her Twitter account is still active, but she hasn’t tweeted to her 2,600 followers since the day the story of her indiscretions broke on Oct. 13. We couldn’t find a Facebook account under her name. Her LinkedIn page says she still works at Politico. Her former colleagues aren’t talking. And, perhaps most biting, the initial Google suggestion you get when searching her name is “Kendra Marr plagiarism.” — Eddie Scarry
7. Al Sharpton Lands His Own Show
If the “thrill” running up the leg of Chris Matthews ever had a child, it would be this. Never before in the history of the English language has the line, “Resist we much” been uttered, and we were all the better for it. But with that butchered line, the Reverend Al Sharpton became a television icon. “PoliticsNation,” as it is now called, was in its infancy on MSNBC, replacing the unnamed Cenk Uygur show in the 6 p.m. slot. Uygur never found an audience, it just wasn’t good, it was boring. Off he drifted into obscurity and in stepped the Reverend. Sharpton’s early shows were rough but spirited. It was as though he was allergic to words on the teleprompter. But no flub went viral, they were just laughed at by politicos. Until, that is, on August 9, 2011 when he uttered the now famous line “Resist we much.” The lines are worth reading, but it won’t help you understand what he was trying to say any more than watching the video. Here it is: “Tonight is the measure of whether the country begins in the state of Wisconsin, a national drive to push back or whether we have more to go to build a movement of resistance… BUT RESIST WE MUCH, WE MUST, AND WE WILL MUCH, ABOUT THAT, BE COMMITTED…” Sharpton, who has somehow escaped his incendiary and race-baiting past, eventually found his on-air footing…sort of. He still has a strange relationship with the teleprompter like someone from southern California has with walking on ice, but he’s getting there. His guests adore him in a deeply entertained way few other cable TV hosts can claim. He’s even scored better ratings than the unnamed Uygur show he replaced, but he has a ways to go. Sharpton, who dropped 100 pounds, has vowed never to criticizePresident Obama, isn’t exactly interested in conveying news as much as advancing an agenda. That makes his show more of a pep rally for progressives than a news program, but at least it has relegated the bloopers (mostly) to facts and not delivery. Still, Al’s attitude and activism fit nicely into MSNBC’s line-up. Take that for what it’s worth. — Piranhamous
6. Bad Boys: Ed Schultz, Mark Halperin, David Shuster all do Dumb Things
Among MSNBC’s Ed Schultz, TIME‘s Mark Halperin and Current TV’s David Shuster, it’s tough to proclaim who behaved like the biggest idiot this year. While Schultz called conservative radio personality Laura Ingraham “a slut” and got suspended for it, Halperin called the President “kind of a dick” on live TV and Shuster tried to crash an MSNBC party during White House Correspondents’ Assoc. Dinner weekend. Shuster might have once been invited to such a soirée, but the former MSNBCer was suspended and ultimately let go after saying then-Sen. Hillary Clinton had pimped out her daughter, Chelsea, during her presidential campaign. The network also frowned on his sending a demo tape to CNN for a potential job. Schultz had to perform a humbling and awkward on-air mea culpa. Halperin, it turns out, was goaded into saying the slight by Mika and Joe, who practically drowned viewers in mindless apologies after it happened. When you watch the footage, it’s clear that nerdy Halperin was dying to be part of the in crowd, which perhaps makes his the dumbest act of all. At least Schultz’s insult was as genuine as it was crass and inappropriate. Shuster? One can almost chuckle at his failed party crashing. He’s clearly no Salahi. But he swore up and down that he’d been invited. Somehow party organizers missed that detail such as the one overheard on her walkie talkie saying, “Make sure he doesn’t get in here.” – Betsy Rothstein
5. Wolf Grills a Weiner
This past summer, in the days before former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) was forced to admit that he had carried on several online relationships of a sexual nature, D.C. journos were having a field day trying to make sense of the Weiner Caper. You’ll remember that Weiner accidentally tweeted a picture of (ahem) enlarged boxer shorts. But, who was it? Weiner initially claimed that it was nothing more than a “prank.” He then spent the next several days flailing wildly trying to explain away the offending picture. Which brings us to this exquisite moment from CNN Wolf Blitzer.
There it is. Blitzer flashing a money shot to a U.S. congressman asking him, “You would know if these were your underpants?” Worse than that, Weiner acted as though he didn’t KNOW if those were his undies. There is not a man alive that wouldn’t recognize his own member. It was only days later that Weiner admitted the picture was of him. (And yes, those were his underpants.) — Peter Ogburn
Luke Grills a Weiner of His Own
An Honorable Mention goes to NBC Congressional Reporter Luke Russert. In the haze of the Weiner scandal, Russert proved that he could pull his own weiner weight at the network. He also obtained a bizarre sit down with Rep. Weiner to chat about the picture of someone’s “below the waist area.” Russert appeared on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” to recap his interview and — oops — MSNBC played the wrong package about Weiner’s package and left out the actual interview portion. When they corrected the mistake, we were treated to the first moment that Weiner admitted that he “could not say with certitude” that the picture wasn’t of him.We were also treated to one of those rare relatively unscripted moments when Luke burst out laughing at the absurdity of it all. — Peter Ogburn
In early November, Politico canned its On Media blog and relaunched Ben Smith’s blog, refocusing it on the intersection of politics and media. A new reporter, Dylan Byers, was even hired to help with Ben Smith‘s new-ish project.One month later, Smith announced he’s leaving Politico to be the editor of BuzzFeed. The move caught everyone by surprise for sure. After all, Smith made his name the last seven years reporting on political news, not BuzzFeed material like dogs dressed as pigs and “Shit Girls Say.” But, as he wrote in the announcement on his blog, “…I won’t stop writing or thinking about politics. In fact I’ll continue to write once weekly for POLITICO…” And he told Howard Kurtz on CNN’s Reliable Sources, “In politics, as in other areas, we’re going to hire some great reporters and turn them loose.” We shot Smith several questions. He wouldn’t answer all of them (like whether anyone was pissed that he’s leaving Politico just after his blog was relaunched), but he did tell us his official start date at BuzzFeed is Jan. 1. He said it’ll be the first time he’s back to working in an actual office in a while (“I currently work in a shared office space in Brooklyn, which I love, but also always enjoyed working out of the newsroom when I was in Washington or, pre-Politico, in New York.”) And he’s thinking of switching out his current Twitter profile picture — the official Politico cartoon of him — for “one of those Ben from BuzzFeed memes.” We’ve picked one for him. See here. Congratulations to Smith — we wish him well in his transition. — Eddie Scarry
3. Andrew Breitbart’s “Balls of Steel”
Remember “Abs of Steel”? The workout tape most famous for setting the Guinness World Record for VHS tape with the most dust collected without ever having been played? Well forget it, we have a new “of steel” winner this year – Andrew Breitbart and his “Balls of Steel.” Breitbart shell-shocked the media by hijacking the Manhattan press conference at which now former Rep. Weiner was set to resign. Every news junkie waited patiently for Weiner to show up to the presser he called, but he was running late. Breitbart, who coincidentally was in the neighborhood, heard about it and went to the hotel. Reporters mobbed him, as he was the man who broke the original “sexting” story. When WCBS reporter Marcia Kramer told him he should go to the still unoccupied podium, what happened next was among the most surreal moments in politics of the year. The cherry on top was when Weiner eventually showed up and apologized to Breitbart for implying Andrew had “hacked” his Twitter account. It was something Salon’s Joan Walsh and too many TV personalities have yet to do for insinuating the same thing. In the end, Weiner was out, Breitbart was in and most of the media, who had ignored the story for as long as they could, had egg on their collective face. Breitbart “crashing” Weiner’s press conference was one of the ballsiest, unforgettable moments of the year. While the world probably could have lived without Opie & Anthony leaking the “money-shot” picture from Breitbart’s cell phone, more than those images were seared into our memories from that story. Bravo, Breitbart. — Piranhamous
2. Greta Goes Apesh&t on Tucker
When a longtime friendship goes sour online, it’s something to watch. When it happens on live TV, you’re on pins and needles. If you’ve ever spent time with Daily Caller Editor-in-Chief Tucker Carlson, you know he’s first to laugh, crack jokes and understand another person’s point of view even if he abhors it. After The Daily Caller published a story in the fall reporting lewd comments Mike Tyson had made on a radio show — he referred to a sex act with the former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as “a womb shifter” — FNC’s Greta Van Susterenwent ballistic and called Carlson “a pig.” Wait a second — wasn’t Tyson the pig? To be sure, Greta is nuts for Palin. The former Gov. attended the White House Correspondents’ Assoc. Dinner parties as her guest and has appeared on her show multiple times. On her Gretawire blog, the host blathered on about Carlson’s sexism. She put a dent in their friendship by attacking him personally. She questioned how he ran the story with a wife and daughters. She said his female employees must be upset. She insisted that his publication must be doing so poorly for him to publish the story. Ultimately she invited him on her program, and he accepted. This is when a seriously pissed off Carlson showed up and coolly put Greta in her place. But not without a showdown. There were no smiles. No jokes. The friendship is not in enemy territory, but it’s certainly not as warm as it once was. – Betsy Rothstein
1. Lara Logan Offers an Interview to 60 Minutes
Of all the moments of 2011, by far the bravest came when CBS’s Lara Logan gave an on-air interview to CBS’s Scott Pelley of “60 Minutes.” She boldly went on TV in early May and spoke of the attack and rape that happened to her in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. “It looks like a party,” she said, slowly describing the scene for Pelley. …”It was impossible to not get caught up in the moment.” But soon there was a savage mob scene and things spiraled out of control. “For an extended period of time, they raped me with their hands,” she said. “Suddenly, before I even know what’s happening, I feel hands grabbing my breasts, grabbing my crotch, grabbing me from behind.” Logan didn’t think she’d survive it. Eventually she was saved by Egyptian women in the square who closed ranks around her until she reached safety. Watch a clip of the “60 Minutes” segment with Logan here. But get the tissues. You’re going to need them. — Betsy Rothstein
The Library of Congress is now home to Bambi, Thumper, Forrest Gump and Lt. Dan. On Wednesday James H. Billington, the Librarian of Congress, selected Walt Disney’s Bambi,Forrest Gump and 23 other titles ”to be preserved as cultural, artistic and historical treasures,” according to a press release.
Americans nominated 2,228 titles this year to be included in the Library. Billington then consulted other film curators and the National Film Preservation Board before selecting the final 25.
You can nominate titles for next year’s consideration at at the NFPB’s hideous website here.
We don’t usually cover sports here in the Fishbowl, but last night New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees broke the record held by Hall of Famer Dan Marino for single season passing yards. That pass, which was a touchdown, by the way, set off a flurry of well wishes from media types and politicos.
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindaltweeted: “Congrats to @Drewbrees! #whodat #saints #GeauxSaints #drewbrees #NFLrecord.”
Not to be outdone, the state’s two esteemed senators chimed in. David Vitter (R) tweeted “Congrats @DrewBrees. You deserve it and we love you in #WhoDatNation! #Marino” and Mary Landrieu (D) tweeted “Congrats to @drewbrees on breaking the #NFL single-season passing record tonight! Who dat!? #saints #nola.”
Politicians weren’t the only ones to offer congratulations to the new passing record holder. The Weekly Standard’s Stephen Hayes, EPSN’s Erin Andrews, pro-wrestler Sean Michaels, and even the man himself, Dan Marino, all congratulated Brees.
But the most unexpected tweet on the subject has to be from TV’s Ellen DeGeneres, who had hints of Tom Cruise on Oprah in her tweet, “Congratulations to @drewbrees on breaking the single season passing record. Portia & I are jumping on the couch.”
At the end of the night, just after 2 a.m. on the east coast, the new single season passing record holder himself, tweeted this thanks and respect for Marino.
This week we received a boatload of crap reaction to Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Rear end, Wis.) discussing what he calls first lady Michelle Obama‘s “large posterior” or “big butt”. He used both phrases, each in different settings. Ironically he used “large posterior” while talking loudly on his cell phone in a lounge at Reagan National Airport. He said “big butt” at a church bazaar to elderly people. What can we say, Sensenbrenner, clearly an ass man, likes to mix it up.
The anonymous reactions poured in and we’d like to take this time around the warmth of the holidays to share some with you. We’re calling it our “Best of the Worst” list because some are truly filthy and despicable. Enjoy!
“The tongue is a terrible weapon, and only repeats what is in the heart. Strange that hius [sic] remarks was [sic] at a church auction. He needs prayer, and GOD in his life?”
“You should be ashamed of yourself for critiquing the first lady’s rear.”
“This congressman should be ashamed of himself. Ignorance is bliss. He looks extremely overweight!”
“Rep Sensenbrenner did you ever look at your double chin!!!!!!!!!!!!”
“We are a primarily vegan family who drink milk and eat fish. We also exercise as much as we want. I’d like for her to pick another project like “How to Live Within Your Means Without Sinking the Country. How likely is she to do that? I yearn for Laura Bush, if not her husband. Laura was a lady.”
“And so what if he did say she had a fat ass? Isn’t this still America?”
Create a social media strategy, launch your campaign, and track the results in our 
The S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse U. is currently accepting entrants for the second Annual Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting. The prize, which carries a $5,000 dollar reward, honors 
An AnonymASS tipster writes in to complain about our “Top 10 Moments that Hooked us in 2011″ 
7. Al Sharpton Lands His Own Show
5. Wolf Grills a Weiner
Luke Grills a Weiner of His Own
3. Andrew Breitbart’s “Balls of Steel”
2. Greta Goes Apesh&t on Tucker
1. Lara Logan Offers an Interview to 60 Minutes
The Library of Congress is now home to Bambi, Thumper, Forrest Gump and Lt. Dan. On Wednesday James H. Billington, the Librarian of Congress, selected Walt Disney’s Bambi, Forrest Gump and 23 other titles ”to be preserved as cultural, artistic and historical treasures,” according to a press release.
We don’t usually cover sports here in the Fishbowl, but last night New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees broke the record held by Hall of Famer Dan Marino for single season passing yards. That pass, which was a touchdown, by the way, set off a flurry of well wishes from media types and politicos.
Nadine Cheung
Editor, The Job Post
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