Current TV’s David Shuster, a regular blogger for HuffPost, had his latest submission for the news site rejected.

“We appreciate you taking the time to submit your most recent post,” a letter from the HuffPost blog team to Shuster reads. “Unfortunately, we are going to pass on it for publication at this time, and will look forward to your next submission.”

Gasp! What’s a lefty to do? Shuster’s column, which takes on Fox News and its “war on Christmas” stories, was published on Current.com instead.

An excerpt:

“[A]t Fox News, which prides itself on ‘we report, you decide,’ the mantra is actually ‘we don’t report, so we can lie.’ In story after story, the on-air staff and top producers seem to revel in being ‘uninformed’ so they can say, with a straight face, the GOP’s latest right wing talking points. …

“[T]hat approach is un-American. Our nation was founded by enlightened and intellectually vigorous thinkers who embraced freedom, liberty, and justice. Fox News continually stands for shallow, dishonest, carnival barking that perpetuates and leverages the most debased paranoia. In this season of faith and hope, pray that Fox News will someday choose to sanctify and honor our fellow citizens instead of misleading, dividing, and dumbing them down. Miracles do happen.”

We’re told this is the first time HuffPost has rejected a submission from Shuster. In an email to FishbowlDC, Shuster’s radio producer Daniel Marans labeled the column “too-hot-for-Huffpo.”

We reached out to HuffPost to find out if Shuster’s column, which wasn’t any sassier than his usual self, was indeed “too hot.”

Here’s what Shuster had to say about it… Read more

Before we begin, a Who’s Who in this twisted tale…

• David Shuster: Talk radio host of Take Action News
• Daniel Marans: Producer of Take Action News
• Gerry Connolly: Democratic representative of Virginia
• George Burke: Press secretary to Rep. Connolly
• Chris Perkins: Republican challenger to Connolly

The final result of booking two congressional candidates on David Shuster Take Action News radio program this weekend: Both guests backing out and one pissed off Shuster.

Last week Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) and his opponent Chris Perkins (R) were scheduled for back-to-back segments on Shuster’s Saturday show. Emails between Shuster’s production team and the candidates obtained by FishbowlDC suggest all parties agreed to the appearances. But once Connolly’s press secretary George Burke learned that Perkins would be preceding Connolly, things got seriously nasty. Read more

Current TV’s David Shuster performed a good deed last night on the Acela en route to Washington D.C. from New York.

A fishy spy wrote:

“Spotted 850pm on Acela to DC:  Former MSNBC anchor David Shuster, on all fours on the ground, helping an older woman look for her missing glasses that fell between the seats.  Shu-man told her, ‘no worries, we’ve all been there.’ Glasses were soon found.  Bravo, Mr. Shuster.”

Shuster confirms that he was, indeed, the good samaritan. “I can confirm I showed my butt to folks on the train,” he told FishbowlDC. “But, let the record reflect  it was for a decent cause.”

As a TV journalist, FNC anchor Bret Baier faces a lot of crap about the way he looks. His weight. His hair. How tired he may look on any given day. Last night he faced serious criticism for his apparently questionable taste in ties.

“Bret, that is the ugliest tie I have ever seen,” offered “Jim.” Bret, as usual, welcomed his critic with open arms and replied, “Thanks Jim — I’ll remember that.” Next up: A woman exquisitely named “Hooch01Kathy” seconded Jim’s remarks, saying, “haha I was thinking the same thing and it was crooked ” Bret appeared to take a woman who calls herself HoochKathy seriously enough and came back with: “Tough crowd.”

We reached out to Bret for comment on whether the harsh critiques ever hurt his feelings and whether they prompt him to not wear the alleged ugly tie again.

Meanwhile — and this could sting a little Bret — Current TV’s David Shuster is getting rave reviews for his suits. One told him the suits were “top notch.” To which Shu replied, “Thank you. This week, as always, I’m wearing @hickeyfreeman1 @hartschaffner. Great suits made in the USA.”

Unlike Baier, when another follower tried to insult Shuster’s choice in suits, he didn’t take it lying down. David Douglas, an apparent Chicago-based journo, said Italian suits far surpassed the ones worn by Shuster. “I have custom suits by both and neither fit anywhere close to as well as off-the-rack Italian suits,” he told Shuster, who replied by firing back: “Because you alone don’t fit into some suits, you state an entire industry is better overseas? You sir, are an idiot.” What’s more, he added, “And you claim to be a journalist? Try doing some homework. @hickeyfreeman1 @hartschaffner suits are made in the USA.”

Now that everyone has had a chance to vote, the results are in for the FishbowlDC Superlatives. We’ll be rolling out the results today and tomorrow, so be on the lookout to see how your nominees did.

Biggest Self Promoter– This was the closest vote that we had in the whole competition. It was between Former Daily Caller reporter Michelle Fields, ABC News White House Correspondent Jake Tapper, The Daily Beast and CNN’s Howard Kurtz, WaPo’s Chris Cillizza and Publicist Tammy Haddad. The photo finish saw Tammy Haddad beat out Fields by only five votes! Congratulations Tammy!

Worst Temper– The candidates were Mother Jones’s David Corn, Politico’s Jim VandeHei, Politico’s Tim Grieve, Mediaite’s Tommy Christopher, and Slate’s Matt Yglesias. The people have spoken and they say Tim Grieve has the worst temper in Washington! We’d congratulate him, but we’re afraid it might set him off.

Favorite Flack– We asked you to choose between POTUS campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki, Mitt Romney spokesman Brendan Buck, House Maj. Leader Eric Cantor’s Deputy Chief of Staff Doug Heye and NRCC’s Brian Walsh (pitched as Drama and Turtle), C-SPAN’s Howard Mortman, and House Maj. Whip Kevin McCarthy spokeswoman Erica Elliott. Despite a last minute push by Mortman, the winners were Doug Heye and Brian Walsh!

Most Likely to Wind Up in Jail– The suspects choices were Politico’s Joe Williams, PR Exec. David Bass, BuzzFeed’s John Stanton, The Daily Caller’s David Martosko, The Daily Caller’s Neil Munro, Reason‘s Mike Riggs and freelancer Moe Tkacik. The overwhelming winner was Joe Williams.

Class Clown: This category was a joke. The results were the most lopsided in all of the superlatives. The contenders were Sirius XM’s Julie Mason, Roll Call HOH’s Neda Semnani, Yahoo! News’ Olivier Knox, Reuter‘s Sam Youngman, The Atlantic‘s Scott Stossel, Wonkette and The Guardian‘s Jim Newell and The Drudge Report’s Charlie Hurt. Julie Mason walked away with this category with a crushing 46 percent of the vote.

Most likely to end up with a reality show– In D.C., there are PLENTY of options, but we narrowed them down to Mediaite’s Tommy Christopher, ABC7’s Stephen Tschida, TWT‘s Emily Miller, Susanna Quinn, Publicist Wendy Gordon, Publicist and blogger Janet Donovan, NBC’s Luke Russert, Current TV’s David Shuster,and CNN’s Roland Martin. The winner of this category was…  Emily Miller! (Our advice would be to make sure you get the lighting right on her reality show or she might shoot the bulbs out.)

Thanks to everyone who voted, but we aren’t done yet with the big reveal. Check back tomorrow to find out the winners of all of our other categories, which include Best Writer, Sexiest, and Best On-Air Personality!

Quotes of the Day

Photo credit: Jonathan Ernst for NYT.

Oh, what a concidence! “A photo of Jonathan Weisman interview [Sen.] Claire McCaskill [D-Mo.] alongside a Jonathan Weisman story about Claire McCaskill.” — Politico Jake Sherman puts two and two together in a morning observation. In his piece, Weisman writes that Republicans like Karl Rove are out for blood to make sure she loses. He writes, “In their advertisements, Ms. McCaskill’s face is sometimes bloated, sometimes goofy, sometimes exhausted.”

“Bliss…they’d have to give Joe and I an extra hour.” — MSNBC’s Al Sharpton on this morning’s “Morning Joe” on the remote possibility that Mitt Romney could pick Rick Santorum as a running mate. He’s referring to the extra time he and host Joe Scarborough would need to discuss the pick.

Journo’s ‘pretty toes’ get noticed

“Was hit on while getting on the bus. His line: ‘Can I call you sometime? You have pretty toes.’ Um.” — Greenwire‘s Jessica Estepa.

From the Dept. of Bragiculture…

“Thanks Yolanda.” — Current TV’s David Shuster who retweeted @JesyQ: “I miss you David but glad you’re happy where u are. You were one of the best MSNBC contributor/journalist. IMO”

Um, and another thing: “Bartenders of Earth: Stop putting limes on bourbon-based mixed drinks. Thank you for your cooperation.” — Sommer Mathis, Editor, The Atlantic Cities.

Dressage: Is it a joke?

“Finally watching dressage. This is a ‘sport’? Chess is more athletic than this.” — Politico White House reporter Byron Tau.

Deep thoughts with Stephen Tschida

“Have you ever thought about all those people you read about who are dead and think wow I’m alive right now. Just hope it lasts a while.” — ABC7′s Stephen Tschida.

Current TV’s David Shuster‘s bride to be Kera Rennert replied to questions we had concerning her impending nuptials. For starters, what did she think of Shuster at 15 when they met at Camp Tel Yehudah?

“I didn’t have a crush on David at age 15 because I was too busy sneaking into his bunk to make out with one of the campers he was supposed to be watching,” Rennert, a freelance journalist based in New York, confided over email. “Plus, Shuster was an old man back then (and now, though he’s aged very, very well).”

She said Yehudah was a Jewish camp and “we ran around singing Hebrew songs and doing funny Israeli dances, along with the usual summer camp activities – sports, arts & crafts, and apparently making long-lasting impressions on counselors.” (Seriously, a Jewish camp?)

Shuster gave up his fiance’s email and prompted us to ask “what the hell” she’s thinking. We thought that was a bit cruel, and instead asked about her current “state of mind” on marrying Shuster. Rennert replied, “My present state of mind about marrying him is, well…let’s just say…Valium is my friend. KIDDING!  I couldn’t be happier!  While some people may know David for intriguing controversies, I see well beyond that.  He is, without a doubt, the warmest, kindest, funniest, most loving person I’ve ever known.  In all honesty, I feel like the luckiest woman in the world.

Rennert, also a journalist, closed with a question: “Did I just make you throw up?”

As the old saying goes, when you know, you know. Just six months into a courtship with an old summer camp friend, Current TV’s David Shuster is getting married. “Eddie was correct — the woman I was with Friday night at Levante’s in DC is ‘attractive, thin, and has long hair,” Shuster wrote FishbowlDC last night, referring to a sighting we wrote Monday. “Her name is Kera Rennert.  And, she is now my fiancé.  I proposed Sunday night (on my birthday) in Central Park.”

Shuster and Bloomberg‘s Julianna Goldman married in 2007 at Sixth and I Historic Synagogue and separated and separated in 2011. Their nuptials appeared in the NYT wedding section on May 27 of that year.  At the time, he worked for MSNBC.

The TV journo continued on with more details: “Kera and I have known each other for 25 years — we first met at summer camp.  Back then, I was 20 years old and a counselor; Kera was 15 years old and a camper.  No, we did not hook up back up then, nor did I think about it, nor did she.” (Ever the journalist, Shuster knew where our demented minds would go. We’re certainly delighted to hear that he didn’t commit statutory rape.)

The pair reconnected in New York in December, found much in common — she is also divorced — and have been dating now for about six months. Rennert is a New York-based freelance writer/producer/director for CBS News and Discovery Channel.

Congratulations to the happy couple! And Kera, for better or for worse, welcome to the Fishbowl.

Quotes Of The Day

“Twitter is really becoming a zoo of rude, selfish people.” — FNC’s Greg Gutfield to his colleague Rick Leventhal.

Journo braves Air India Airport Lounge

“Some Russians just showed up at the Air India lounge: one mullet, two neon wife-beaters and a huge cloud of eau de something.” — Former D.C. journo for The Hill Peter Savodnik, now a freelance writer based in New York.

Necessary Tweet of the Day

“Had a very realistic, nightmarish dream.” — Greenwire‘s Jessica Estepa.

Congresswoman never had heart attack?

“Former Rep. Diane Watson is moderating the AKA #boule2012 town hall. Contrary to reports in March, she said she didn’t suffer a heart attack.” — CNN and Washington Watch’s Roland Martin over the weekend. Every pub from the LAT to the Sacramento Bee reported news of her heart attack and recovery from the health issue. The LAT appeared to hear the news straight from the horse’s mouth. She told a reporter in a telephone interview, “I’m feeling good. I just came from my doctor, and there is no damage to the heart.” She added that doctors were monitoring her for possible blood clot problems.Watson retired from Congress in 2011.

Baier Vomit: Twitter Help Desk

FNC’s Bret Baier: Retweet RT @rosmy100us @BretBaier @OMemmieG WHAT IS THE MEANING OF RT? SORRY FOR MY IGNORANCE.

Travel Complaint Desk…

Politico’s Ginger Gibson, who was traveling today, faced what she dubbed were “ridiculous” delays at the Delta and United gates of Reagan National Airport.

1. Starting today’s outing with the longest TSA line I’ve ever seen at DCA. Totally ridiculous. What is going on??? 2. Glad I came to the airport early to get food. Too bad I won’t actually be able to eat now. 3. Well, at least the woman who was rudely yelling at the airline employees to tag her bag is now way behind me in line. #karma. 4. Well, at least the woman who was rudely yelling at the airline employees to tag her bag is now way behind me in line. #karma 5. Once on board, Gibson had more complaints. “Ugh. A two and a half hour flight with no onboard wifi or television. How did people fly cross country before inflight wifi?”

For ABC “Bachelorette” watchers… funniest comment came from Dr. Jill Biden (fake account) who remarked, “Jef had to leave Emily’s family because he was late for a rumble with the Greasers.”

Spotted: Current TV’s David Shuster dining al fresco with a woman Friday night at Levante’s, a Mediterranean restaurant off Dupont Circle. She was believed to be attractive and thin with long hair (I’ve implored Eddie to get more details next time).

Peter Ogburn and Eddie Scarry contributed to this report.