Journalists were as invested as anyone in Mitt Romney‘s VP pick. After all, they’re the ones stuck covering these two for the next three-plus months. Pawlenty and Portman: Boring with two capital P’s.

But Paul Ryan? He puts a spring in their step.

This morning on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” TIME‘s Mark Halperin spoke of what he suspects will be a shift in coverage with the Ryan choice. Granted, his remarks might cause his colleagues to avoid him on the bus and not because he forgot mouthwash. “Another constituency he has, almost every national political reporter knows Paul Ryan and likes Paul Ryan more than they do Mitt Romney and that gives Romney a little bit of an edge he was missing, which was pro-Obama in the press corps,” he said.

Sirius XM P.O.T.U.S. Channel’s Julie Mason bristled at the idea that Ryan would bring positive coverage or that journos are in the tank for Obama. “Hill reporters respect Ryan, but that doesn’t necessarily translate into more positive coverage — especially if the campaign’s posture is still limited access, few press conferences and only friendly, safe interviews,” she said this morning by email. “And the idea that the press corps is pro-Obama is frankly laughable. So 2007!”

Breitbart.com editor John Nolte, not one to go easy on the “mainstream media”, calls bullshit on Halperin’s assessment. “I’m on vacation – headed to Ryan Country for a week – my home state of Wisconsin, so I didn’t see Morning Joe (part of my vacation is from insufferable smug),” he wrote in an email. “While I’m glad Halperin was able to openly admit what I like to call The Glaringly Obvious — that the media is in the tank for Obama — I know a hustle when I hear one. Halperin is hoping that by telling us the media likes and respects Ryan and will therefore treat him with anything approaching objectivity, that the Romney-Ryan ticket and those of us in their camp will think that makes sense. Except…it’s a trap.”

Still, Bloomberg‘s Al Hunt sounded pretty chipper about the Ryan pick. “Well Joe, they say in politics that all politics is local,” he said on “Morning Joe.” “I think it’s true in journalism too. It makes it a better race. It makes it more fun to cover. Other than Chris Christie I can’t think of a more interesting choice.”

And neither can Reuter‘s political scribe Sam Youngman, who sees the pick as an illicit drug. “Yeah, this is gonna be fun. The pick just added layers of meaning and consequence to a race that was starting to feel like a horrible movie,” he said. “Ya know, like Ides of March. Now we’re standing at a train station, watching a train that’s going one of two ways – to the White House or off a cliff into a fireworks factory. Put another way, for political junkies, this is the kind of heroin that’s so good it might kill you.”

NBC’s Andrea Mitchell sounded less hooked, but nonetheless enthused. “I think it is the most exciting choice he could have made,” she said on “Morning Joe.”

And indeed, that comfort level with Ryan is there. “Paul Ryan is known to make himself generally available to reporters on Capitol Hill,” Yahoo! News’ Chris Moody said when asked for his reaction. “He doesn’t pretend to take cell phone calls when he spots journos waiting for him on his way to the House floor, so I think there is some optimism about having him on the campaign trail. (Of course, he’s never far from his iPod ear buds.)  That’s not to say journalists go easy on Paul Ryan, but the back-and-forth isn’t unsavory.”

But not all political journalists are so fired up about the Ryan choice. “Everyone loves Rob Portman,” said a longtime journalist on condition of anonymity. “He is a total leaking sieve. No one in D.C. really knows Pawlenty. Honestly, I don’t get the sense that anyone really cares about this pick. It’s neither exciting nor anti-climactic. It just sort of….sits there. Like, ‘Oh. Him. OK.’ I mean, now — Rick Perry. That would have been bold!”

Often what appeals to reporters most is the element of surprise. And for Real Clear Politics‘ political reporter Erin McPike, the Ryan pick has at least some of the elements Halperin spoke of this morning — the Press Corps’ ease with Ryan and the unexpected way the story broke. She’s hoping Ryan’s presence means media access will improve.

“It wasn’t what most reporters were expecting, so of course that makes it more exciting,” she told FishbowlDC. “Add to that how it broke – late on a Friday night, and you definitely get the press corps fired up. Paul Ryan is someone that the DC press corps has gotten to know well. We know what he listens to on his iPod when he’s walking through the Cannon tunnel, for one thing, because he talks to us. We know answers about the Ryan budget because he talks to us. And for a GOP campaign that has been inaccessible and has avoided answering specific policy questions, in some way it certainly changes the game.”

But Breitbart.com‘s Nolte is beyond skeptical.

“The media heckles and taunts Mitt Romney on sacred ground in Poland, the media reads Romney’s mind from 50 years ago so they can call him a prep school gay basher — the DAY AFTER Obama stops lying about his position on same-sex marriage,” he said. “So if Halperin thinks we’re going to in any way let our guard down now that our VP candidate is an attractive, unapologetic conservative threat to Their Precious One — I say nice try.”

Correction: The copy above initially had Hunt with WSJ. Clearly he’s Bloomberg.

By Eddie Scarry and Betsy Rothstein

HBO’s drama Newsroom debuted Sunday night. The series tells the story of an easily agitated cable news anchor played by Jeff Daniels who has a public meltdown at Northwestern University resulting in a mass exodus of his staff. What’s a newsroom without a resident alcoholic, a wonk and a love triangle? Sam Waterston plays the drunken president of ACN who tells Daniels privately that he loved the meltdown. Dev Patel plays a perfect wonk. Who wouldn’t love to have him on their news team? A former love interest played by Emily Mortimer takes over his program as executive producer with plans to shake up the newscast for better or worse. And the love triangle: Daniels’ assistant played by Alison Pill is seeing an arrogant ass of a reporter (Thomas Sadoski) in the newsroom who doesn’t want to get too serious. Will she shack up with the new guy played by John Gallagher (check him out below)? Stay tuned…

Gawker published a favorable review by broadcasting legend Dan Rather. If subsequent episodes are as good as the first, he wrote, “then [Newsroom creator] Aaron Sorkin has a winner.”

ABC News’ Senior White House Correspondent Jake Tapper was less kind. In TNR, he called the show “sadly disappointing.” Similarly negative reviews were published in the NYT, WaPo and The New Yorker magazine.

We asked around to see what Washington’s media thought about the show. Sadly the viewing community, minus Slate‘s Dave Weigel, wasn’t large. And among those who watched, most abhorred it while a small minority of journalists are on the fence and plan to keep watching.

“Didn’t watch… don’t plan to… why do I want to spend my down time watching a fictionalized account of what I supposedly do for a living?” — NBC’s Chuck Todd

“So badly do I but I don’t get HBO despite trying to get it specifically so I could watch this show. I need someone to rent me a living room with HBO next weekend so I can check it out.” — RCP’s Erin McPike

“Going into the show I was highly skeptical, but you know I was entertained. Was it the west wing? No.  True to life? no (I’ve never seen a bottle of whiskey in my newsroom) but a quality first outing. I think it got the energy of a newsroom right. I’ll watch next week.One knock, but its kind of part of the Sorkin playbook…it got a touch preachy. I do wish the newsroom had a breaking news siren or something. — ABC7′s Kris Van Cleave

“Not sure I feel one way or another about it yet. I did identify with some of the situations, the environment and some of the characters, but I wasn’t fully convinced. Plus, the best part was the on-stage meltdown. It slowed considerably after that. Enjoyable but not addictive – at least not yet.” — CNN’s Matt Dornic

“I got rid of cable when I was watching too many “real” housewives. When I found myself wasting my time watching Kimmie’s wig pulled off on the streets of Atlanta – and my kids glued to Cartoon Network – cable had to go … Leaves me more time to read Fishbowl.” — ABC7′s Rebecca Cooper

“If the point of The Newsroom was to leave West Wing fans feeling a bit embarrassed, Sorkin succeeded. However, I am excited to share this experience with Twitter until the show ends.” — The Heritage Foundation’s Director of Communications Rory Cooper

“Didn’t watch. Think I’ll wait then tackle three or four episodes in one sitting.”– Politico‘s Dylan Byers

“Didn’t watch, though did enjoy Sorkin’s A Few Good Men on (I think) TNT Saturday”– Politico‘s Alex Burns

“I did, largely because 1) the negative reviews/profiles were so succulent and 2) I needed to procrastinate. Maybe Dan Rather is right, and people in print media just don’t understand whether or not this feels REAL. (When I do MSNBC, I’m sort of an in-and-out guest in the newsrooms and studios, so I have not seen a newsroom burst into action to chase down BP statements.) That said… seriously, they broke the BP story wide open because they ran with the new guy’s two sources? Isn’t that how the Paris correspondent gets in trouble in “The Imperfectionists”?”– Slate’s Weigel.

“I am probably the only person in D.C. whose job it is to write about entertainment and did not tune in. I’ll watch it when I get home tonight, but from all of the scathing reviews I have pretty low expectations, which is disappointing because I love a good walk and talk. I have “Sports Night” queued up on Netflix in case I need to cleanse my palette afterward.”– The Daily Caller‘s Taylor Bigler

“I turned off HBO after True Blood, the Newsroom’s plot just seemed too dark and twisted.” — USA Today‘s Jackie Kucinich

“Tedious.” — The Daily Caller‘s TV Reporter Jeff Poor

“No, didn’t watch watch it and won’t watch it.. I work in a newsroom. Why in god’s name would I then go home and watch a show about working in a newsroom? Give me an episode of Game of Thrones!” — NBC’s Andy Gross

“I thought it was mostly fun, albeit pretty melodramatic with the various speeches, especially the ones delivered by the Brit woman. Plenty of news organizations are “popular” without pandering to one audience or another. Thought Jeff Daniels was great as a cynical, beaten-down new sguy who could have been a print or digital person as well as a TV one.” — BusinessWeek‘s Bryan Gruley

“I didn’t watch. I’m lame.” — NYT‘s Mark Leibovich

“Sorry, In ATL this week for a conference. Didn’t see it.” — HuffPost‘s Christina Wilkie

See more responses from Washington journos…

Read more

Quotes of the Day

Father’s Day Treats: “Cleaning the pot after making rice krispy treats.” — Mr. Norah O’Donnell (i.e. Chef Geoff, husband to CBS Chief White House Correspondent Norah O’Donnell.)

Painting the town brown

“Hi. You mind if I talk to you for just a minute? I just want to say a few words about diarrhea.” — WaPo feature writer Dan Zak.

Important question to ponder: “When did this whole meme thing start?” — NYT‘s Mark Leibovich.

Herman Who?

“I love how @morningmika forgot @THEHermanCain’s name on @MorningJoe today. #999 #thepizzadude.” — HuffPost‘s Sara Kenigsberg. MSNBC “Morning Joe” Host Mika Brzezinski reamarked, “I can’t even remember 999′s name” and called him a “clown show.”

Congrats on Challenging Your Guest Howie

“Cenk Uygur and Matt Lewis (who I challenged) on the Daily Caller reporter who heckled Obama during immigration speech.” — CNN’s Howard Kurtz. No kidding, Howie! Good job on doing your job.

And in a twist of irony there’s this…“Ironically, Howard Kurtz interrupts @mattklewis to ask Q’s about ‘decorum’ of asking Q’s” — The Daily Caller‘s Matthew Boyle. And another thing goddamn you Howie, “Hey @HowardKurtz – Why’d you axe segment on #FastandFurious, Eric Holder contempt/resignation calls?   Rescheduling?”

Speaking of otherworldly…

“Today is 69th birthday of @newtgingrich, famous media critic and lunar realtor.” — pourmecoffee.

Nose Out of Joint

• “They weren’t kidding about massive rate hike. My @dcwater bill more than doubled since last month.” – Washingtonian‘s Carol Joynt.

• “Hello, motherfucker who took my computer and just went on an iTunes shopping spree. We’re hunting you.” — Wonkette and Salon Contributor Jim Newell.

• “Dear @Expedia…in 3 minutes i will have been on the phone for an hour with your customer service people trying to change a flight. WEAK.” — ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Jake Tapper. Tapper spent the weekend at his Dartmouth college reunion in Hanover, N.H.

• “Rained-on electronics in Brunswick; overheated electronics in Newark. Tough day to type on the trail.” — RealClearPolitics‘ Erin McPike.

Mediaite WH scribe smooches TV host

“Oh, yeah, a Happy Rookie Father’s Day to you, @chrislhayes. Next week, you’ll have a necktie to wear. #uppers” — Mediaite White House Correspondent Tommy Christopher, who moonlights as the Chairman of the I Love Hazy Foundation. Chris Hayes is an overcaffeinated host on MSNBC. Wait, don’t we already have one of those? (cough, cough, Chris Matthews.)

Female journo spots flasher

“Tonight’s PSA by Nikki – there was definitely a flasher outside @thehamiltondc. ‘Ladies be careful,’ he said before showing his youknowwhat.” — The Washington Examiner‘s Nikki Schwab.

Convo Between Two Journos

CNN’s Wolf Blitzer: “This #Nats #Yankees game is very good but could be better. #Natitude.” InTheseTimes Magazine writer Mike Elk: “Fuck u wolf go nats.”

“It’s hard work, but that’s what we’re here to do.” – NBC Washington cameraman Jim Long with accompanying photograph from Los Cabos, Mexico, where President Obama is traveling today.

Convo Between Two Journos II

Politico‘s Ben White: “We just met and this is crazy, but if you play that song again I’ll shoot you in the face for sure.”

Politico‘s Jonathan Allen: “Ben, things that aren’t crazy include giving phone # to someone you just met. Been happening since phones invented #dumblyrics”

Self-Appointed Media Critic

“Truly stupid NYT article on Anna Wintour by Jeremy Peters, makes you want to kill yourself. Why do we bother, if this is what can be written.” — Vanity Fair Contributor Michael Wolff. Read the story here.

Peter Ogburn contributed to this report.

Quotes of the Day

Journo finds horse shit in WaPo

“Jim Newell, this could win a ‘reverse Pulitzer’ for shittiest article of 2012.” — The Guardian‘s Richard Adams to the ex-Gawker Political Editor. Adams linked to a WaPo story by ex-Style Editor turned campaign trail writer Ned Martel about Ann Romney and her deep love of horses. Romney is strangely into dressage…which is, er, horse ballet.

Rush’s bro stirs the pot

“At some point, conservatives better realize how organized the left is & how determined they are to silence our side. We ignore at our peril.” — Lawyer and syndicated columnist David Limbaugh, who will likely talk to you on the record providing you’re a conservative journalist.

Journo discusses blowjob workshop

“And then the term ‘blowjob workshop’ came up. Apparently one was covered by a journo here. Huzzah!” — WaPo Express‘s Clinton Yates, who previously tweeted about “fisting.” We have no words for this one.

Emily issues a special warning!

“Warning: the season finale of #Bachelor airs now and I will watch and tweet even though US Weekly spoiled the end.” — TWT‘s Senior Opinion Editor Emily Miller.

Journo Clusterf&%k!

FNC’s Ed Henry: “Wait WHAT??: After answering Q on Afghan, Santorum said: “I’m the only person in this race that has any experience as commander in chief”. BuzzFeed’s Zeke Miller: “Erin McPike reports Santorum said ‘TO BE’ commander in chief. RCP’s Erin McPike: “Ed Henry, we listened to it several times – it was ‘to be.’ That was my mistake.”

Perplexing…

“I don’t understand people who exercise at the gym wearing jeans and a long sleeve shirt, or boots for that matter.” — Don Irvine.

Classic Dave Hughes: The Thief

“CNN lifts commentator Roland Martin’s suspension after homophobic Tweet during Super Bowl” — DCRTV’s Dave Hughes acting like he broke the news that CNN has lifted Roland Martin‘s suspension. Watch out, D.C. scribes. Traditional attribution rules apparently don’t apply to him.

Journo sets goals for himself. Are they elusive?

“Goal: Someday, I will have ‘people’ who file expenses for me. I’ll also have children, who will make expenses for me.” — Military Times‘ Dan Lamothe.

Journos conjure up stupid questions for Carney

“Jay, was Bo’s run across the South Lawn yesterday an official event or a political one?#thingsthatwontgetasked” — NBC News’s Shawna Thomas. “Who paid for the pooper scooper and plastic baggies?!?!” — Politico‘s Jennifer Epstein.

Unnecessary Tweet of the Day

“I’m at Blue Duck Tavern (Washington, DC) 4sq.com/zmFC8p” — Washington Life‘s Executive Editor Michael Clements.

The intrepid Peter Ogburn and Eddie Scarry contributed to this report.

Quotes of the Day

Greta in shock?

“Gov Palin on CNN?” — FNC’s Greta Van Susteren on former Gov. Sarah Palin‘s surprising appearance on CNN last night. Palin’s usual go-to show is Greta’s.

Journo proud of Ohio roots

“I love being an Ohioan… Nights like tonight prove that it really is “The heart of it all.” The center of the political universe!” — RCP’s Erin McPike.

Ouch Donna!

“At this point, the nomination is probably Mitt Romney’s to lose. And I mean that quite literally. #cnnelections” — CNN Contributor Donna Brazile.

Strange Weigel bourbon rituals

“Feels weird to be around alcohol in Georgia without @rsmccain. Do I say his name three times into a bourbon glass?” — Slate‘s Dave Weigel in reference to right-wing blogger Robert Stacy McCain.

CNN’s Acosta really gets into DeWine’s name

“Now that I have your attention. That last pic was Santorum surrogate DeWine de-working the phones in Steubenville.” — CNN’s Jim Acosta.

Shocker: WaPo having technical issues

“Apologies for the spigot of outdated tweets – we have an issue with our platform and are working to correct it.” — @PostPolitics.

He’s not in the wax museum?

“Wow, virtual David Gergen is so lifelike.” — Yahoo! News’s Olivier Knox referring to CNN’s virtual convention.

WaPo Editor practices keeping road rage at bay

“Yikes, if you’re on L St around 15th, you’re going to be sitting there till St Patrick’s Day. #DCtraffic” — WaPo Book World Editor Ron Charles.

News you can’t use

“Great stat on @mikeallen from @politico live stream: ‘Has had 7 jobs since college.’” — Politico’s Patrick Gavin.

FishPoll Results: Yesterday we asked readers, “What word might Rush Limbaugh have used instead of ‘slut’?” An overwhelming 62 percent said, “Nothing, he should have kept his fat mouth shut.” Coming in second place at 16 percent: “Ho-bag.”

The always devious Peter Ogburn and Eddie Scarry contributed to this report.

Quotes of the Day

Rolling Stone writer annoys himself

“So yeah I deleted that last tweet because I was starting to annoy myself.” – Rolling Stone‘s Michael Hastings.

HuffPost Hill‘s Eliot Nelson‘s ingenious albeit violent idea: “If I could smother Twitter with a pillow right now, I would.”

Modern Journo Mysteries

“Things I don’t get: People who have ‘political junkie’ in their bio who unfollow me after I tweet exit polls.” — NJ‘s Ethan Klapper.

Editor introduces new word into zeitgeist: ‘fartknocker’

“Keep in mind kids, we must unite after primaries. I hope to not personally dislike ppl because they acted like a fartknocker for their guy.” — Big Journalism Editor and CNN Contributor Dana Loesch.

What’s all the fuss about outside NPR?

“Random cheering and shouting outside NPR HQ. Is it a) someone really excited about #azprimary; b) random DC protest; c) a pack of Caps fans?” — NPR interactive designer Alyson Hurt. NPR PR has gotten back to us and is getting to the bottom of it. Stay tuned…They not one hundred percent on it, but they suspect it was Caps Fans — the team won in overtime.

Conservative scribe subjects himself to night of MSNBC

“I feel like living on the edge tonight. As such, I just ate and am going to flip to MSNBC. Pray for me. #Caring” — Townhall.com Contributor and occasional WMAL radio host Derek Hunter.

Malkin handles unseemly follower

Let’s face it. Some followers can be a–holes. After one remarked, “God MM just go away!” HotAir’s Michelle Malkin replied, “Welcome to Twitter. Meet the unfollow button.”

Ron Paul and media coverage

After Politico‘s Jonathan Martin said Ron Paul got an awful lot of attention for a guy who keeps losing, RealClearPolitics‘ Erin McPike remarked, “Eh, the media just got really, really sick of all the hate mail and the nasty comments from his supporters.”

Roll Call tweaks Ann Romney Speech

“Ann Romney just won an Oscar, apparently.” — Roll Call in an unusually snappy tweet late last night after Ann took to the airwaves to discuss the tip of her Mitt as her hubby somehow scored Michigan.

Baier Vomit

A follower writes, “Thanks for the great coverage tonight Bret.” FNC’s Bret Baier retweets the compliment and says, “We’re trying hard ”  While we like Baier’s relentless determination to respond to every yahoo that writes him, retweeting compliments is nauseating.

Necessary Quote of the Day

“Bugg is benevolent. Bugg is wise. Bugg eats pie for breakfast.” — Metro Weekly‘s Randy Shulman, who is of course referring to Metro Weekly Co-Publisher Sean Bugg. Bugg, where are you these days? Strawberry Lane?

What’s missing from Romney’s campaign?

“There’s not a lot of poetry in his campaign. It’s who he is.” — NBC “MTP” host David Gregory on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” this morning.

Quotes of the Day

Journos ding victory night music

“Did not anticipate I would be in a sweaty ballroom full of Republicans rocking out to ‘Pump Up the Jam’ tonight. Life is full of surprises.” — The Atlantic‘s Molly Ball.

“Music at Gingrich party is essentially a Casey Kasem grab bag from 1992 (i.e. atrocious)” — CNN’s Peter Hamby.

“Gingrich event a sauna cum mosh pit Must be 400+ people crammed into this small event room at Hilton #scprimary” –  Mail Online‘s U.S. Exec. Editor Toby Harnden.

Radio host blames dreams on Buffy

“Alarm went off this am, reached over to turn it off, and said calmly, ‘Well, clearly she’s possessed.’ #weirddreams #watchingtoomuchbuffy” — WMAL’s and Daily Caller‘s Mary Katharine Ham.

Whoops!

“With me are two experts, the co authors of Game Change…TIME‘s Mark Halperin and New York Magazine’s John Halperin.” — MSNBC’s Chris Matthews on Saturday night. John’s surname is Heilemann.

Reporter calls out the pundits

“Pretty much every pundit + journo in America has said Romney certainly will be nominee. Will the whole lot of ‘em reverse course tomorrow?” — RealClearPolitics’ Erin McPike.

Irony…“Newt, humbled by tonight’s results, is now explaining how stupid everyone in Washington is.” — National Review Online‘s Jim Geraghty.

Bold admission

“Ok, i’m done for the evening RT’ing about things I have no firsthand knowledge of.” — NBC Washington cameraman Jim Long.

Another reason for Newt to hate the media

“Odd delay. Newt announced, then…..nothin” — PBS’s Gwen Ifill.

“Even in victory, Newt can’t help but be a gigantic dick.” — NYT Magazine Contributing Writer and Men’s Journal Contributing Editor Stephen Rodrick.

NBC’s ‘MTP’ can’t be psyched about this…

MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell‘s advice for Newt on the eve of his Sunday “MTP” appearance: “I would cancel Meet the Press immediately.” The Rev. Al Sharpton: “I think he will blow it in the one-on-one interview.”

In the past 24 hours we’ve been probing reporters about what they will miss most about Texas Gov. Rick Perry‘s Presidential campaign. Most knew within mere seconds. Enjoy!

MSNBC Political Analyst Karen Finney: “Rick Perry gave us some of the best debate moments of the cycle. I will miss his stammering, non-sensical, more bizarre than the thought of Newt in an ‘open’ marriage – moments.”

Politico‘s Roger Simon: “There was a Perry campaign?”

CNN Commentator Hilary Rosen: “I’ll miss the low expectations from the pundits before debates. No one is left to over-perform!”

NJ‘s White House and Congressional correspondent Major Garrett: “I will miss Perry saying ‘Luv you, brother.’ I’d never before heard a presidential campaign sound like the fraternity rush chairman right before the first Friday night keg is tapped.”

Q & A Celeb’s Colin Drummond: “Think I’ll miss his huge entourage who acted as if they were actually guarding the President.”

Informal Herman Cain advisor John Coale: “Being on the edge of my seat waiting to see what he says next.”

Reuters‘ Sam Youngman: “His debate performances, his smile and his, uh. His… uh, I’m sorry.”

Metro Weekly Co-Publisher Sean Bugg: “Since I don’t find bumbling incompetence quite as funny as everyone else seems to, not very damn much.”

BuzzFeed’s Ben Smith: “I will miss Rick Perry, a great retail pol who was a ton of fun to cover.”

TownHall.com and BigGov columnist Derek Hunter: “I would say I will miss 3 things and pretend to not remember the 3rd, but I can’t even think of the first 2 to pretend to forget the 3rd. You can’t miss flying on a plane that never really got off the ground. Perry was a great concept, but a horrible candidate who only seems ready to run when it was too late to matter.”

SiriusXM P.O.T.U.S. Channel’s Julie Mason: “I have been unabashedly keening and lamenting this departure all damn day. The presidential campaign just got 65 percent less fun with 85 percent less charisma. I will leave assessments on hair to others.”

Roll Call‘s Jonathan Strong: “Waiting for his next spectacular flub in the debates.”

Anonymous Capitol Hill reporter: “The mind numbing WTF moment that occurred every time he dove into the shallow end of foreign policy.”

Roll Call‘s HOH writer Neda Semnani: “I for one will miss his boots, Freedom and Liberty. Warren says he will miss his verbal face plants. I will just miss him in debates generally. But, let be serious, we will all miss his hair — his beautiful, beautiful hair that was obviously sculpted by angels.”

The Daily Caller‘s Jamie Weinstein: “Like everyone I think, I’ll miss his eloquence and erudition. And his hora proficiency.”

RealClearPolitics‘ Erin McPike: “The self-deprecation. And I actually got an old-school back-slap from him when he was hustling into an Iowa event last month. His demeanor made for really good color, and that makes good copy.”

TWT Senior Opinion Editor Emily Miller: “I’ll miss Rick Perry scaring the heck out of everyone on Capitol Hill with his push for a part-time Congress.”

TWT‘s Anneke Green: “All we DC insiders are mourning the lost opportunity to be ruled again by the sovereign Republic of Texas. For three long years, we’ve suffered the abolishing of beer pong, cowboy boots-n-tuxes, and … and… What was the third one?”

SHannitysHair: “First and foremost, I will miss his GREAT hair. Seriously though, I will miss his conservative voice in the campaign….even though he tends to get tongue-tied at times. Who among us didn’t chuckle inside at his “oops” moment? There was one other thing I wanted to share. I forget. #oops”

Human Events‘ Tony Lee: “His unpredictable Twitter feed, exclamation marks included. You never knew what he was going to tweet. He tweeted he was not quitting the race, a picture of himself at a shooting range, and even a challenge to CNN’s Peter Hamby to make the Perry running team.”

Yahoo! News‘ Chris Moody: “His campaign aides were always great about hanging out after events to shoot the breeze with reporters. They’ll be missed at the bar.”

From an unidentified WTOP management type, suit-wearing person: “Three things… the candor, the commercials… and… um, ahh”

Human Events‘ Jason Mattera: “The blank stares and blonde moments.”

Eddie Scarry contributed to this report.

Quotes of the Day

Journo love

“Alex Burns. Maggie Haberman. We love you both.” — MSNBC’s Alex Witt on Sunday afternoon to guests of the program Politico‘s Burns and Haberman.

Is Jason Linkins a 13-year-old with a drinking problem?

“Damn it! I promised myself that my ‘work bourbon’ would last until the New Hampshire primary was over.” — HuffPost‘s left-wing media reporter Jason Linkins spent the weekend trying to be Hunter S. Thompson and failing miserably. On Sunday morning he adds, “The winner of this debate is vodka.” Still later he says simply, “Drink” and links to a music video. 

Huntman’s Mandarin falls flat

“I was in the press room, actually, last night during that debate and the press kind of erupted into laughter at that so I’m not sure that moment went over very well.” — RealClearPolitics‘ Erin McPike on MSNBC Sunday afternoon in response to a question on Jon Huntsman‘s use of Mandarin in Saturday night’s debate.

Melinda tires of the ass kissing

“Is Chris Matthews thinking David Gregory will be his boss someday? Enough, already…” — WaPo‘s Melinda Henneberger.

HuffPost reporter gets shout-out from Eva Longoria

“Eva Longoria just retweeted me. I mean, that’s cool.” — HuffPost‘s Jennifer Bendery.

Bad form: Reporter RT’s himself

“RT @MikViq: Basically, Romney is saying that IF he could correct the SuperPAC ads he would, but since he hardly knows these people, he can’t.” — NBC’s Michael Viqueira. To be fair, Viqueira is not a serial self RTer. This is the first act of this nature that we’ve seen from him. But why do this ever?

JMart pricks Newt, Pinocchio and WaPo

“Love that Newt is still turning to washpost Pinnochios [sic] as pushback. Plays well in Laconia.” — Politico‘s Jonathan Martin.

Muffin metaphors

“Ever since Peggy Noonan called Newt Gingrich ‘an angry little attack muffin’ all I see is a screaming blueberry muffin when he talks…” — MSNBC Contributor and Daily Beast Columnist Meghan McCain.

WaPo‘s conservative issues blogger Jennifer Rubin assesses the weekend: “Loser: Diane Sawyer winner: people who can’t stand Huntsman.. he’ll be gone soon.”

Reality Show Confessional

“I miss Herman and Michelle.” — WaPo‘s Dana Milbank.

Ball puts debate moderator’s hair on notice

“John DiStaso wins Best Early-State Mullet category.” — The Atlantic‘s Molly Ball of the Union Leader reporter who helped moderate the NBC debate Sunday morning. And FNC “Redeye” host Greg Gutfeld suggests this: “After debate, David Gregory’s hair is having brunch with John Huntsman’s hair.”

Sick designer on the loose

“Throat hurts + fever + headache + congestion = me today #justshootme.” — Washington Business Journal Designer Timothy Wong. (This was Sunday; hopefully he’s on the mend today.)

Erick Erickson issues “apology” to ABC

“Dear ABC News, I was wrong. You set the bar for stupid so high in last night’s debate even NBC did better than you.” — RedState.com’s Editor-in-Chief and CNN Contributor Erick Erickson.

Headline on a story by CBS Political Director John Dickerson on Slate: My Baloney Has a First Name, It’s M-I-T-T

Weekend drive-thru

“Wendy’s drive-thru in Vienna, VA. Apparently, tonight, this is how I roll. #suburbanadventures #withajrbaconcheeseburger” — Capitol File Editor-in-Chief Kate Bennett.

Rules and more rules

“Just announced in press file ‘we have a little bit of security issue outside.’ Taking folks over to the spin room in groups of 10. Really?” — Reuters‘ Sam Youngman in New Hampshire.

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) ended her presidential campaign Wednesday morning following a dismal finish in the Iowa Caucuses. Countless journalists will miss seeing her throughout the rest of the primary. She was fun, feisty and fabulous, if at times factually challenged — she did confuse John Wayne for John Wayne Gacey — but who cares? It was part of her charm. Still, her memory lives on.

We posed the question to Washington journalists — what will you miss most about covering Bachmann? Here’s what they had to say.

Chris Geidner, Metro Weekly‘s senior political writer, told FBDC in an email he appreciated the national discussion Michele and her husband Marcus raised concerning his work with a Christian clinic, which reportedly practices reparative therapy for gays. As for a report from WaPo Thursday speculating that Michele may retire from the House, Geidner said, “We’ll have to wait and see (her on Fox News).”

And WaPo‘s Aaron Blake, who hails from Minnesota remarked, “Hearing that lovely Minnesota accent, dontcha know. Now I’ll have to watch ‘Fargo’ or worse, call my relatives, to revisit my roots.”

TWT columnist Emily Miller pointed us to a piece she wrote Wednesday: “It’s certainly a relief that the debate stage will be less crowded,” she wrote, “but it’s worth noting what has been lost: the Tea Party’s highest-profile opponent of Obamacare.”

In late December, Bachmann ran a campaign blitz through Iowa, stopping in each of the state’s 99 counties within 11 days. Human Events‘ Tony Lee told us he’ll miss that energy. “Sometimes, I could not help but wonder if she had more body doubles than children when looking at her schedule of events,” he said.

But Bachmann’s flamboyant doggy sunglasses shopping hubby may be missed just as much as the candidate. “Marcus.” That’s the only word The Daily Caller‘s Alex Pappas responded with when we asked what he’d miss most about Bachmann’s campaign.

Pappas’ colleague Jeff Poor said he’ll miss watching MSNBC’s Chris Matthews‘ analysis of Bachmann now that she’s out of the race. “It was like a boy pulling a girl’s pigtails, but instead with an overweight aging male,” said Poor.

Sean Bugg, also of Metro Weekly, was hoping Marcus could bring that sense of style to the White House. “What I’ll miss most is Marcus, especially now that we know what his eye for accessorizing would have brought to the White House. It would have been just like another Jackie Kennedy,” he said.

RCP‘s Erin McPike: “Eyelashes?”

Agence France-Press‘ Olivier Knox: “She is truly one of the most impressive ‘retail’ politicians I’ve ever seen, who worked to build a rapport with every voter at her meet-and-greet events in Iowa. Also? The Christmas carols she played from her bus’s loud speakers.”

Townhall.com and BigGov Columnist Derek Hunter: “Her earnest delivery of every line, her Biden-like verbal flubs, and Marcus, sweet, sweet Marcus. But what I will miss most is the staring contest she had with the nation during every debate… Those eyes were hungry, and the only meal that could satiate that hunger was the White House. Now those eyes will be forever hungry, forever yearning.”

The Hill‘s Alex Bolton: “I’ll miss all the traffic she drives to The Hill’s website, which keeps my editors in a good mood.”

Anne Schroeder Mullins, media consultant and formerly with Politico: “Won’t we all miss Marcus the most?”

TPM‘s Evan McMorris-Santoro: “Who’s gonna say ‘Anderson’ now?!” (Santoro is referring to the countless times Bachmann tried grabbing the attention of CNN’s Anderson Cooper during a GOP debate back in October.)

Julie Mason, host of SiriusXM’s P.O.T.U.S: “I will dearly miss her soothing, mellifluous elocutions — like a soft, wet ear-kiss.”

TWT‘s Anneke Green: “The shot at having a First Gentleman.”

RIP for now, Bachmann campaign. Gone but not forgotten.