Quotes of the Day

Big Ball of WHAT? FNC’s Greta Van Susteren remarked: “We spotted one of our colleagues crossing the street in Manchester but what really caught our attention is the car right behind her….just WHAT is on top of that car?” See item on Gretawire blog here. Guesses include: hairball, dung, weed etc..Alas, it’s a big ball of hay.

Bloomberg‘s Joshua Green:  “Greta interviewing the @jon2012girls in my hotel.”

“And of course, of course, the media and the other candidates have jumped on Mitt like Newt Gingrich on a younger, healthier wife.” — Stephen Colbert.

Birthweek bulls%$#: The Daily Caller‘s Michelle Fields celebrated her birthday yesterday. Happy Birthday Michelle! (h/t Michelle Fields) Her fans also had wishes for her, like this lowlife Bill Price (a.k.a. @Fireballil) who has Fishbowl Peter screaming for feminism: “Michelle Fields, too bad there’s no #RedEye tonight. Wear that dress in the #legchair and watch @FishbowlDC’s head EXPLODE.” Another F.O.M., a politically aware conservative Christian from Milwaukee, remarked, “Happy Birthday Michelle. May you have a wonderful & less attacked year.” She replied (after she RT of course): “Haha, thank you!” Of course she ran this picture of — guess who? — herself with the Fox News makeup woman, saying, “It’s my birthday and my Fox News make-up artist’s birthday! #TheBirthdayGirls.”

From the Road

“Protesters shouting ‘are you going to fire the baby’ as Mitt awkwardly holds an infant.” — Bloomberg political reporter Lisa Lerer.

A journo’s wish.

“What I wouldn’t give to see Chris Farley do Chris Christie just once on SNL.” — NYT‘s Mark Leibovich.

Twitter Nastiness has Happy Ending (Not that kind of Happy Ending)

The Players: Labor Journo Mike Elk and Slate‘s Economy reporter and Boybander Matt Yglesias.

The fight begins here.

Yglesias: “The activities of individual business executives have no relationship to the level of economy-wide employment.”

Anger.

Elk: 1. R u an idiot? 2. How does @mattyglesias make a living – the man produces nothing of value & doesn’t understand Econ 101. 3. Can someone name a shitkicking piece @mattyglesias has ever written?

Boybander lawyer steps in.

MSNBC’s Chris Hayes: “Mike Elk, I think different people should write about different things. #everyoneistoastoncetheplanetmeltsanyway.”

Yglesias befuddled.

Yglesias: “He has some problem with me whose nature I don’t quite understand. I think the issues I’ve been writing about this week do impact workers.” Elk: “Point is @mattyglesias claimed actions of individual executives have little to do w/ overall econ, people cover workers know its not true.”

The apology.

Elk: “My apologies for calling you names @mattygelsias, that was wrong, but go cover some strikes, lockouts, organizing drives, raids etc.”

Necessary Tweet of the Day

“I hope my jet blue flight doesn’t only have sad movies available. I don’t want to get emoticonal on the plane ” — MSNBC Contributor and Daily Beast Columnist Meghan McCain. Earlier in the week she told MSNBC that the Obamas deserved an “emoticon” of privacy in regards to NYT’s Jodi Kantor‘s new book on them.

Wolf gets ‘pumped’ for primary

“I got a good night’s sleep. I ran five miles on the treadmill. I ate some healthy yogurt and fruit. I’m strong, ready to go. I’m pumped!” — CNN’s Wolf Blitzer to Access Atlanta’s Radio & TV Network before the New Hampshire GOP primary. Read the full story here.

From the Dept. of Bragiculture…

“Jim Lehrer told me I’m off to a good start. Win!” — PBS’s Christina Bellantoni, the new Politics Editor for Newshour.

Quotes of the Day

Callista.

“Just saw Callista sign bunch of autographs with first name only, #madonna-like” — NYT‘s Mark Leibovich.

Blogger witnesses double trouble aboard train

“Elderly twin sisters board the Acela and sit next to me. Except they meant to board regular Amtrak. Emotions are running high!” — American Enterprise Institute’s Columnist and Blogger Jim Pethokoukis.

The Traveling Boybanders

“Oy. Long delay in ATL, America’s dullest large airport.” — Slate‘s Matt Yglesias.

You’ve been warned…

“Headed to IA in 26 hours, to write stories like ‘In Iowa, it’s up for grabs’ & ‘Republicans want to try to win this election’” — Slate‘s Dave Weigel.

Memorable Metaphors

“Listening to @MichelleFields preach about journalism on @cspan is like Chef Boyardee talking about fine Italian cooking.” — FBDC Washington-based reader Eric Wilkens.

“Loved the news today. Michelle Fields is changing the face of journalism and I’m so happy she’s the Christ that has risen! — FBDC reader who signed his note, WWMFD? Anonymous.

Want to intern for PBS’s “Washington Week” with Gwen Ifill? Read more about it here.

HuffPost or BuzzFeed?

“The top 10 animal news stories of 2011.” See here.  — Answer: HuffPost.

Isn’t it ironic? Just back fresh and rested from a ski trip, BigGov Founder Andrew Breitbart engages us in a Twitter battle royale Tuesday on sexism and fairness in covering conservative journos. What we learned from him: He thinks much of the free world (except those who write for his sites when they’re not busy digging up pictures of 4-year-old girls to use for pedophilia accusations against other conservative journos) is sexist and biased when covering conservative media. But  Breitbart wears blinders when it comes to the sexist pig in his midst. In the middle of all that, I get a reminder from LinkedIn about my invitation from former TWT Editor Rich Miniter, who was involved in a domestic violence dispute last summer and subsequently cleared of the charges. Still, Miniter isn’t the bell of any ball in Washington. An FBDC reader who knew of the Miniter invite writes in, “You’re a toilet today, shit flying at you from all over. And this one is a literal piece of shit.”

And now a word from a Breitbart goon: LastBrainLeft: “@FishbowlDC Bitch, your entire twitter feed is an exercise in progressive, liberal partisanship. The more you tweet, the deeper the hole.” And a note for FBDC’s Peter Ogburn from damning “Darcy”: “You’re kind of a dick. And jealousy is…well, you’re a dick, anyway.”

Three Views of the Michelle Fields’ C-SPAN Video

“How low does the bar have to be for her to clear it? Her biggest accomplishments in journalism are getting knocked over while being where she shouldn’t have been in Occupy Wall Street and having Matt Damon swear at her. Next stop: Pulitzer!” — Anonymous conservative male D.C. journo.

“I’m a conservative woman and I sure as hell don’t look to her for anything other than hair tips. Andrew Breitbart is off the mark here by like a a continent. The lack of oxygen at the ski resort is making him confuse a two-bit dimwit for a serious female conservative political leader. And I’m quite sure that Palin, Bachmann et al don’t want to be lumped in with this child.” — Anonymous conservative female D.C. journo.

“I don’t understand where all this vitriol towards her is coming from. She’s done bold work; if only other young people were as driven as her. Agree or disagree with her politics, she’s done bold work” — Jeff Loveness, Michelle Fields’ boyfriend, in comments on FishbowlDC.

James O’Keefe is a big Fields supporter

“CSPAN interview w/ video journalist @MichelleFields. DC reporters could learn things from her.” — O’Keefe in a Tuesday tweet. O’Keefe considers himself a “community organizer of citizen journalists.”

Convo Between Two Politico/Media Types

GOProud Founder Jimmy LaSalvia: “Hey Prince Charming, call me. I need to tell you where to find me New Year’s Eve.” Slate’s Weigel: “You have my number.” LaSalvia: “Dave Weigel did you just come out?”

Think Progress‘ Matt Yglesias has accepted a job at Slate. Just moments ago he wrote on Twitter, “Non-ironically-breaking: I’m leaving @ThinkProgress for an exciting new job at @Slate.” He wrote about his departure in a post on Think Progress calling it an “Important Programming Announcement.”

He wrote, “I’ve got an important announcement to make. I’ve been offered, and have accepted, an exciting new job opportunity with Slate where I’ll be blogging and column-writing (columnizing?) about economics, business, and economic policy as the latest incarnation of Moneybox.”

We hope his new job description does not include “columnizing.”

Yglesias begins his new position on Nov. 21.

Correction: Indeed, I did mistake Wired‘s Spencer Ackerman for Matt Yglesias. Apologies. And relax, Sara Libby. Will all be okay.

Quotes of the Day

CNBC’s Eamon Javers gets swallowed by Kermit the Frog background:”Rehearsing for tonight’s #cnbcdebate in front of the biggest dang green screen I’ve ever seen.”

Editor gets pounded by mall doc on weight

“Christ, even the eye doctor at the mall is telling me to get more exercise. STICK TO THE EYES, DOC” — Gawker Political Editor Jim Newell. We’re not going to even ask why you’re eye doctor is at the mall.

Chelsea Handler on the Welsh Rugby player who woke up gay after a freak gym incident: “I love how he wakes up and he has to become a hairdresser. Like there’s no other job for a gay man. Like you could become an interior designer. You could become a Republican senator. There are many, many options.”

Journo questions Hardball host’s verbal skills

“Does it annoy you, @grovernorquist, that it’s pathologically impossible for @hardball_chris to pronounce your name correctly? #hardball” — Newsbusters’ Ken Shepherd.

Pre-Presidential debate trash talking

“Romney’s the only remotely sane one, & he’s the guy who drove 500 miles with his dog on the roof of the car.” — WaPo‘s Gene Weingarten.

WCP employees lash out at fire alarm

“Once again, @wcp fire alarm defeated simply by people yelling at it. Now just hope there isn’t actually a fire.” — WCP Managing Editor Mike Madden.

Boybander loses marbles over Chili’s Too

“Chili’s Too is truly a sad, pale imitation of Chili’s. I want my baby back ribs!!!” –  Think Progress blogger Matt Yglesias. Correction: We confused Yglesias for his friend Spencer Ackerman and have taken out the banana wisecrack. RELAX SARA LIBBY.

Ambinder wants Eddie’s gig

“I am available to host the Oscars.” — NJ‘s Marc Ambinder after comedian Eddie Murphy drops out.

Unnecessary Tweet of the Day

“DILEMMA: I want to eat this chewy granola bar, but it has a picture of a Jonas Brother on it.” — Roll Call Editor Ryan Beckwith. Then, inexplicably, the granola bar Twitter handle confronts him. “@quakerchewy: @ryanbeckwith We can assure you, it’s delicious. Which flavor are you snackin’ on, Ryan?” And he responds, “PB & Jonas.” Beckwith should be banned from ever conversing with a granola bar during work hours. If he wants to stay up late into the night chatting away with quakerchewy so be it. But it should be frowned upon.

Quotes of the Day

Hot ‘n Spicy Shuster

“Friday night’s orgasmic surprise.  David Shuster anchoring Current TV in a black suit and gorgeous black/blue tie.  So hot.  More please.” — Anonymous FishbowlDC reader

Herman Cain Sighting

“So I’m waiting by the @houstontexans locker room and guess who comes by on a golf cart? @thehermancain. I told him it’s time for that talk!” — Washington Watch’s Roland Martin.

Rubin sees bright side of sniffles

“I’ll be on CSPAN Washington Journal at 830 am ET today..got a nasty cold so I’ll have my Brenda Vaccaro voice.” — WaPo conservative issues blogger Jennifer Rubin.

Boybander Betrayed

“Awww, crap. Slept thru Up with Chris Hayes!” — TPM‘s Brian Beutler. But clearly, Think Progress‘ blogger Matt Yglesias is the suck-up. He writes, “They need to broadcast @chrislhayes’s show here in Europe, where it would be on at a very civilized hour.”

Journo defends Waffle House to the death

“I also found it offensive Huntsman said Romney was running for President of Waffle House. I ate there twice a day sometimes. #SoGood” — Human Events‘ Tony Lee.

Daylight Savings: The Aftermath

“You know the kind of person who forgets daylight savings despite all the warnings? Well, I am that person every year. Twice.” — WaPo‘s Gene Weingarten.

“It wouldn’t be Day Light Savings without my mother-in-law waking us up to remind us we can sleep an hour later.” — WaPo Book World Editor Ron Charles.

Journo Baffled by D.C.

“At my hotel bar in DC. I swear I can’t figure this city out. #HELP” — NYT‘s Charles Blow.

Entirely Unnecessary Newsflash of the Day

Maybe Mother Jones Washington Bureau David Corn won’t need a new TV after all. Over the weekend, he wrote: “Not as if I couldn’t watch #CainGrinch. Today the deer hit my car, and my 25-year-old television started working again. Figure that one out.”

Unnecessary Tweet of the Day

“Saturdays seem to be my day for staying off the grid. Except, um, for occasional peeks.” — The Daily Beast‘s/CNN “Reliable Sources” host Howard Kurtz. How many tweets Howie needs to pimp “Reliable Sources” this weekend: 6.

Why Breitbart retweets the haters

“I don’t just RT H8 to show the left is filled with H8ers. I also RT H8 to show how little self-policing of H8 there is within the PC left.” — BigGov founder Andrew Breitbart who was in Washington this weekend starting with a conservative happy hour on Friday night.

The Braggart

“As much fun as the next 4 days in London will be, sad I’ll miss the extra sleep of Daylight Saving Time, since Europe has already switched.” — Washingtonian Editor Garrett Graff. Chance that he could just tell Washington that he was traveling to London? Zero.

(A Sprinkling of Things We Think You Ought to Know…)

Roll Call HOH’s New Offspring Feature – In a new occasional series, HOH will introduce readers to the offspring of lawmakers. This means grandkids, nieces, nephews, spouses of pols who grew up on the Hill and now work here.

A Journo Reacts to Nancy Grace Wardrobe Malfunction… “Headline: Nancy Grace suffers wardrobe malfunction on ‘DANCING’ My reaction?: Nothing could make me click onto that link.” — Pittsburgh Tribune‘s Salena Zito.

Reporters Attack Washington Examiner Editorial: A couple of Washington journos took the Washington Examiner to task for a Tuesday editorial exalting the benefits of driving a car. “If you don’t drive a car, you hate freedom,” bristled Politico‘s Byron Tau on Twitter. And ThinkProgress’s third tier Boybander Matt Yglesias, with his personal bit.ly account, also weighed in, saying, “Car exhaust fumes are toxic, no matter how much the Washington Examiner dislikes trains.” Read the alleged offending editorial here.

Turtle Journalism…It’s never a surprise at this point that certain sections of WaPo lag behind like tortoises that actually don’t win any race. Yesterday “The Reliable Source” rewrote a story about Prince Charles brushing off media tycoon Joe Allbritton regarding his cookie company. The story had already been written by both the London Times and the Daily Mail — both published about it on Sunday. WaPo cited the Times and then proceeded with their own independent reporting — some of the answers to which were already in the Daily Mail. They reported that a spokesman for Clarence House, a royal home that shares the grounds of Buckingham Palace, said he didn’t know how much Allbritton had invested. But the answer: $750,000 (Daily Mail). Their link on the London Times doesn’t lead to the story because readers have to pay a pound to get inside. Read the WaPo story here. And for the Daily Mail read here. (Full disclosure: FBDC aggregated the story on Monday. We’re not crying attribution foul as the London papers broke the story.)

Story Deserves Prominent Treatment: Roll Call has an intriguing, short, online-only story today about a stray shooting that landed bullets inside the home of a Capitol Hill staffer named Raj Barhwani who lives there with his wife, Jessica. One bullet was found in their newborn’s bassinet. Read here. We got the locks taken off the paywall for this one.

Quotes of the Day — the Google/Fox News GOP Debate Version

Journo experiences random act of kindness

“Mom with crying baby on plane just passed out earplugs to all sitting near them. Nice.” — Yahoo! News’ Chris Moody en route to Orlando.

D. Shuster lobs insult at Bret Baier

“Uneven, often silly moderating by @bret_Baier. ie: ‘How are you going to fix the problem? You have 30 seconds to answer.’” — Current TV’s David Shuster.

Newt refrains from attacking Wallace

“Someone gave Newt his happy pills today. He is smiling and not attacking the moderators.” — Politico‘s Ben White.

Baier suffers sudden liberal columnist amnesia

“Apparently there’s a ‘liberal columnist’ protection program, or Bret Baier didn’t know the guy’s name. #gopdebate” — WaPo‘s Ed O’Keefe. Slate‘s John Dickerson comes through. It’s Richard Cohen.

The Comedians

“Bachmann is going to put her foster children on the border to secure it.” – Slate‘s Dickerson.

“What about word scrambles? That would keep us thinking.” — GOP media consultant Ron Bonjean mocking the packs of words Baier kept flashing on screen to show which issues stood out most.

“Bachmann is giving Wallace Newsweek eyes.” — The New Yorker‘s Ryan Lizza.

A Quick Convo Between Two Journos

Today’s conversation is between The Weekly Standard’s John McCormack and Slate’s Dave Weigel.

McCormack: Glad to see media have decided takeaway of this debate will again be reaction of 7 loutish audience members. Weigel: John We haven’t decided yet. The meeting is at 11:05, at Greg’s house. (As in WaPo‘s Plumline writer Greg Sargent.) McCormack: @daveweigel Can I come? Promise not to record meeting and give tapes to Daily Caller. #crossmyheart

More random debate reaction….

“OH MY GOD THERE’S ANOTHER HOUR?” — Vanity Fair blogger Juli Weiner.

“Perry’s upper lip visibly sweaty.” — HuffPost‘s Jon Ward.

“Twitter is moving too fast” — Politico‘s Maggie Haberman.

“Jon Huntsman re-cycles the same hideous yellow necktie. Probably can’t afford another after WEAVER thievery” — GOP Consultant Roger Stone.

“Wallace has a little GTL going on.” — The Blaze‘s Eddie Scarry with a “Jersey Shore” reference.

Big John’s Red Lobster prowess

“Ate 4 cheesey biscuits, a ceasar salad, fries, 48 skrimps and drank 2 ice cold buds at Red Lobster. Bold flavor city, you guys.” — Roll Call‘s John Stanton. (Not a debate reference but we still thought it worthy of mentioning.)

McRib chatter heard at debate

“Watching internet stream of GOP debate, during commercial break producers seem to be talking about the McRib.” — ThinkProgress Liberal blogger Matt Yglesias. Politico‘s Sara Libby confirmed this fact.

The debate bell…

“By the way, everyone likes the new sound, far more pleasing instead of the bell? I guess they do.” — FNC’s Baier. But not so fast…“I keep thinking I’m getting messaged on Gchat. This is sooo confusing. #DebateTheFix.” — WaPo‘s Aaron Blake.

Gary Johnson Fan Club

“Gary Johnson, this is your mother f—ing moment!” — HuffPost‘s Sam Stein.

“Did Gary Johnson Star in Napoleon Dynomite?” — Mother Jones‘ David Corn.

“I would love to have Gary Johnson fix stuff in my home.” — Politico‘s Ben Smith.

Liberal Blogger Matt Yglesias, who is moving offices this afternoon, has thrown out a Bible. “Just threw out a Bible. #sinning,” he wrote on Twitter. Yglesias will be contributing regularly to The Atlantic‘s new Atlantic Cities section. He remains a fellow at the Center for American Progress Action Fund. He also blogs for ThinkProgress.

Asked why he trashed the Bible, he told FBDC, “Moving to the second floor, gotta clean everything off my desk by the end of the day.”

We tried to pester him some more — did he tire of his Bible? Does he feel that something bad is going to happen to him? “Yes, scolds, I threw it into the recycling pile. But the bible’s still been thrown out!” he brashly told his followers.

It’s August 20, 8:30 a.m. and liberal blogger Matt Yglesias, who was smart enough to create his own personal bit.ly account, is publishing a blog post on ThinkProgress.

Read the first sentence. Then read who the quote is attributed to.

“David Koch responds to Warren Buffett’s call for higher taxes: ‘Much of what the government spends money on does more harm than good; this is particularly true over the past several years with the massive uncontrolled increase in government spending. I believe my business and non-profit investments are much more beneficial to societal well-being than sending more money to Washington.’
— Charles G. Koch, Chairman and CEO, Koch Industries, Inc.”

Quotes of the Day

Reporter eavesdrops at airport

“Guys next to me at Detroit Airport already talking about fried butter on a stick. Something about honey batter? #IowaStateFair” — Roll Call‘s Shira Toeplitz in a Thursday tweet. Last night’s “Daily Show” featured Aasif Mandvi, a campaign trail correspondent, eating raw butter on a stick from the Iowa State Fair.

The Observer

“Heh @JoeNBC extra feisty today. Extra caffeine in his Starbucks? I like it. #politics” — TNR Blogger Jonathan Cohn in a Friday morning tweet.

The Critic

“I bet Ron Paul shops at JCPenney’s” — The Daily Caller‘s media writer Jeff Poor in a Thursday night tweet while watching the GOP debate.

Kownacki stars in remake of Matt Mackowiak film “Shameless II”

“@JanetDonovan @NikkiSchwab but let’s be real, it’s not a party until the 3 of us get there.” — Brendan Kownacki in a Thursday tweet. Kownacki is among our Summer Superlative nominees for Biggest Open Bar Fly in Washington for incessantly attending evening media parties despite being a reporter. He does occasionally blog and attend red carpets for Donovan. Donovan is planning a party at her house for all the “losers” in this category. Does this mean Kownacki will or will not be invited? We’ll see…To vote, visit here.

Famous last words…

“Can we all agree that we won’t collectively live-tweet every zinger tonight? — RealClearPolitics‘ Scott Conroy in a Thurday pre-debate tweet.

Convo Between Speechwriter and Blogger

The conversation is between Sen. Jim DeMint’s (R-S.C.) speechwriter/adviser Amanda Carpenter, a former TWT columnist, and WaPo Conservative issues blogger Jennifer Rubin. Note: Carpenter (not likely intentionally) butchered the spelling of Capehart’s first and last name…it’s Jonathan Capehart.

Carpenter: WaPo‘s Johnathan Capeheart [sic] says he was asleep last night during the debate. But still shows up on TV to talk about it…

Rubin: @amandacarpenter crappy, cheap shot.. there is this new thing called DVR

UPDATE: Carpenter wrote in to say: “Yes, I completely butchered his name. Unintentionally. Can I blame it on the lack of coffee from being pregnant?”

Reporter once worked for Godfather’s Pizza

“I’d just like to say I used to work at Godfather’s Pizza, and I used a paintbrush to slather liquid butter on pizza crusts #HermanCainTrain” — The Daily Caller‘s CJ Ciaramella in a Thursday night tweet while watching the GOP debate.

Ewww…

“Just got out of the shower. This is the Obligatory Wet Naked Blogging tweet.” — Conservative blogger and former TWT Asst. National Editor Robert Stacy McCain in a Thursday tweet. No words for the inappropriateness of this and no explanation for what is wrong with him. And no, Stacy, we don’t view you as a villain, just a creepy guy. Still, we’re going to give you these lovely fluffy towels so you can dry yourself off.

Some wonky thing we can say we haven’t wondered about in a good while…”Is the UK/US gap on ‘plastic’ vs ‘rubber’ bullets a usage difference, or are they actually made of different things?” — Think Progress’ Matt Yglesias in a Thursday tweet.

Norah gets Pawlenty’s pre-debate prep

“@timpawlenty appeared relaxed & tells me he’s spending the day in debate prep and then will prob go for a run bf tonight’s crucial debate.” — CBS News Chief White House Correspondent Norah O’Donnell in a Thursday tweet.

Advice for ‘old’ reporters

“@jaketapper 1. Read the Harry Potter books. You’ll need them to communicate with your staff. #adviceforoldreporters” — Roll Call Features Editor Ryan Beckwith in a Thursday tweet, poking fun at Tapper’s 11 pieces of advice for young reporters on the trail.