When she’s not harassing her liberal counterpart Greg Sargent on Twitter, Jennifer Rubin helms the conservative “Right Turn” blog at WaPo. “I love mixing it up with liberals,” Rubin says of the Twitter wars she throws herself into with valiant force. “For too long too many of them have never been forcefully challenged,” she said. “They talk to and write for liberals and rarely get called on to defend their assumptions.”

Rubin joined WaPo in 2010, replacing Dave Weigel, who resigned under the weighty Journolist scandal and moved over to Slate. Before that she wrote for Commentary for several years. And before that she worked as a labor lawyer in California for 20 years. Rubin has a BA in history from UC Berkeley and a JD from Boalt Law School.

Throughout the Republican presidential primary Rubin faced criticism for showing signs that she might be in the tank for Mitt Romney. She doesn’t really deny it. “Oh pish-posh,” she said (yes, she said pish-posh). “I was simply ahead of the curve in spotting the fatal flaws in a series of challengers who would have crashed and burned in the general election.” Rubin said, however, that she actually would have preferred Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) or New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie over Romney.

Let’s begin.

If you were a combined carbonated beverage, which would you be?

Jolt Cola

How often do you Google yourself?

Hardly ever.

What’s the worst thing you’ve ever said to an editor/boss (or vice versa)?

A previous editor: “You can’t call Maureen Dowd ‘a harpy.’” Seriously, I’m sure I was on the receiving end of worse but I’ve blocked it out.

Who is your favorite working journalist and why?

Don’t all journalists work? Well, Jake Tapper hands down. He’s smart and fair and tough.

Do you have a favorite word?

Scrumptious

You’re walking down a dark alley and you run into a group of people, all of whom you’ve insulted on your blog. What do you do? What do you say? And do you activate your mace?

I’d say a friendly ‘Hello.’ No mace!

Who would you rather have dinner with – WaPo’s Erik Wemple, Michaele and Tareq Salahi or Hilary Rosen? Tell us why.

Erik certainly!

The Earth’s human population is dying out and you must save it. You will spend a romantic evening with either Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) or former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.). Who do you choose? (Neither is not an option.)

Sorry, but the world will have to muddle through on its own.

What swear word do you use most often?

F*+k

You’ve just been told the big news: You get to have your own Sunday morning talk show. Who will be on your roundtable? (Pick four journalists or pundits types.)

Candy Crowley, PJ O’Rourke, John Bolton and AEI President Arthur Brooks.

Now for a really serious moment: What is your dream job, money and practicalities aside?

My ideal career would be to keep my current job and have a new “Crossfire” with James Carville.

Find out what Rubin pigs out on when no one’s looking…

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Quotes of the Day

“Yogurt spilt on President Obama tonight.” — BuzzFeed‘s Andrew Kaczyinski with the accompanied picture above. The incident occurred at The Sink, a restaurant and bar in Boulder, Colo. From the White House Pool report by TWT‘s David Boyer: “While greeting people outside, a young woman spilled yogurt on the president. It appeared to hit his pants. The president wiped himself off with a towel and made a wry comment about the Secret Service, but pooler couldn’t  hear his exact words. He did say to the woman, ‘Getting yogurt on the president, you’ve got a story to tell.’ She said, ‘I’m very embarrassed.’” The woman appeared on NBC’s TODAY show this morning.

Deep thoughts with Politico‘s Epstein

“Some will win. Some will lose. Some will smell of sweet perfume.” — Politico‘s Reid Epstein. (Actually it’s lyrics from “Don’t Stop Believing,” a Journey song played at a a Mitt Romney bash last night.)

Ted Johnson, Deputy Editor of Variety on why the stars enjoy attending Nerd Prom: “I really do think that the appeal is to be there and to be among the political elite. That means something. …Here, there is a chance that you’re not only going to see people from the White House you probably already know … but you’re probably going to also see people from the other side of the aisle, the unexpected Republicans who attend the dinner. There are those encounters that probably have a great sense of appeal.” Read Politico Patrick Gavin‘s full story here. Really? The wayward Republican who attends the dinner is the exotic allure? Johnson may need to get out more.

John Edwards according to Maureen Dowd

“Everyone’s arguing whether Edwards is a swindler or merely a swine. He’s certainly the latter.” — NYT‘s Maureen Dowd on the ex-Sen. John Edwards trial. Read full column here.

What’s driving the day: “Do you know when you should toss out ketchup, mustard and other condiments?” — WTOP has hints that may save you a few stomachaches. And this from the AP…”Whale found dead in Wash. had swallowed golf ball.” What was found in the whales stomach? “The stomach examination Monday found the shrimp, woody debris, algae, pieces of rope and plastic, the golf ball and some flat spongy material.” Best line…“The garbage was minimal and not the cause of death, which remains under investigation.”

Better Late than Never: Spotted at Nationals vs. Miami last Friday night: In first row behind third baseline, NBC’s Luke Russert, Politico’s Jake Sherman and Bo Blair, owner of Smith Point and The Bullpen.

Say hello to The Daily Caller‘s Matt Lewis. He is a senior contributor for The Daily Caller. He is also editor of ‘The Quotable Rogue: The Ideals of Sarah Palin In Her Own Words.’ More often than not, you can find the unquestionably friendly reporter with dimples on CNN’s “Reliable Sources” with Howard Kurtz on Sunday. His colleagues find him “helpful and knowledgeable” around the office. We asked his boss, Tucker Carlson, what kind of human being Lewis is. He replied, “Matt is a great guy: low-key, hard working, relentless honest and decent.” Previously, Matt was a columnist for the now defunct Politics Daily, and before that, he was a blogger for Townhall.com. Matt grew up in Frederick County, Md., and graduated from Shepherd College (now University) in Shepherdstown, WV. Like any blogger, he can fall prey to the occasional bad mood. “If you’re a blogger, your mood is contingent on whether you have written anything good lately,” he tells me in a phone conversation this afternoon. “If too much time elapses and I haven’t written anything I’m proud of, I start to get a little testy, which is totally not good.” He does see his glass half full: “Any day as a writer beats working at a fast food restaurant.” This is a fate he escaped narrowly just after college when he worked briefly at a Roy Rogers in Frederick, Md. He was earning $30,000 a year in  management program. “I was utterly miserable doing it,” he said. “I ended up quitting. I’ve come to learn, whether it s a relationship or a job, you usually know within the first day whether or not it’s going to work. It took me a couple of months to figure it out, but I finally did pull the plug on that.” Moving on to other topics, I wondered about Lewis’s thoughts on the hoodie. “I actually like hoodies and I wear them all the time,” he said. “I was going to tape an episode of bloggingheads the other night. I literally had to take off a hoodie and put on another shirt because I was afraid people were going to think I was mocking it. They’re very comfortable. It’s a brilliant invention.” Lewis wasn’t always a reporter. He started off doing campaigns. He initially thought his calling was to be a political operative. In 1998 he managed a campaign for a male candidate running for the Maryland State Senate. He became the youngest and the first Hispanic Republican ever elected to the Maryland State Senate. “That’s the part I love, the passion, the romance of being a kind of revolution and beating the machine,” he said. But the more entrenched he got into politics, he began to see that at the professional level “they suck the excitement out of it. You know the type…the douchebag type,” he said, explaining that he started his own blog in 2004 and began writing for Human Events. His first paying writing job was for Townhall.com, where he worked for two years. “It took me an evolution to find myself and find my calling.”

If you were a combined carbonated beverage, which would you be? Too personal. Next question.

How often do you Google yourself? I Googled myself twice while answering these questions. But this is because I am paranoid and needy – not because I’m narcissistic – there’s a difference.

What’s the worst thing you’ve ever said to an editor/boss (or vice versa)? I’ve found it’s best not to directly confront editors. Instead, it’s best to sneak into their offices and move things around on their desks until they slowly go insane.

Who is your favorite working journalist and why? Kirsten Powers has been doing terrific work of late. Her columns on important issues like sex trafficking and liberal hypocrisy regarding misogyny have been both eloquent and heroic.

Do you have a favorite word? Milieu.

Who would you rather have dinner with – Salon’s Joan Walsh, WaPo’s Ezra Klein or Maureen Dowd. Tell us why. Maureen Dowd. She can be funny. She has a flirty quality about her that’s utterly likeable. And I’m willing to bet that, off the clock at least, she’s capable of dropping the partisan BS for an evening. (Call me, MoDo!)

What’s your funniest TV blooper moment? Fortunately, most of my bloopers have occurred off camera. But I once narrowly averted appearing on NBC’s “Today” show as a medical expert (when an intern escorted me from the MSNBC green room to the wrong set).

What swear word do you use most often? Without a doubt, the f-bomb. But now that I have a little boy, my wife is trying to break me of that f-ing habit.

Now for a really serious moment: What is your dream job, money and practicalities aside? I’ve always wanted to pretend to be an architect.

When you pig out what do you eat? Dark chocolate.

What is your absolute favorite item of clothing in your closet? We want the fabric, the brand, the store and the price if possible. If it’s a certain kind of underwear we don’t want to know about it. Two words: Sweater vest. Or else… I do have a pair of cowboy boots I got in Austin that I’m pretty proud of. (Pictured here.)

Pick one: Kim, Khloe, or Kourtney? Kourtney.

Have you ever had a tarot card reading? Never.

Have you ever had a near-death experience? I’ve had several close calls: There was the time I caught a gas can on fire. There was the other time when I was riding my lawn mower up a steep hill (with the blade engaged) and it popped a wheelie. And there was the time the lifeguards had to pull me out of the water at Ocean City, Md.

Find out Lewis’s relation to the always suave “Uncle Rico” after the jump…

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We continue our Tricks of the Trade feature with lefty radio host Bill Press. Credentials: With a name like “Press,” are the details of his experience really important? Fine. Aside from being a longtime radio host, he has authored seven books including Bush Must Go: The Top 10 Reasons Why George Bush Doesn’t Deserve a Second Term and Train Wreck: The End of the Conservative Revolution (and Not a Moment Too Soon). He started his broadcast TV career in LA and co-hosted CNN’s “Spin Room,” “Crossfire” and MSNBC’s “Buchanan and Press.” Growing up Catholic he was an altar boy and took vows. He graduated with a theology degree from the University of Fribourg in Switzerland.”The Bill Press Show” airs on the liberal talk channel SiriusXM 127 from 6 – 7 a.m. ET.

1. Favorite Interview Technique: I like to loosen people up by starting with some off-the-wall question they’re not expecting. For example, I opened interview with Maureen Dowd by asking: “Are you nervous?” With [Rep.] James Clyburn [D-S.C.]: “Mr. Leader, how’s your golf game?”

2. Most Compelling Question I’ve Ever Asked: Without doubt. Asked Patti Reagan if she’d ever had sex on the rug in the Oval Office when her father was president. She said she really wanted to, but there were always too many Secret Service agents around. But she did admit she smoked pot in the White House.

3. Best Self-Editing Approach: Do your homework. Know what you want to get out of interview. Get it. And end it.

4. What to do When an Interview is Tanking: Happens all the time. Especially with people you’ve never interviewed before. You think they’re going to be a lively interview, and they bomb. Pure talking points. Only answer is: Just get out of it. Worst thing you can do is drag out a boring interview.

5. Approaching Lawmakers and other “Important People”: Don’t be nervous. Don’t be shy. They need you more than you need them. Tell them who you are. Ask for interview. Be flexible, but if they turn you down – it’s their loss, not yours.

6. Most Surprising Thing to Happen During an Interview…

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QUOTES of the DAY

From one reporter to another

“@aburnspolitico Sorry, I can’t find the part in that story about his penis.” — Politico‘s Molly Ball to her colleague Alex Burns in a Wednesday tweet.

It’s roasting outside

“People wearing dark suits in the sous vide bath that is DC’s pre-summer swelter. Huh.” — WaPo‘s J. Freedom du Lac in a Wednesday tweet.

A Weiner joke where you least expect it

“It’s easier to get an email from Weiner than to get you on.” — Former CNN host Larry King on “The Daily Show” last night explaining how hard it was to get Jon Stewart on his program.

Weiner Parental Guidelines 101

“Prediction: Weiner child not allowed to use Internet for a lonnnng time.” — National Review Online’s Jonah Goldberg in a Wednesday tweet.

New kid on the block

We came across a brand new reporter on the scene this week. His name is — get this — Michael Mayday. There are too many jokes here to boil it down to just one, but let’s just say screaming “MAYDAY! MAYDAY!” during an interview with him could prove to be amusing. So would directing you to a video like this one. Or this one. But we’re going to cut him some slack. The young Michiganian has been on the job one week. Publication: The Daily Caller. Welcome to the Fishbowl Mayday!

HuffPost Hill has quite an imagination

“Satan prepared his acting reel to audition for the part of ‘Anthony Weiner’ in the inevitable Lifetime original movie about this whole mess.” — Wednesday’s edition of HuffPost Hill Edited by Eliot Nelson. So who would play Weiner and Huma and the cast of characters in a Lifetime movie? If specific actors come to mind, let us know at FishbowlDC@mediabistro.com or FishbowlBetsy@gmail.com.

Ezzy likes salad

“Just found out a Chop’t opened a block away from my office. Life, or at least lunch, will never be the same. #firstworldbenefits.” — WaPo‘s Ezra Klein in a Wednesday tweet. We’re delighted for him and now we know where to find him at lunchtime.

The name of “The Daily Show” segment on Weiner last night: “The Wangover”

Ahh memories…

“One of the bratty boys I babysat when I was 13 is apparently in prison. I remember complaining to his sad mom that he chased me with knives.” — Laura Donovan, an editor at The Daily Caller, in a Wednesday tweet.

Schultz gets emotional about Weiner and wife, Huma

“For me and for many of us behind the scenes producing, the Anthony Weiner story is undoubtedly as sad as it gets.” — MSNBC’s Ed Schultz on his Wednesday night program. Schultz has called for Weiner’s resignation. “Please resign. Please do it. …the fact that your wife is pregnant is awesome.”

Weiner’s ex-girlfriend attacks Maureen Dowd

“For the record, a blackjack dealer and porn star are not lesser people than an aide to Hillary Clinton, as Maureen Dowd disgustingly claims.” — The Daily Beast Columnist, Fox News Democratic Political Analyst and Weiner Ex-Girlfriend Kirsten Powers in a Wednesday tweet. This is what Powers found so offensive in Dowd’s NYT column this week: “The weenie Weiner married up to Hillary Clinton’s aide, the glamorous and classy Huma Abedin, and only 11 months later got caught e-dating down with a Vegas blackjack dealer, a porn star and a couple of college students.”

The controversial top editor of WaPo‘s Style section Ned Martel is stepping down from his post.

He just announced the news to Style staff. Sources tell us the news was expected by Style watchers who witnessed the storied features and arts section’s precipitous decline under Martel.

Martel was brought into the section in 2009 but things haven’t gone as smoothly with staff as top brass would have liked. He is not leaving the publication.

Developing…

UPDATE: We’re getting overwhelming reports that Martel was pushed out by Executive Editor Marcus Brauchli. When Martel came on board, Brauchli teamed him up to run style with Lynn Medford. There are reports of the pair repeatedly clashing over the years. Brauchli has always denied publicly that Martel is problematic. Privately is another matter. “Ned is absolutely brilliant,” Brauchli told Washingtonian‘s Harry Jaffe in February of this year. “He has exactly the right idea of what Style should be.” But reporters past and present are telling us that Martel forced Robin Givhan out as well as a number of other Style writers who did not want to work for him because he has a rep for having a  “demeaning” management style. As we reported last week, Richard Leiby jumped ship for another section after working for Style for 20 years. According to an ex-Postie, it’s nearly impossible to get fired after you’re there nine months: “So typically they move you to horrible beats or some such until you quit. I wonder what they’ll do with him.”

What will they do with him? Well, we’re hearing strong reports that Martel is far from fired. In fact, he’s headed for something allegedly big and “exciting” at the Post that will surprise and impress people when announced. The announcement is expected within the next 24 hours.

Martel was first recommended to Publisher Katharine Weymouth by a close friend, NYT‘s Maureen Dowd.

We’ve reached out to Martel for comment. So far, he’s quiet as a mouse.

Say hello to WaPo‘s Janet Bennett Kelly. She just moved over to WaPo Magazine where where she will, among other tasks, help write a new Style column, work fashion week and write wedding vignettes. She grew up on Great Neck, Long Island, where her mother indoctrinated her early on into the “creativity of clothing, what it means to have a good eye and the wonders of discount shopping at Loehmann’s.” She tells me, “I often find myself thinking when I put together some outfit or other, ‘What would Mom think of this?” What she likes best about her job so far: “I just started this past Monday and work with an extremely talented pool of people, who are not only smart but generous with their time.” She hasn’t always been into writing or fashion. In fact, her dream years ago was to be a Classical archaeologist. She says, “the connection between now and then is, I guess, that I love digging up new things.”

If you were a carbonated beverage which would you be? I prefer non-carbonated, but if I had to pick, it would be Pellegrino.

How often do you Google yourself? I’ve Googled myself twice.

What’s the worst thing you’ve ever said to an editor (or vice versa)? You must be joking!

Who is your favorite working journalist? I have a few: Robin Givhan, Hadley Freeman, Maureen Dowd.

Do you have a favorite word? minimalism

Who would you rather have dinner with – First Lady Michelle Obama or Bestselling Author and former V.P. candidate Sarah Palin? None of those. I’d like to have dinner with Tina Fey.

What’s the name of your cell phone ring? Marimba

When did you last cry and why? When I saw the film “Inside Job” and realized what pain so few had inflicted on so many.

Find out why Tim Gunn was her favorite interview of all time and why Kelly McGillis wasn’t after the jump…

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“May I call you Fonzie?” I inquired this morning when Arthur Fonzarelli phoned me at 8 a.m.

A polite Henry Winkler replied, “No, because that is a fictional character that I could never live up to. It was extraordinarily fun to play, but I couldn’t live up to that.” Fonzie said he often tells people that snapping your fingers at women in the 21st century isn’t a good idea. “You will end with them [your fingers] in a cast,” he says.

Fonzie, played by the actor, Winkler, is in town this week to win an Inspire Award from AARP The Magazine for his work with stroke victims. His mother had a stroke in her 70s and suffered horribly from upper limb spasticity. Fonzie has worked hard on the issue. And it worked — the FDA approved Botox therapy, and it is working wonders, he says. “I’m telling you I have seen it with my own eyes the incredible sense of hope that this new therapeutic use of Botox gives to victims whose upper limbs [are spastic]. It’s almost as if they are rigidly stuck to their chest. I met one woman whose arm was stuck out of the side of her and they called it her chicken wing.”

Moving on from chicken wings, let’s talk about the media. Yesterday afternoon Fonzie was watching MSNBC at his hotel and noticed WaPo‘s whippersnapper Ezra Klein. So impressed by Klein, he looked up the number for WaPo and called him just to say how impressed he was. He left a message, but no number. Klein tweeted last night “If anyone knows how to get in touch with Henry Winkler — yeah, that one — tell him “thanks” for me.”

Fonzie went on and on about Klein, who appeared on MSNBC incessantly Wednesday. “How did you know?” he asked, shocked. (I explained the Twitter message.) He continued, “I called him yesterday from my hotel room. I find him to be really…he gets to the heart of the matter. This is the third or fourth time I saw him. I looked up the number to Washington Post because I thought he was just fantastic and I’m thinking, I should just tell him. I said, I think you are just of real great clarity. I just was a fan.” I informed Fonzie that Washington City Paper recently wrote what could easily be construed as a negative piece on Ezra. Fonzie sounded worried. “Why? Tell Ezra that all things shall pass…tell him that someone writes an article and it passes and he is still here standing.” Fonzie added that he also likes MSNBC’s Chuck Todd, but didn’t elaborate.

On Tuesday, Fonzie visited the Smithsonian, where his famous leather jacket is on display. He said he hadn’t seen it since 1980 when it first arrived there. “It was very exciting,” he said.

But what about his thoughts on ABC’s Christiane Amanpour, Bo the dog and MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow? Find out after the jump…

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That’s a wrap!  The second and final day of the Washington Ideas Forum came to a close this afternoon following a lively panel discussion featuring Margaret Carlson, NBC’s Chuck Todd, Atlantic Media’s Ron Brownstein, Charlie Cook and CNN’s John King.  The crew discussed a variety of topics but ultimately landed on the media’s role in politics and why a very disenchanted American public believes that Washington is broken and disconnected.  Chuck Todd conceded, admitting that Americans have a lack of faith in the media because ”we’re doing a poor job covering the recession.”  Todd went on to explain that the media makes a spectacle out of issues that aren’t of great concern to the average citizen.  “Rahm leaving, Rahm not –that’s why the media doesn’t have the trust of the public.  It’s just stupid,” he said. 

But journalists weren’t the headliners for most of  the event, attended by a ”who’s who” of media, business and the political set.  Director Spike Lee, Governor Haley Barbour, Richard Holbrooke, Senator Jim Webb, Tony and Heather Podesta, and  Ahmed Chalabi all took to the stage today.  Spotted taking in a few sessions were CBS’s Chris Isham, The Daily Beast’s Lloyd Grove, Slate‘s Dave Weigel, HuffPost’s Sam Stein, NYT‘s Maureen Dowd, CNN’s Edie Emery and Michelle Jaconi, Sally Quinn and The Atlantic‘s Marc Ambinder. 

Members of the media view interviews from the press room.

Politico White House correspondent Carol Lee isn’t a politician. But she had to recently turn into a politician of sorts to win the contentious at-large seat on the White House Correspondents’ Association Board. The election wasn’t “perf” as she might say – in fact, it turned downright nasty toward the end, with factions supporting and badmouthing one candidate over another. Here, we learn more about the woman who won. She grew up in Levittown, Pa. She attended NYU J-school. She isn’t afraid to cuss at an editor. And no, she doesn’t deem Politico a sweat shop as recent stories suggest. “If anything, I overwork myself,” she says.

If you were a carbonated beverage which would you be? Mountain Dew. The more caffeine the better.

How often do you Google yourself? Maybe once a year.

What’s the worst thing you’ve ever said to an editor (or vice versa)? My editor in Florida was a loud, swearing, barking newspaper guy, and I’m from Philly so we were pretty candid with each other when discussing stories. He once suggested during a staff meeting that I write a story a certain way, and I said, “That’s the stupidest f—ing idea I’ve ever heard.” It may have been too much. He seemed startled.

Who is your favorite working journalist?
Ken Bazinet of the New York Daily News seems to have things figured out.

Do you have a favorite word? No, but I don’t like the word perky.

Who would you rather have dinner with – First Lady Michelle Obama or Bestselling Author and former V.P. candidate Sarah Palin? Dinner with Sarah Palin and Michelle Obama would be interesting.

What’s the name of your cell phone ring? Whatever tune is “normal” on a BlackBerry.

When did you last cry and why? When Donovan McNabb left the Eagles for the Redskins.

What word do you routinely misspell? Maintenance. In fact I misspelled it writing it here before spell check intervened.

What swear word do you use most often? I think I answered that with my editor anecdote earlier.

What word or phrase do you overuse? Perf. It’s short for perfect. I’m addicted.

What TV show do you have to watch? I really only have to watch the Sunday news shows. For fun, I’m a big fan of Modern Family.

Where do you shop most often for your clothes? Vintage, thrift and designer discount stores. Shopping is a sport, and they offer a challenge.

Find out what makes Lee angry and about her stint as a restaurant spy after the jump…

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