If there’s one thing MSNBC host and Tulane professor Melissa Harris-Perry dislikes most about this election, it’s all the talk about the candidates’ style. With headlines like “Mitt Romney Narrows Gaps On Likability And Appearing Presidential,” it’s no wonder the outspoken academic thinks it’s a distraction.

“Whether or not President Obama is cool or whether Mitt Romney is likable, I really do not care,” she told Mediabistro. “I assume that Mitt Romney’s wife loves him and Barack Obama’s wife loves him, and they both can probably tell a funny joke when they want to. I mean, really, who cares about style? Some of our greatest presidents have been absolute dorks, and some of our most horrible presidents have been affable, lovely, engaging human beings. That’s not the business of politics.”

Read more in So What Do You Do, Melissa Harris-Perry, MSNBC Host and Tulane University Professor?

We can hardly wait for MSNBC host Chris Hayes to sweep back into Washington for what is sure to be a bouncy, boisterous affair. Hopefully he’ll have busloads of Uppers and his perpetually unknown guests and will have worked on his people skills so that the masses can understand him without a thesaurus. Hayes has been known on FishbowlDC for our series entitled “I’m a writer Goddammit” as well as “I have a staff Goddammit,” his spanking white sneakers and more.

Hayes and other libs will partake in  the “Take Back the American Dream” conference from June 18 to 20 at the Washington Hilton.

Journos and pols we can expect: Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize-winning economist and NYT columnist, Rebuild the Dream’s Van Jones, Rep. Keith Ellison, Democracy for America chair Howard Dean, Sen. Bernie Sanders, MSNBC’s Alex Wagner, Chris Hayes and Melissa Harris-Perry, Katrina vanden Heuvel of The Nation, Robert Borosage and Roger Hickey, co-directors of the Campaign for America’s Future,  and more.

The conference will offer free conference registration for reporters, bloggers and producers.  To register, visit here.

It’s that time again when we check on recent features published in Washington publications. Sometimes they’re good. Sometimes they’re not. But they’re always worth a look.

The good– The Washington Examiner got a one-on-one with Guns N’ Roses guitarist DJ Ashba this week ahead of the band’s concert in Silver Spring on Thursday. Ashba replaced the original guitarist Slash and Nancy Dunham, who wrote the story, asked the uncomfortable: If Ashba had any problems with Slash. “I have no history or beef with Slash,” he answered. “I don’t know the guy personally. I have a lot of respect for him and all the guys in the band, for their musicianship.”

The awkward– Michael Warren, special to TWT, wrote a review of “Act of Valor,” a movie released today about actual Navy SEAL operations post-9/11. The headline alone was curious: “Anti-Hollywood ‘Act of Valor’ a soldiers soldiering film about the SEALS.” Soldiers soldiering? Further along Warren describes the SEALs as “precision fighting machines” and “the very last people any jihadist of sound mind wants to encounter…” What’s the difference between a jihadist of sound mind and one of unsound mind? Less nitro?

The bad– We had to check twice to make sure WaPo‘s profile on Melissa Harris-Perry‘s new MSNBC show wasn’t written by Mediaite‘s Tommy Christopher. In fact, it was written by Anna Holmes, who seemingly Google searched “positive adjectives” to describe Perry’s show. Holmes says the first episode was “signature Harris-Perry.” How can the first show of someone virtually unknown (and still relatively unknown) be “signature”? “She’s got this,” Holmes writes. Further in the profile Holmes writes that “others” have judged Perry’s impact on TV news– just five days after Perry’s debut. The “others” are Latoya Peterson, editor of of the website Racialicious; Founder of Women and Media in News Jennifer Pozner; and Hub Brown, an associate dean at Syracuse University; None of whom have anything less than sugary to say about Perry. Not to sound like a negative Nancy, but surely not everyone is throwing confetti up over Perry’s new show.

The noteworthy– The Daily Caller‘s Taylor Bigler has an interesting story about the late Whitney Houston allegedly sending a personal bodyguard free of charge to help locate a kidnapped child. In it, we learn that Houston’s nickname was “Nippy.”

Quotes of the Day

A Convo Between Two Journos

Today’s conversation is between The Guardian’s Richard Adams and NYT’s Brian Stelter.

Stelter: Unconfirmed: There are 2 yfrog pics of a tiger on a street, allegedly after London Zoo break-in. [Accompanied by the picture above] Adams: @brianstelter seriously, you can’t just retweet nonsense and put “unconfirmed” in front. Stelter: @RichardA it was a mistake, and I tweeted the correction within two minutes. I’m sorry.

NPR’s Carvin is known for live tweeting violence

“Oh dear. Now @acarvin is Twitter-reporting the #londonriots. From the Arab Spring to the London Summer. Things must be bad.” — The Guardian‘s Matthew Wells in a Monday tweet about NPR’s tweeting maniac Andy Carvin.

A question about Luke

“The House got rid of its Page program? I’m confused. Does this mean @LukeRussert got fired?” — William K. Wolfrum, a Brazil based journo who has been published in the Boston Globe, Alan Colmes’ Liberaland and HuffPost.

And this…While HuffPost‘s Sam Stein promotes the new HuffPost iPad app, conservative pundit Kevin Madden naturally cries bias. “Media bias!!” writes Madden in response to HuffPost Publicist Stein, who wrote: “HuffPost has a new ipad app. It is awesome.” Find it here.

Contributor points out program pitfalls

“Grrr After the indulgence of guest hosting hour long show I’m frustrated by reality of 3min guest segments. #hardball” — MSNBC Contributor and The Nation Columnist Melissa Harris-Perry in a Monday tweet.

Bio of the Day

TNR‘s Seyward Darby: “Online Editor at The New Republic, writing about politics and education reform. Not so minor side obsessions with bad TV and Eastern Europe.”

Boybander has bank troubles

“Ah, the reporter’s life. Unable to use credit card. Call bank. They put a hold on it b/c of all these transactions in strange cities.” — Slate‘s Dave Weigel in a Monday tweet.

Paul Bedard loves the Washington Examiner

“New Washington Examiner political site kicks butt, launched a day before it co-sponsors Iowa GOP debate.” — U.S. News & World Report‘s Paul Bedard has a continued love affair with the Washington Examiner. See the site here.

Disgruntled journo

“On the phone with @VerizonSupport @Verizon again. Going on—what, 4 months of paying for DSL without getting any?” — The Daily Caller‘s Mary Katharine Ham in a Monday tweet. She also wrote, “For the record, the strike didn’t affect my Verizon phone customer service at all. Plenty of people to talk to & no help, as usual.”

Invented Summer Superlative

One of our avid Twitter followers, Donald Edmond, a lawyer in town, came up with the following: “Journalist most likely to go to the Cap Lounge & order a soy Banana Daiquiri? @ezraklein #EzraWearsOnesies”

How hot is Washington?

“Walking through DC in August will give you a pretty good idea of what it’s like to take a bath in donut glaze.”– Reason Magazine’s Peter Suderman in a Monday tweet.

Reporter dresses someone down

“Don’t spam me about your Michele Bachmann blog if you don’t have the decency to link me. You know who you are.” — Mediaite‘s White House Correspondent Tommy Christopher in a Monday tweet.

Sayonara Pages

“In the 19th Century, some pages would go to Capitol Hill watering holes to summon lawmakers back to the Capitol to vote.” — FNC’s Chad Pergram in a Monday tweet.