Quotes of the Day

RAINING IN THE ROSE GARDEN: “Overheard: ‘Melt the Press.’ @MarkLandler of NYT pops out a Georgetown umbrella.” — NPR White House Correspondent Ari Shapiro with the accompanying photograph. And NBC’s Luke Russert: “The #Marines holding the umbrellas at this presser are unbelievably cool, had no idea there’s military protocol for umbrella holding.”

Umbrella memories

“In my first job as a sports reporter, my editor had me hold the umbrella over him & his camera on the sidelines. Good times.” — HotAir’s Mary Katharine Ham.

Politico Playbook Publish Time: 5:48 a.m.

From the Dept. of Bragiculture…

“So much happening-impt stuff must be slipping by for bandwidth lack. Just in my niche, turned in 7 stories in past 4 days & 8th mostly done.” — NYT‘s Charlie Savage.

ABC “Scandal” finale fallout

“So Fitz is porking a black woman to bring diversity to the Republican Party? Wow. #StartedFromATwerkNowWereHere” — Javonni Brustow, Washington editor of The DC Pundit.

“Oh damn Fitz just went rogue! And quotes Dillon Thomas to boot!” — Essence and theGrio.com‘s Sophia Nelson.

“Damn, Fitz just went Bulworth on Mellie! @ScandalABC #Gladiators” — Washington Watch and Tom Joyner Show regular Roland Martin.

“When @tonygoldwyn saw this two page monologue for the first time at the table read, he gasped. Then he dove in.” — Scandal creator and writer Shonda Rhimes.

“Mellie is going to fuck everybody. #Scandal” — @emokidsloveme.

“Liv. #shutitdown and call a locksmith.” — Avid “Scandal” watcher Shawna Thomas of NBC News as Olivia Pope nearly gets killed. And later, after Fitz sees a video in which Olivia, his mistress, has sex with another man, she writes, “OK Fitz. She is not a virgin nor your wife and she didn’t know that guy was charged w/ bedding/protecting her. STOP BEING A CHILD.”

“Can’t even type. This ending kills me! #scandalfinale” — Actress Kerry Washington, who plays Olivia Pope.

“Lemme get this straight, the season finale of Scandal is on during #ScandalWeek? THIS TOWN” — TPM Assistant Editor Igor Bobic.

Brian’s Stelter’s walk on the moon

“I vividly remember my first time watching ‘The Office.’ It was May 2005, on my laptop, on a train from Baltimore to NY.” — NYT‘s Brian Stelter. And were you simultaneously monitoring your Tumblr account, Facebooking, and checking your MySpace?

The power of ass kissing

“The power of @carr2n: He tweets your story and you get 126 clicks in 15 minutes.” — Slate‘s Jack Shafer in reference to NYT‘s David Carr.

Journo annoyed by mouth breather

“This kid who is mouth breathing next to me really needs to get off the train. Can’t deal. #imsoannoying” — Roll Call‘s Emily Cahn.

Unnecessary Tweet of the Day

“Intrigued by Cool Ranch tacos tho I’m normally not a Taco Bell fan & hearing cool ranch flavor gets overwhelmed by filling. Anybody tried?” — Washington Examiner‘s Philip Klein.

See more exciting Morning Chatter… Read more

By Betsy Rothstein and Eddie Scarry

We asked Washington journalists to tell us something they want or something they want to happen in 2013. There’s a few New York-based political scribes sprinkled in here. Here’s what they told us.

CBS Chief White House Correspondent Major Garrett: “I want political courage and skill commensurate with that demonstrated by our armed forces and diplomats in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and other places of peril since 9/11.”

The Daily Caller‘s Editor-in-Chief Tucker Carlson: “I’d like to catch more trout. And I plan to.”

The Weekly Standard‘ Matt Labash: “I’m hoping this is the year in which  the internet finally craters. It’s had a good run, but nobody ever shuts it off.  So after all this relentless exposure – after everyone having their say, then saying a lot  more – we now get sick of people in minutes that used to take us years to get sick of otherwise. Which is why I’m pulling for less connectedness, and more solitude. Less digital. More analog. More wondering what people think, instead of knowing, then being disappointed. Less concern about trending topics. More concern with staying unconcerned about what everybody else is concerned about. Also, I think 2013 is going to be the Year of Joey Lawrence. He’s due. And with the internet disappearing, we’re going to need something/someone to fill the void. To teach us how to live again. To show us the old ways.”

WJLA’s Rebecca Cooper: “My wish list for 2013: 1) Jayne Sandman’s body WITHOUT Jayne Sandman’s workout schedule; 2) Pamela Sorensen’s social schedule WITHOUT Pamela Sorensen’s late night hours; 3) Dana Bash and Susanna Quinn’s Super Mom abilities WITHOUT Dana Bash and Susanna Quinn’s early morning wakeup calls; And – the thing I would most like in 2013: 4) to see my friends who cover politics without having to go to New Hampshire or Iowa in winter or Tampa or Charlotte in August to see them.”

Raptor Strategies’ David Bass:  “Shock and awe.”

FishbowlDC and Current TV’s Full Court Press Co-host Peter Ogburn:  ”Peace, love and harmony finally coming to the nation’s capital. Also, I’d like to see a fistfight between Tim Grieve and David Martosko.”

FishbowlDC and The Blaze‘ Eddie Scarry: “I’d like Politico to be the first news organization to genetically engineer a reporter with a Blackberry for genitals. Makes anonymous sourcing of political operatives that much easier.”

Queen Levine (a.k.a. radio correspondent Mark Levine): “In 2013, I’d like to see mediabistro get just a few basic facts right. Jon Stewart has proven you can be snarky and a journalist. (If you want to just make shit up, that’s fine too, but then you gotta know you’re doing it and be funny. Like the Onion. Good luck in 2013! And let me know if you need help understanding any of the hard words above. Like ‘journalist.’” (We suspect Levine’s snappy answer is in response to the drama queen’s appearance on our year-end list. He never misses a chance to brag about himself. Long live the queen!)

Current TV’s David Shuster: “In 2013, I want the baby Kera and I are having to come out healthy and happy and to possess a little more tact and patience than me — In other words, be like his/her mother.”

The Hill’s Managing Editor Bob Cusack: After about a year in the works, I finished a new screenplay this month (It’s not about politics). I hope to sell it in 2013. I also want to see Barney Frank get on Twitter in the new year.

Tommy Christopher, Mediaite White House Correspondent: “Besides fetch? In 2013 I really want a federal assault weapons ban (including semiautomatic handguns) with Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s NFA grandfather clause, and a federal firearms registry with a psychological fitness test, to happen.”

The Daily Caller‘s Jeff Poor: “Just off the top of my head, I’d like to see…1) Mediaite’s Tommy Christopher go away — go back to selling men’s suits or something 2) Political journalists to stop acting enamored with Robert Griffin, III and Bryce Harper as if they’re life-long Washington, DC sports fans 3) Media Matters’ Eric Boehlert to find Jesus or some other form of organized religion of his choosing and have a little love in his heart 4) Someone to remind me why BuzzFeed Politics exists.”

SiriusXM’s Julie Mason: “In 2013, Gov. Rick Perry needs his own talk show, a la Huckaboom (but sassier). There must be world recognition of the massive journalistic skills of Josh Rogin, Josh Lederman, Andrew Harnik and Meredith Shiner. We should also pause, as a nation, to admire Suzanne Malveaux‘s new, longer hairstyle. Because that shit is awesome. Also, my favorite shows need to quit the nine-month hiatus between seasons. That is really annoying.”

WaPo‘s Jennifer Rubin: “Real entitlement reform. Gumming up the Obamacare works. Republicans champion immigration reform.”

WJLA’s Steve Chenevey: “Can we extend the telecommuting concept to journalism? I’m all for home studios in 2013. Would love to get PR pitches more than a day in advance. And the freedom to critique viewers on their choice of outfit for the day. Not that I would ever do that, but overly opinionated viewers never seem to surprise me.”

See more wishes… Read more

The one jab that never fails to elicit laughs from conservatives is the one about MSNBC and how “nobody” watches it. There was a lot of that at last night’s Media Research Center gala.

MRC, a conservative media watchdog org, celebrated its 25th anniversary and presented its tongue-in-cheek Dishonors awards at the National Building Museum.

Conservative radio host Laura Ingraham presented the first two awards, one of which was the “Obamagasm” award. The nominees were MSNBC’s Chris Matthews (“Isn’t it a surprise when you see him talking about Obama and he still has his clothes on?” Ingraham said.), ABC’s Diane Sawyer (“of the perpetually heavy breathing voice”) and CNN’s Piers Morgan (“Britain’s own alien life form”). Matthews won for declaring in July that President Obama is “the perfect father, the perfect husband, the perfect American.”

The second award — the “Vast Right-Wing Knuckle-Draggers” award went to MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts, for saying in September 2011 that the GOP wants to build “a time machine, to go back in time…” Ingraham described Roberts as “Thomas no-one’s-ever-heard-of-me Roberts.”

Media bashing was given a rest for the William F. Buckley award for Media Excellence. It was presented by conservative columnist Cal Thomas as a tribute to Andrew Breitbart. The audience gave a standing ovation at the conclusion of Thomas’ remarks.

Two more anti-media awards were given out: The “Damn Those Conservatives to Hell” award (to NBC’s Ann Curry, for her interview with Republican V.P. candidate Paul Ryan in April) and the “Barbara Streisand Political I.Q. Award for Celebrity Vapidity” (to actor Sean Penn, for saying on CNN in October 2011 that the tea party wants to “lynch” Obama).

Finally, MRC President Brent Bozell handed out one last award: “The Worst Reporter in the History of Man” award. This one was chosen by cheers from the audience. It was initially a tie between former CBS anchorman Dan Rather and ABC’s Katie Couric. After a second round of cheers, Couric was named the “winner.” An embarrassing photo of Couric dancing at a private party in 2006 was projected on banners hanging from the ceiling.

The banners were a fixture for awkward photos throughout the evening. To the right was the spaced-out image of RNC Committee Chairman Reince Priebus that displayed when he spoke on stage.

Notables: The Daily Caller‘s Neil Munro, The Heritage Foundation’s Lachlan Markay, Fox News contributor Steven Crowder, The Washington Examiner‘s Philip Klein and Charlie Spiering, Slates David Weigel, The National Review‘s Jonah Goldberg, The Weekly Standard‘s Stephen Hayes, GOP mega donor Foster Friess, WMAL’s Chris Plante and CRC publicists Ashley Morris and Kelley Hudak.

Quotable: “I better put this down.”– An MRC goer who was spotted drinking directly from a champagne bottle. She put the bottle down when she saw us attempting to snap a photo.

QUOTES of the DAY

Reporter calls for an American leader

“America needs a leader so badly. Right now, she doesn’t have one.” — The Daily Caller‘s incredibly patriotic reporter Matthew Boyle. Can a reporter ever just be a reporter? Since when is Boyle an op-ed columnist?

From the Dept. of Bragiculture…“Got to make a call on Air Force One today, connected by an operator. The little things in life.” — The Hill‘s White House Correspondent Amie Parnes in a comical humblebrag. Oh, is that where she is?

On a serious note…

“Our @ABC correspondents @LamaHasan @JeffreyKofman are in North Africa this morning as crisis heats up. Good luck-stay safe.” — ABC News Prez Ben Sherwood.

Run Caitlin run!

“Just ran from Arlington to the base of the Capitol. I feel like Forrest Gump.” — Politico Pro Web Producer Caitlin Emma.

The Media Critic

“How do people who have hard jobs watch cable news when they come home at night? I just watched a minute of Hannity and want a nap.” — Former Mediaite writer Frances Martel.

The Media Critic II

“Watching cable news tonight (first time in 8-9 months). After 20 mins, click (sound of remote turning off).” — Paul Brandus, an independent White House correspondent who writes West Wing Report.

Harsh: Journo should’ve been aborted?

“Oddest email response to my column criticizing media reax to Romney on Egypt? Man says my mom should have aborted me for supporting Obama.” — Washington Examiner op-ed writer Philip Klein.

From the reporter’s chair: “Things you see at 9pm votes: Sen Baucus in a tux #Senate” — NBC News Senate producer Libby Leist.

Production supervisor’s dog gets hysterical over TV ding

“The ‘ding’ in the new Google Chrome commercial is driving my dog hysterically bonkers. He is growling at the TV. #mydoghatesyou.” — Doug Zimmerman, production supervisor for Environment & Energy TV’s web programming.

Peter Ogburn contributed to this report.

Free Beacon‘s week concludes with a yawn. Literally.

Last night the news outlet that broke the news that DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) refused to apologize to The Washington Examiner‘s Philip Klein for falsely accusing him of misquoting her this week achieved quite a feat. They caught her yawning during President Obama‘s big speech. And it wasn’t a half-yawn either. It was a decently drawn out, mouth open affair.

They posted the item at 10:44 p.m.

Watch the fiasco here.

DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz isn’t endearing herself to conservative journalists this week and this time it may be to her detriment. As of late, she has become a liberal punching bag for right-leaning journalists around the Beltway and beyond. This week she stirred up a hornet’s nest by accusing Philip Klein of the Washington Examiner of misquoting her.

Not only did the editorial page writer not misquote her, but he has the video to prove it. And last night things went from bad to worse as Wasserman Schultz told the conservative Free Beacon that no, she won’t apologize to Klein.

“Disgraceful,” wrote Stephen Hayes, senior political writer for The Weekly Standard, on Twitter last night.

The tension between Wasserman Schultz and conservative journos has been building. In his GOP Convention speech, FNC’s mild-mannered and God-fearing Mike Huckabee made fun of her voice, joking that he could hear her from the hotel next door. In response, she told The Daily Beast that Huckabee couldn’t handle strong women. And in response, Huckabee said you “can’t go getting your feelings hurt every time someone makes fun of you.”

See the story.

It’s unclear who’s punching up or down in this incident, but DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz and the Washington Examiner are in a brawl.

Last night on FNC Wasserman Schultz accused the Examiner of misquoting her and slighted the newspaper as a “conservative” publication.

She was referencing a Tuesday story by Examiner Editorial Page writer Philip Klein. He reported that Wasserman Schultz said during a Jewish outreach session Monday in Charlotte that Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren believes Republican policies are “dangerous for Israel.”

“We know, and I’ve heard no less than Ambassador Michael Oren say this, that what the Republicans are doing is dangerous for Israel,” Klein reported Wasserman Schultz as saying during the session. Oren released a statement after Klein’s report saying he never said that.

“I didn’t say [Oren] said that,” Wasserman Schultz told FNC. “Unfortunately, that comment was reported by a conservative newspaper. Not surprising they would deliberately misquote me,” she said.

There’s no disputing that The Examiner‘s editorial page, for which Klein writes, is conservative. And despite its claims to the contrary, the paper leans right. But that isn’t the point now, is it? To DWS, the insinuation was that being conservative somehow makes a person untrustworthy.

We phoned Wasserman Schultz’s press office for comment.

Klein followed up on the Examiner‘s website last night…

Read more

Quotes of the Day

“I’m doing sanitizer shooters tonight.” — Reuters media writer Jack Shafer, referring to hand sanitizers, apparently the new way for teens to get high.

Tweet of the Day: “About to get my daily exercise by cutting my lawn today.” — Accuracy in Media Chairman Don Irvine.

From the Road

“Parallel parking boat-sized rental car. #firstworldproblems” — Roll Call‘s  Shira Toeplitz.

Self-appointed media critic

“Obama tells RS he reads Andrew Sullivan‘s blog for its ‘thoughtful analysis…’ Like on the truth about Trig’s birth?” — the Washington Examiner‘s Philip Klein.

The Observer

“Dulles airport looks overtly and distinctly European.” — National Review Online‘s Kathryn Lopez.

Flight attendants you’ve been warned! “I’d say 4 of 10 flight attendants don’t poke me awake to raise my seatback. The other six are lucky to still have their fingers.” — Reuters‘ Sam Youngman.

A Question to Ponder: “Who else is making trek to @TerrapinXroads this weekend for the Q shows??” — Politico‘s Jake Sherman.

What’s Driving the Day: “We’re debating whether to wear our prom dresses to the Fresh Air 25th anniversary party.” — NPRFreshAir.

Grenier likes Fallon’s Slow Jam

“Slow Jam the news! hilarious. Thx for this @jimmyfallon” — actor Adrian Grenier.

Lizza flacks about his pub’s dinner guests

“Since everyone seems to be doing this… @NewYorker’s WHCA dinner guests: Aziz Ansari, Carrie Brownstein, Fred Armisen, & Jason Schwartzman.” — The New Yorker‘s Ryan Lizza. Too bad the magazine didn’t flack as well as the writer.

Joel and Marco hang out

“Minister Joel Olsteen [sic] is hanging out in @MarcoRubio’s office on the hill…wonder what those two are up to! #livingonaprayer” — Glitterazi, referring to Joel Osteen, the megachurch televangelist in town this weekend.

This morning we’re pairing Examiner’s Philip Klein with a slightly younger version of Counselor to Treasury Sec. Tim Geithner, Gene Sperling, and actor Jim Nabors who played Gomer Pyle on The Andy Griffith Show. We have another contender from a reader…it’s Henry Czerny from “Clear and Present Danger.”

Quotes of the Day — To the Right

Breaking bread with terrorists

“At an extravagant penthouse apartment in downtown Chicago, The Daily Caller dined with former terrorists Sunday night.” — The lede to The Daily Caller‘s Jamie Weinstein‘s story on Editor-in-Chief Tucker Carlson‘s dinner with former Weather Underground terrorists Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn. The Daily Caller posse included Carlson, Weinstein, Big Journalism Founder Andrew Breitbart, a Daily Caller contest winner (a female who, so far, remains anonymous) Carlson’s brother, Buckley, and Weekly Standard senior writer Matt Labash. Read the story here. Carlson also went on WMAL’s “Morning Majority”: “At one point Bernadine compared the United States to Nazi Germany because of course she did! … I am appalled by them, but she is smooth,” he said. Best line: “I’m sure I somehow caught Syphilis from that dinner.” Listen to the full interview here.

A question posed to Breitbart online: “What’s your favorite name you’ve been called on Twitter?” He replied, “‘Fat Reich Wing Fascist Racist Faggot’ is synthesis of the online leftist argument against me. Variations on that theme.”

Loesch to Washington for CPAC

“Looking forward to #CPAC12. This year I vow not to return with the plague.” — CNN Contributor and Big Journalism Editor Dana Loesch.

Red State and CNN’s Erick Erickson goes on a Fox News bender: “I have a fair number of haters across parties. I’m fair and balanced in that regard. Heh.”

Bio of the Day — Stephen Hayes: “I am not the guy who writes for the Daily Standard. So please stop sending me tea party stuff. I follow a variety of issues mostly nuclear or missile related.” (As D.C. journos know, Stephen Hayes writes for that right wing mag more commonly known as The Weekly Standard.)

Scribe is disgusted by coffee

“I don’t drink coffee, never have. I’ve had most of 2 cups in my life, couldn’t finish them & sips of all sorts of doctored versions. #Gross” — Townhall columnist and radio host Derek Hunter. Explaining further, he adds, “Coffee is warm, dirty water that you can’t make taste good. No matter what you add to it, the underlying flavor is warm, dirty water.” On a completely different note, Politico media blogger Dylan Byers tweets a story he wrote on a “Pew survey finds more media bias.” To which Hunter cracks, “Must’ve read your shit.” (Sidenote: Byers was scheduled to go on the Bill Press radio program this morning. He showed up FINALLY, but was extremely tardy. Stay tuned…we’ll inquire and see if he has any decent excuses. UPDATE: Byers overslept. Seriously, VandeHarris let you get Zzzzz’s? UPDATE 2: He had an iced coffee in tow, which means he was late and actually STOPPED for it.)

If Mattera were judge…

“If what this teacher is accused of is true, then he should be hung from his balls.” — Human Events‘ Jason Mattera in regards to the LA teacher who was accused of spoon-feeding his semen to blindfolded students.

A journo’s latest addiction: hot chocolate

“Ok, given the slow trickle of results I think I have a few minutes to get some hot chocolate at 7-11. My latest addiction.” — The Examiner‘s Philip Klein.