Quotes of the Day

“So many newspaper reporters. So many interviews to turn down.” — President Obama at this weekend’s Gridiron dinner.

Bureau Chief says no to mom jeans

“I’m pretty sure I’m the only person not wearing mom jeans in this Outback bar.” — BuzzFeed Washington Bureau Chief John Stanton in a series of tweets this weekend from a suburban Outback bar. He was staying at his sister’s house while his home gets repairs.

Journalist has hair issues

“That point where your hair, which was perfect length a day ago, is now suddenly out of control.” — Amy Walter, The Cook Report.

The Observer

“I sometimes read comments on news or op-ed pieces in the WaPo and am always shocked at what people say. Jerks for sure!” — Marketing writer Deborah Brody.

Politico Playbook Publish Time: 6:18 a.m.

Reporter gets patriotic and speaks for the country? “Attending Gridiron dinner tonight. Am expecting the president to be funny. We could all use a good laugh. By which I mean the country.” — HuffPost Editorial Director and MSNBC Analyst Howard Fineman.

Convo Between Two Journos and more…

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Quotes of the Day

BuzzFeed’s Chris Geidner shows off  his new hoodie.

Important Reminder

“Please everyone, don’t forget to tweet pictures of yourselves with other people we recognize in the Green Room.” — NYT‘s Mark Leibovich.

Morning Bloopers: “Back at work and feeling much better after a nasty virus. But I did just call the winning team the Raisins. More coffee and aspirin, please.” — Jon Belmont, AP radio news.

Oversharing Sherri 

“Jeffrey climbs n2 bed w me & says “Mommy I want 2 talk 2 you 2 make you feel better but you have 2 turn around and cough the other way okay.” — ABC “The View’s” Sherri Shepherd.

Journo prepares to pig out

“Presumptively disgusted at how much food I’m gonna eat tomorrow.” — Dylan Scott, staff writer for Governing, prior to Super Bowl Sunday.

Huh?

“I will be on MSNBC to talk about contraception at 2:15.” — Politico‘s James Hohmann in a grandiose brag over the weekend.

Speaking of contraception…

“Bob Menendez could learn a lesson.” — FNC Contributor Erick Erickson, linking to a sex scandal story about Nebraska’s Lieutenant Gov. in which the politician resigns.

Politico Playbook publish time: 9:03 a.m.

Thrush has seen a lot of gunshot wounds

“20 people ask if I shoot skeet. Nope. Funny no one asked if I’ve seen someone with a gunshot wound. I have — a bunch. How about u guys?” — Politico White House Correspondent Glenn Thrush.

Journo harps on NYT over correction.

“Quite the correction, @nytimes: “It was a shotgun, not a rifle.” Hint: Get the basics right.” — Justin Green, Editor of David Frum‘s blog.

Roland lays out the rules

“Your always drunk cousin will officially begin rehab today. He gets no taste of the brown liquor or even a wine cooler! #RolandsRules” — CNN Contributor, Tom Joyner Show and Washington Watch’s Roland Martin on Super Bowl Sunday.

Radio correspondent prepares for work by opening Victoria’s Secret emails? Read more

Quotes of the Day — The Holiday Edition.

“Not sure what it says that a photo of me bloated with a pillow under my shirt is my most-liked Instagram photo ever.” — Catherine Andrews, Director of Digital Content at Home Front Communications and former Editorial Director at Washingtonian.

Home for the Holidays

“Nothing like grandpa showing his tooth abscess to everyone one of us before dinner.” — Politico Pro web producer Caitlin Emma.

“Mom is regaling the guests w her theory that Bobby Kennedy had Marilyn killed w a poisoned enema to not leave marks. Kill me now.” — Publicist and former ABC “This Week” producer Courtney Cohen.

“Just realized I am stress eating chips & queso as my parents are grilling me about GOP options for 2016. Dinner has taken a nasty turn.” — House Maj. Whip Spokeswoman Erica Elliott. And on Thanksgiving: “When I announced I was going to take a shower to try and exfoliate this spray tan, my family literally cheered. Apparently it’s that bad.”

“I accidentally stumbled into a birds-and-bees conversation with my nephew, which led to me saying, ‘No, it’s not called a ‘virginia.’” — MetroWeekly Co-Publisher Sean Bugg.

“Ugh. Had I watched this Kentucky game in my apartment instead of my mom’s home, there’d be holes in the walls.” — Reuters’ Sam Youngman.

“Thanksgiving at the Ericksons involves 6 dozen eggs, 21 lbs of butter, and now 9 lbs of bacon. 4 cakes, 5 pies, 20 lbs of turkey, & 17 ppl.” — CNN Contributor and RedState’s Erick Erickson.

“Yumm. Here is my obligatory turkey photo.” — Politico’s Ginger Gibson. 

Hagman gave NPR director’s Nana a Texas twang

“Claudine, our director, sez her Egyptian grandmother learned English by watching Dallas. She now has a Texas accent. RIP Larry Hagman.” — NPR’s Scott Simon.

Journos get emotional around Thanksgiving

• “My uncle, God rest his soul, made squirrel and rabbit jerky for us as kids. Miss his smart aleck remarks about other fam during holidays.” — Breitbart.com and CNN Contributor (well, if that’s what they’re calling never appearing these days) Dana Loesch.

• “iPad photo app creators, thank you for hours of family fun. #sincerely” — ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Jake Tapper.

• “Just watched “Love Actually” for the 147th time. Still tear up at the end.” — Politico‘s Roger Simon.

• “A special thank you to our service men and women for their service and sacrifice. We are thankful for you all. #thanksgiving” — NBC “MTP” Host David Gregory (Just what the troops were waiting for, a shout-out from Gregory.)

• “My uncle just got a call from the hospital and they may have found a kidney donor! So happy for@veerichie‘s daddy! All my love to Toronto!” — ABC7 reporter Jummy Olabanji.

• “I know I shouldn’t be, but I’m thankful Caribou is open this morning.” — NBC Washington’s Matt Glassman.

• “The crash of Jesse Jackson Jr. Is a tragic end to a career that once seemed to have no limit. Very sad for him, his family & constituents.” — President Obama‘s top campaign advisor David Axelrod.

A WH Correspondent gets into holiday spirit

“Vaguely wish the White House had named the turkeys ‘Congress’ and ‘Syphilis’ and then crowdsourced which one gets pardoned.” — Yahoo! News’ White House Correspondent Olivier Knox.

And BuzzFeed‘s Kaczynski gets all grateful and neighborly…

“Yes neighbor loudly playing his bass while families in my apartment building sit down together for dinner, you are an asshole.” — BuzzFeed‘s Andrew Kaczynski on Thanksgiving just before 3 p.m.

Paul Wharton misses chance to stuff himself

“Y did I refuse to take a plate of Thanksgiving Food from my cousin’s house?! Now I want turkey and stuffing & all I have is Salad! WTF!?” — Real Housewives of D.C. Stylist Paul Wharton.

Baier Vomit

“Good morning! Happy Black Friday. Are you shopping today? My wife, Amy, says she might try – I’ll be with our boys far away from the mall!” — FNC’s Bret Baier.

Ambien Adventures

“If you take Ambien and forget to stop and go to sleep, it actually makes you stay more awake. Kinda crazy, eh? 730A & I’m still up.” — Elizabeth Lauten (a.k.a. DCGOPGirl and CNN iReporter) on the day after Thanksgiving.

Important Q to Ponder: “Possibly stupid cooking question: Can I use whiskey bourbon (Crown) in a savory recipe that calls for bourbon?” — Conservative writer and blogger Lisa De Pasquale.

One Bureau Chief has stroke of good luck and another warns journos about sobriety checkpoint…

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Quotes of the Day

“Sunset over BloomingdaleDC” by Tracy Wahl, Supervising Producer at National Public Radio’s Morning Edition.

BuzzFeed bureau chief gives D.C. tavern a big thumbs down

“If you can’t clean your damn collards and put a lil swine in em, WHY TRY YOU DUMB YANKEE?? #fallofshawstavern,” wrote John Stanton. “Also I have some sharp ass teeth. If its hard for me to eat your damn ribs YOU’RE DOING IT WRONG, Shaw’s Tavern ‘Chef.’”

Post respiratory failure diet

“Pizza for dinner, cupcakes for dessert, washed down w a Super Big Gulp. Sounds like a lonely single guy’s political statement.” – Breitbart.com‘s Dan Riehl‘s riehlly stupid diet.

Wife orders editor to Target at 5:30 a.m.

“Dispatched by bride to Target at 530a to get in line for lad’s Xmas present. Second person just showed up. #merryxmas.” — National Journal Editor-in-Chief Ron Fournier. When asked by U.S. News & World Report‘s Robert Schlesinger what the present was, he replied, “The new Wii system. I’m just following orders.”

This 4-year-old wants your job 

“My 4-year-old daughter to me: ‘Dad, I want to be a blogger.’ #changingtimes” — Political writer and jazz pianist Peter Daou.

And this father is in big trouble… “Bad dad forgets ballet slippers <shame>” — WTOP’s Neal Augenstein.

Journo bugged by building noise

“My weekends are now filled with the noise of construction on the apartment below. There oughta be a law.” — Kelly Jane Torrance, writer.

Peter Ogburn and Eddie Scarry contributed to this report.

A mean Helen Thomas joke and a journo spends part of weekend in ER…

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Quotes of the Day

GETTING CHUMMY: “Scandal” star Kerry Washington and HBO Host Bill Maher. Washington appeared on the”Real Time With Bill Maher” panel this weekend.

Riehl-y Disgusting

“So, I’m thinking Code Pink x Taliban = a Clitorrorist” — Breitbart.com‘s office misogynist Dan Riehl.

Honey Boo Boo to WHCD?

“Hey @Politico @pwgavin @CaitlinMcDevitt - You guys should invite Honey Boo Boo as your guest for the White House Correspondents Dinner 2013.” — DC Celebrity Celeb Photog Marky Mark.

Self-appointed Media Critic

“Stephanopoulos refused to control roundtable so cons message couldn’t get out. Krugman lies. Melee begins. George allows. A tactic.” — Breitbart.com editor John Nolte regarding Sunday’s “This Week” with George Stephanopoulos. Among the guests was NYT columnist Paul Krugman.

Dicking Around With John Dickerson

“M.C. Socket Wrench never really had the rap career his parents expected.” — CBS Political Director John Dickerson.

Legal shit is going down.

“The other Jen Rubin account makes me look like a pitiful shill who has completely lost all contact with reality. I am taking legal action.” — Not WaPo‘s “Right Turn” blogger Fake Jennifer Rubin. CORRECTION: This could help the real Rubin’s case. We were fooled by the fake Rubin. This tweet is actually by parody Rubin, not the real WaPo writer. We’ve corrected the above to reflect reality.

Pimples, wrinkles and a receding hairline. Oh my!

“30s… That awkward age when you start noticing more wrinkles and a receding hairline, but still manage to produce pimples.” — ABC7′s Mike Conneen.

Irony is…

“Enjoying a weekend without our kids. Up randomly throughout the night as the kid in the room next door screams her head off.” — CNN and RedState.com Editor-in-Chief Erick Erickson.

Overheard…

“Woman ahead of me at Hair Cuttery says she’s 102. Tells stylist she wants a ‘new look.’ (Talk about pressure!)” — WaPo Book World Editor Ron Charles.

A WH Correspondent can dream, can’t he?

“1. Peace on Earth 2. Goodwill toward men 3. Stronger urine flow #uppers” — Mediaite White House Correspondent Tommy Christopher, apparently thinking about urinating while watching MSNBC’s “Up With Chris Hayes.” Funny, we always think about urinating when watching that show.

Free Advertising for Chef Geoff

“Hey @chefgeoffs, the Chesapeake Stew at Rockville site made birthday boy (my dad) very very happy! Cc:@NorahODonnell” — Yahoo! News’ Olivier Knox, who has previously and profusely praised Cheff Geoff’s restaurant. Come on, Geoff, free meal for Olivier or what?

Stupid stuff we couldn’t care less about

• “On flight from Philly to laguardia, flight attendant notes that ‘this is a short 19-minute flight’” — Politico‘s Shermanator Jake Sherman, who was apparently affected by the altitude before writing this tweet. That, or else, he came straight from a Phish concert.

• “Just heard Carol Burnett tell my friend Guy Raz ‘Thanks for inviting me.’ The true greats have class like that.” — NPR’s Scott Simon. Saying “thanks” isn’t beyond the pale, for stars or trained monkeys.

Peter Ogburn and Eddie Scarry contributed to this report.

Quotes of the Day

Are you there Gin? It’s me, John

“No, bottle of Hendricks, I will NOT come play with you again.” — Roll Call‘s John Stanton.

It’s 3:34 a.m. Do you know where your reporter is?

“Jerk @DCPoliceDept officer — working the wreck I-395 near Cap Hill — told friend and me in cab ‘idiots’ like us cause these accident.” — The Daily Caller‘s Alex Pappas. Pappas, who is caucasian, followed up with a comment on the race of the officer. “The white @DCPoliceDept officer working the i-395 wreck is unfortunately the reason people don’t respect law enforcement here.”

Journo must work on Memorial Day

“Anyone else have to work on Memorial Day? #nothappy” — TWT‘s Emily Miller.

Journo enjoys surprise fiddle concert

“Am being treated to an impromptu fiddle concert on the patio at Red Rocks from the guy next door and it is fabulous.” — NJ‘s Alexandra Jaffe.

Tragedy and celebration in Warrenton

“WARRENTON, Va. (AP) – Virginia State Police say 1 pilot dead, another injured after crash involving 2 planes.” — HuffPost‘s Ethan Klapper tweeted this. In happier news, Warrenton was also the site of this weekend’s nuptials between NBC “MTP” Executive Producer Betsy Fischer and Politico Senior Reporter Jonathan Martin. Congratulations to Fischmart on their wedding. We hope all the wedding planning paid off.

Did Jason Linkins kiss Jake Tapper’s ass?

“@dceiver i have to say, strip away the fun snark, sounds like you liked the show! (Ssshh. I wont tell anyone)” — ABC’s Jake Tapper, who hosted “This Week” on Sunday, referencing HuffPost‘s Jason Linkins, who writes up the Sunday shows. After getting through as much of Linkins’ Sunday roundup as we could bear, yes, he does suck up to Tapper about how smart he is throughout. But he also inexplicably runs a tweet by Salon‘s extraordinary Alex Pareene twice. God knows why. We just hope Pareene still sports his porn star mustache.

Howard Fineman attends Brown mixer

“Great time last night with my wonderful @BrownUniversity alumna wife at Campus Dance. 1000s of alums on The Green: an open-air re-mixer.” — HuffPost‘s Howard Fineman. Is anyone as disturbed as us that Fineman attended an open-air school dance?

TV reporter claims victory, albeit a shady one

“Finally, first tennis victory of summer. ok… opponent doubled over with stomach cramps, but a ‘W’ is a ‘W’!” — ABC7′s Stephen Tschida. Congratulations Tschida! Cramps doesn’t detract from your win whatsoever.

TV reporter celebrates wedding anniversary

“10 years ago today, Maureen said ‘yes.’ We celebrated by going to the pool with Declan, Evelyn and Hugh, who are the result!” — CNBC’s Eamon Javers.

Touching moment amidst girls giggling at ‘bosom’

“Just passed Joyce Kilmer rest stop & read Trees to daughters. Touching reaction though they laughed to hear ‘bosom’ aloud.” — NPR’s Scott Simon.

Spotted: A relaxed Neda Semnani, of Roll Call‘s HOH, coming out of SweetGreen in Logan Circle on Memorial Day.

Peter Ogburn contributed to this report.

Quotes of the Day

Oh God, seriously?

“@JoeNBC looking for a retweet for my daughter kelly taking her last final today, as she celebrates her 21st at Indiana University!” — Emily Donohue. Lady, this is what you want for your daughter, a retweet? How about just about anything else? In years to come, we’re sure she’ll remember the retweet from MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough. How special.

Former TWT scribe checks in

“The weather in London has been absolutely horrible. But then again that’s really nothing new. What’s new with me? Well. Working on a monster research paper about Sudan. Shower in the apartment is broken for the THIRD time since Jan.” — Kara Rowland, formerly a White House reporter for TWT. She’s now at the London School of Economics.

Lauder kisses reporter’s cheek

“When I told Leonard Lauder @EsteeLauder I wore his products he kissed my cheek at lunch w/ @saks and Carolina Herrera.” — Bloomberg’s Stephanie Green.

If you have to ask, the answer is big fat: NO

“Does this combo work? Matter of some dispute in this meeting.” — NPR’s Scott Simon. Please Simon, we’d love to assess what you are going to wear everyday. And we’re not joking. You send the pictures. We’ll tell you if it’s presentable.

Quotes of the Day

“Pug wearing regal #USA sweater on red carpet. Looking exquisite. #Oscars” — NBC’s Luke Russert with the accompanying picture.

The Lost Washington Weekend

“Sunday mornings in Adams Morgan smell like broken dreams” — Bright Young Thing‘s Steve Place. Photographer Frank Turner replied, “Piss beer, puke waste.”

The Oscar Media Critics

“E! sucking really bad now, with party talk. It’s like NASCAR rain delay talk…boring. Ugh, guess we’ll change to ABC.” — The Washington Examiner‘s Paul Bedard.

“So the journo updates from Rick Santorum‘s townhall combined with Oscar tweets are gonna make for one weird Twitter stream.” — Yahoo! News’s Chris Moody.

“There is no comparison. E Red Carpet is SOOOO much better than ABC. #Oscars2012″ — SKDKnickerbocker and CNN Commentator Hilary Rosen.

“My limo is stuck behind Clooney‘s on the way to the red carpet. #annoyingOscartweets” — WSJ‘s Neil King, whose doppelganger is Clooney.

“I love Michelle Williams but seriously, Louis Vuitton, why even make a dress that ugly? Total fail. Thank goodness she a radiant beauty.” — Socialite and philanthropic advocate Katherine Kennedy.

“Why did *E* shoot Tina Fey from her left?! Terrible. Don’t they know about the gash? That’s just mean. Jerks.” — Freelance videographer Liz Glover.

“M in P sucked. And I think the young guy in Moneyball should have won best actor.” — Hollywood on the Potomac’s and D.C. publicist Janet Donovan.

“Glenn Close — love the blazer!!!!!” — ABC7′s Jummy Olabanji. Kennedy agrees, adding, “Wow! Glenn Close looks absolutely perfect! Stunning and totally age appropriate– ladies take note!”

“You want a good comedy bit? Spill something on a real deal star on the carpet and legit ruin their night. Seacrest is low hanging fruit.” — WaPo Express‘s Clinton Yates.

Ultra-feminist makes fun of fat women

“No one has the balls to criticize fat women on red carpet. #oscars” — GOP communications operative Trey Ditto, clearly the ultimate feminist.

Doocy or Douchey?

“Thanks very much for the nice words…YOU’RE a great guy for sending a compliment out, unprompted!
Thx.” — Fox & Friend’s Steve Doocy. What prompted such dripping gratitude? This nauseating tweet from a follower in Michigan: “Mr. Doocy, we consider you to be one of the nicest, most genuine human beings on the planet. Thanks for your good work!”

Kind of like Washington’s flacks right?

“Best part of watching E! right now, seeing the red carpet handlers trying to look SO important behind the “stars.” #Oscars”  — NBC’s Russert.

Redheaded journo rethinks red attire

“Emma Stone -redhead rocking the deep maroon. Making me rethink my no red rule. #Oscar.” — ABC News’s Karen Travers.

Irony is…“Heavy on the Sinatra at this Santorum event. Sinatra who supported Kennedy whose speech almost made Santorum throw up #fullcircle” — Reuter’s campaign reporter Sam Youngman.

Just what we need, more high journos…“Working on a video for a very cool high journalism program here in DC.” — NBC Cameraman Jim Long in today’s WTF tweet.

A Zen Chuck Todd

“To all overworked Washingtonians. Step outside and look up. Amazingly clear night for DC. Tons of stars visible.” — NBC’s Chuck Todd.

An 8-year-old learns to lie

“Our 8 yr old sees George Clooney & sez, “He looks a little like you.” Allowance goes from $2 a week to AmEx Platinum card.” — NPR‘s Scott Simon.

Quotes of the Day

Reuters‘ Shafer confronts intern issue

“Most interns shd pay to intern.” — Reuters‘ media writer Jack Shafer, who engaged in a battle with New York Observer‘s Foster Kamer (previous Village Voice sh-thead, still a sh-thead) on Twitter yesterday. Shafer: “Most interns are whiny, needy little shits like you, who require endless babysitting.” Kamer: “Jack Shafer: The … abusive stepfather I never had nor asked for, who is not my stepfather.” Shafer: “See you at hospice.” Shafer: “If unpaid internships are so horrible, why is there so much competition for them? Because the experience is valuable.” Kamer: “I’ll remind you of that as your sole visitor while you otherwise die alone…Reliable Sources on endless loop.” Shafer: “Promise?”

Namedropping Hitchens

Andrew Ferguson proudly name drops the late Christopher Hitchens in this fascinating essay in Commentary Magazine in which he contemplates those who name dropped and wept for the writer upon his death. He also explores whether Hitchens would have enjoyed a hit-piece obit. The last graph: “It’s maybe not the best fate for a man who once might have hoped that his ideas would be taken seriously, but it’s the fate Hitchens chose. At least that’s my theory. And I knew the man for more than a quarter of a century. Did I mention that?”

Question of the hour: “What do you get your wife for Valentine’s Day when she’s due to deliver your baby the day before?” — Newsbusters’ Ken Shepherd.

Mourning Soul Train’s Don Cornelius

“I never could get my Afro to work right, but I am among the legion who wanted a turn on that Soul Train line. #DonCornelius RIP” — PBS’s Gwen Ifill.

A sign of what’s to come…Former Poynter blogger extraordinaire Jim Romenesko shows up Poynter by breaking news of TBD’s Andrew Beaujon joining Poynter as a media writer before Poynter. @romenesko: “9 days after I broke the news!”MT @Poynter: “It’s official: Andrew Beaujon will join Poynter later this month as a media writer.”

Is this journo high?

“Telling moment: I was spilling coffee on my pants during an interview today while Facebook was raising $5 billion.” — NPR’s Scott Simon, who lost us at “pants.”

And finally, how does Jonah really feel about Trump?

“Folks I will criticize Trump even if he endorses ME. He’s an ass-clown of world-historical proportions.” — National Review Online’s Jonah Goldberg.

For many of us, Christmas is a special time of year. Gathering with family. Creating lasting memories for children. Celebrating the religious meaning of the holiday. And luckily for us, several DC journalists let us sneak peeks into their touching holiday moments this year. We’ll recap our favorites in the Top 5 “Touching” Holiday Moments.

5 - CBS Radio’s Mark Knoller spending Christmas in Hawaii. Knoller begins the day wishing us a “Merry Christmas from Honolulu. Sun rising over Waikiki.” Thanks Mark. Many of us are spending the time with insufferable in-laws or obnoxious extended family. Glad you’re having fun. Just to add insult to injury, Knoller tweeted us this picture.

4 - NPR’s Scott Simon and Fox News’s Ed Henry Christmas Bromance. Henry’s something of a whore where bromances are concerned. He had a thing for CNN’s Ali Velshi, which died when he fell hard for FNC’s Bret Baier when he switched networks. Now he apparently fancies Simon. As Christmas Day wound down, Simon tweeted that he was enjoying a dinner of “Cheerios, yogurt and a glass of wine.” So, now we know the recipe for holiday cheer. A continental breakfast and booze for dinner. Henry chimed in and you can see their exchange below.

@edhenryTV Thank you, Ed. I enjoy your work. And btw, red wine w/ Cheerios after October. Come May, white wine-

— Scott Simon (@nprscottsimon) December 26, 2011

This is clearly the true meaning of Christmas. Two journos mutually admiring each other for all the world to see.

3 – MSNBC’s Luke Russert Cares for the Troops. On Christmas Day, Russert declares “Happy birthday Jesus!” and includes this classic clip from Full Metal Jacket. He reminds us to remember the military on “this most cherished day.” Thanks, Luke. I’ll do that right after I finish watching Full Metal Jacket with the kids.

2 – The Obligatory Holiday Message. There are simply too many to list here, but you KNOW who we are talking about. The journalist who, but takes time out of a busy Christmas morning to wish all their fans a happy holiday. For example, Wolf Blitzer from CNN took time from his Christmas Holiday to say “Merry Christmas. I hope this coming year brings all of us peace, good health and happiness.” Or Jeff Sonderman, former Managing Editor for TBD, who takes time out of his holiday to say “Merry Christmas, everyone. May it be a day of peace and joy in whatever way you desire.” We get it, folks. You want us to have a happy holiday. You could always step away from Twitter and enjoy the holiday quietly, you know.

1 – Mike Allen’s Christmas Playbook. Just as we were all sitting around to open gifts, the most wonderful gift of all arrived in our inbox. Politico’s Playbook from Mike Allen. We thought that even a robot like Allen would take some down time to enjoy the holidays, but no, he reports to us from “the wilds of Wilsonville, Ore.” He is spending the holiday with his sister and her three children. Can you imagine what Mike Allen must be like on Christmas morning?? Children wildly ripping open their presents. Fire roaring in the hearth. Bing Crosby in the background. And Uncle Mike typing away on his Blackberry trying to win Christmas Day. He takes the time to run through some of the gifts that his nephews received and gives us the gift of a reading list. “7 Ideas for the E-Reader Santa Gave You.” We’ll spare you a list within a list, but the top E-Book that he mentions for us to get is Playbook 2012: The Right Fights Back. That’s right, friends, a holiday book plug. ‘Tis the season for more self promotion! And razorblades, to prepare us for more E-Book mentions in 2012.