Ann And Mitt Romney were among the guests at this morning’s memorial service for Mike Wallace held at the Rose Hall at Time Warner Center. Seated next to Romney is CBS News President David Rhodes. We’ll have more on the memorial, which included remarks from Morley Safer, Steve Kroft, and Chris Wallace later today. The Romneys were on “CBS This Morning” earlier today. Romney also met with Mayor Michael Bloomberg and appeared at an event at an FDNY firehouse with former Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

(Photo: John Paul Filo/CBS©2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc.)

The cable news channels are covering Barack Obama‘s first visit to Ground Zero as president, four days after the operation that killed Osama Bin Laden. After a lunch with with members of FDNY Engine 54, Ladder 4, Battalion 9, in midtown Manhattan along with former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Obama headed to NYPD precinct one. Later he’ll lay a wreath at Ground Zero.

Following the president’s remarks at the firehouse, a few of the firefighters talked about their lunch with the president which was carried live on the cable networks. Fox News correspondent Eric Shawn asked a firefighter what it was like to have the President of the United States eat the Eggplant Parmesan he’d cooked up. “It was a once in a lifetime thing.”

> More: At 1pmET, ABC, CBS and NBC broke in to regular programming as the president participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at Ground Zero. In New York, WCBS and WABC produced their own coverage rather than taking the Diane Sawyer and Katie Couric specials. WNBC carried the David Gregory-anchored special report.

New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg says Jon Stewart, among others, are to thank for the passage of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health & Compensation Act. In a statement after the bill passed last night, Bloomberg said, “We would not be where we are today without the hard work of so many others who are too many to name, but include Representatives Maloney, King, and Nadler; responders, survivors, and their family members; labor and civic leaders; and great New Yorkers like Rudy Giuliani and Jon Stewart.”

Stewart’s entire final show of the year, which aired last Thursday, was dedicated to the bill. He first mocked the media for their lack of coverage. He then followed with a panel of 9/11 first responders, and topped it off with an interview with supporter of the bill and FNC host Mike Huckabee. Most of the show was spent attacking Congressional republicans who opposed of cost of the bill.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs also credited Stewart. “If there’s the ability for that to sort of break through in our political environment, there’s a good chance that he can help do that,” Gibbs told reporters Tuesday. “I think he has put the awareness around this legislation. He’s put that awareness into what you guys cover each day, and I think that’s good.”

Gibbs’ statement didn’t sit well with the hosts of “Fox & Friends” who are adamant that it was their colleague who really was the impetus behind the act being passed.

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Arianna Huffington and Rudy Giuliani got into it this morning on MSNBC, with Joe Scarborough playing referee. Giuliani was on to talk about his endorsement of Marco Rubio for Senate in Florida. Huffington turned the conversation to Giuliani’s support of NYPD commissioner-turned-convicted felon Bernard Kerik.

Said Scarborough, “If we’re going to do this Arianna, understand we’re going to talk about your race in California. You ran for governor in California and it was a complete flop. But I still want to hear your ideas. And I don’t go back to your failures here or your failures there, but for some reason you’re doing it with Giuliani.”

Here’s the clip:

The Daily Beast’s Rebecca Dana talks with “two sources close” to “Good Morning America” about the upcoming GMA vacancy. One of them says “It’s George’s now to lose.”

Dana reports ABC News president David Westin traveled to Washington yesterday “and met with Stephanopoulos, a former Clinton aide, about the job.”

Says an ABC spokesperson, “Any speculation about a decision is just that, speculation.”

Speaking of Clinton, Stephanopoulos has the Secretary of State as his guest this Sunday. Also on the show, the man who almost ran against Hillary Clinton for the U.S. Senate in 2000 – Rudy Giuliani.

FishbowlNY’s Amanda Ernst has the picks from last night’s TIME magazine Person of the Year panel. Barbara Walters, Gayle King, Rudy Giuliani and Top Chef’s Tom Colicchio gave their picks. During the debate Giuliani discussed the influence of Roger Ailes, Rush Limbaugh, and Glenn Beck this past year. To that Gayle King said, “I’m getting ill.”

• More on FishbowlNY…

From today’s mediabistro.com Morning Newsfeed:

There’s a new player in the competition to take over Bill O’Reilly‘s Westwood One radio gig — former presidential candidate Fred Thompson. The New York Times’ Brian Stelter writes that Thompson “will begin hosting a two-hour show in March.”

But besides Thompson, Rudy Giuliani is also reported to be in negotiations with Westwood One, while John Gibson was announced last week as replacing O’Reilly’s FOX News Talk role.

“The syndicators hope that boldface names will help retain listeners in a fragmented world of media,” writes Stelter, as he points to a March 2 start date for the likely Thompson-O’Reilly switch.

Also discussed is Joe Scarborough‘s new radio show on WABC. Click continued to see his thoughts on the future of conservative talk radio…

Click here to receive mediabistro.com’s Daily Newsfeed via email.

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> The New York Post reports Rudy Giuliani is “the leading candidate” to take over Bill O’Reilly‘s soon-to-be vacated Westwood One radio seat. Fox News announced yesterday John Gibson would replace O’Reilly’s FOX News Talk show beginning January 19.

> CNBC’s “On the Money,” hosted by Carmen Wong Ulrich, is moving to 10pmET beginning tomorrow. Taking over the 9pmET spot will be a rotation of CNBC’s original longform programs.

> The Aaron Brown-anchored PBS show “Wide Angle,” is adding a new online exclusive series of documentary shorts today. The first episode of “Focal Point” is titled “From Jihad to Rehab,” and takes viewers inside a rehab center in Saudi Arabia.

So who won the debate last night — Sen. Joe Biden or Gov. Sarah Palin? That depends on who you ask (or who you poll). But one thing appeared clear: the prediction on the cablers of a fireworks-filled gaffe-fest was greatly overblown. As Chris Wallace put it on FNC minutes before the debate, people were wondering “which driver is going to run their car into the wall at turn three.” A round-up of pundit post-mortem:

• The Los Angeles Times’ Mary McNamara sums it all up. “The vice presidential debate scheduled for last night didn’t happen — at least not as envisioned by media observers with their characteristic mix of glee and dread,” she writes. She points to the “most memorable” debate moment as the “look of confusion on the face of the network commentators after the debate they had spent days rattling on about failed to materialize.”

• David Bauder of the Associated Press highlights the change in tone from before and after the debate. “The absence of train wrecks led some pundits to wonder whether the contest, probably the most anticipated vice presidential debate in history, will quickly be forgotten,” he writes. Bauder also notes the difference in instant polling, noting on Frank Luntz‘ FNC panel “almost everyone picked Palin,” as the winner, and “a click away on CNN,” the panel, nine out of 10 made their mind up to vote Obama after the debate.

• FNC anchor Greta Van Susteren gave her take of snap punditry on Gretawire: “Why does the public hate us?” she asks rhetorically of journalists. “In large part arrogance.” She took umbrage with a Washington Post headline written within an hour of the debate concluding, that read “Palin Delivers, But Doubts Linger.”

And along the lines of quick declarations, Rudy Giuliani, appearing on Hannity & Colmes, also within an hour of the debate concluding, said that this was “one of the best debate performances” he’d ever seen. “Only the liberal media could deny her this victory,” he said.

And now, St. Paul.

• On Fox News Sunday, Chris Wallace speaks with Sen. John McCain. It will be McCain’s first sit down interview since announcing Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate.

• On CBS, Bob Schieffer sits down with Rudy Giuliani, who is a keynote speaker at the RNC. Also, on Face the Nation, Sen. Joe Lieberman and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, as Gustav and possibly Hanna, head for his state.

• Gov. Tim Pawlenty is Tom Brokaw’s guest on NBC’s Meet the Press. And the roundtable of Doris Kearns Goodwin, David Gregory, Andrea Mitchell and Mike Murphy.