Yahoo News journalist Rachel Rose Hartman reported that the news organization listened in on a private conference call with the Republican National Committee that cautioned insiders from making “personal attacks against President Barack Obama”, because it would be “too hazardous for the GOP.”

Godfather’s Pizza magnate Herman Cain is having a moment, albeit a weird one, in which he has leapt into a statistical tie for 2nd place in the GOP primary race following a crushing victory in the Florida straw poll, but is also drawing fire for a perfectly-timed media byte in which he says African Americans have been “brainwashed” into voting for Democrats. On Thursday night’s AC360, former Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer and Democratic pollster Cornell Belcher debated Cain’s ascent, and that inflammatory remark.

Ari Fleischer, former White House Press Secretary for President George W. Bush, has joined CNN as a political contributor, the network announced this morning. Fleischer served as the primary spokesman on Bush’s presidential campaign and through the rough early years of Bush’s presidency, covering 2000 recount, 9/11 and the U.S.’s entry into Iraq and Afghanistan, [...]

The tea-leaves-reading of Sarah Palin‘s pushback after Tucson continued on CNN’s AC 360 last night, with former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer picking up on comments made by potential 2012 candidate Newt Gingrich–that Palin needs to expand her base if she’s truly got a shot at winning a national campaign.

Last night President Obama marked the end of U.S. combat operations in Iraq with a solemn and graceful thank you speech from the oval office. Former Clinton adviser Paul Begala and White House Press Secretary under President Bush Ari Fleischer took the occasion to debate (or re-debate) the many complex and unsettling issues that made the Iraq War such a lightening rod for criticism for both sides of the political aisle.

Hearst Newspapers columnist and trailblazing White House correspondent Helen Thomas has retired today, a swift conclusion to a story that only broke on Friday, quick even by the standards of today’s microscopic news cycle. Along the way, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin tried to leech onto the story by tweeting that Helen’s “press pals condone racist rant,” referencing comments Helen made at the White House on May 27th. I was in the White House briefing room today, and I can tell you that Palin’s tweet couldn’t be further from the truth.

Last week news broke of White House press icon Helen Thomas made headlines by claiming “Jews should go back to Germany.” While she has since apologized for her statement, there is increasing sentiment that she should receive much larger censure, or lose her job altogether for, what’s deemed by many, as terribly insensitive words. Last night, former Press Secretary for the Bush administration Ari Fleischer joined a growing chorus of those claiming her apology is not enough.

Sarah Palin has turned her Twitter sights on White House correspondent Helen Thomas. Thomas made headlines the other day after she went on record saying she thought the Jews should ‘go home,’ and then further defined ‘home’ as Germany and Poland. She has since apologized. If Palin’s Twitter is any measure, however, that apology may not be enough to smooth over the controversy in the coming week as the cable news hosts get a hold of the story.

Former press secretary to George W. Bush Ari Fleischer has had some tough jobs since he’s left the administration (defending the BCS, Mark McGwire and Tiger Woods to name a few), so he was a good choice to lend a helping hand to Pres. Barack Obama, who is currently undergoing a crisis of optics in the wake of the BP disaster.

Fleischer’s advice? Be yourself.

Earlier this afternoon, Tiger Woods gave his first interviews since the accident last November with two sources, ESPN and The Golf Channel. The terms were surprisingly open: five minutes straight with no questions off limits, but mandated to be held for broadcast until 7:30 p.m. EDT. It’s been a busy 10 days in Tiger news since he signed former George W. Bush Press Sec Ari Fleischer on board to run rebuild Woods’s image.

Ari Fleischer‘s last high profile job was not an easy one – Press Secretary during the dog days of the Bush administration. Now he has another tough gig, as he and his public relations firm take the lead in the PR effort of the much-maligned Bowl Championship Series (BCS).

How’s it going so far? Not so well.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs seems like a nice enough guy. He has a sense of humor about his work, he maintains a friendly banter with reporters, and he was even the goalie of the North Carolina State Wolfpack soccer team. But Gibbs largely gets a free pass from the media for his many blunders. How does he do it?