One of the takeaways from President Barack Obama‘s physical over the weekend was that he’s still struggling to quit smoking.

But there was another vice mentioned as well: alcohol. And the characterization of his imbibing is a point of contention right now on several media outlets.

Sen. Scott Brown is making his mark as a legislative maverick whose yet-untainted heart is his compass. Too bad it’s not 2008, the Republicans don’t have anywhere near a majority in the Senate, and Republican mavericks are passé.

CNN, MSNBC and Fox News have all gone wall-to-wall in unraveling the story of the small plane crash into an Austin, Texas government building. The pilot has been identified as Joseph Andrew Stack, and reportedly set his own house on fire prior to crashing the plane into the building. There is an online screed/suicide note published at a website called “Embedded Art” a URL which is registered to a Texas man named Joe Stack.

The mainstream media struggles to get a handle on the unfolding story of a plane crashing into a Government office building in Austin, Texas. Reports that the pilot has set his own house on fire, combined with eye witness reports that claimed that the airplane appeared to target the building has raised suspicions. But one individual has summed up this story in his characteristically pithy manner: AUSTIN FIREBALL: MAN TARGETS IRS WITH PLANE is the current headline on Drudge

At a Scott Brown rally in Worcester yesterday, a supporter of Brown’s yelled a suggestion that they “shove a curling iron up (Martha Coakley’s) butt.” The clip is gaining traction, though, because of Brown’s reaction to the outburst. Initial reports had Brown smiling at the comment, but the video shows he may have responded by saying “We can do this.” Or not.

According to a new business profile in the Financial Times, conservative magazine and daily website Newsmax thrived in a year filled with media misery, scoring $35 million in revenue, after $25 million in 2008, and scoring a much-anticipated Sarah Palin endorsement in a chat with Sean Hannity. Speaking of Fox News, does this sound familiar: “liberal media” alternative excels in increasingly partisan news space? Bingo.

I finally got around to watching the now-famous (thanks to Drudge) video of Democratic Montana Senator Max Baucus’ tirade on the Senate floor, which the right has touted as evidence of the Senator’s intoxication. That’s a pretty serious accusation, and one that would normally require better corroboration than this. In my search for another explanation, I discovered an alternate theory that actually springs from the left: Baucus’ speech has been affected by a head injury.

It’s not entirely clear from the image running on Drudge right now whether suggested new airport security measures that would involve installing full body scanners in airports (something that has been suggested by security experts and which O’Hare has on order) are a scary proposition for the people being scanned or the scanners. Behold.

A number of conservative websites are claiming that Senator Max Baucus (D-Montana) was guilty of orating under the influence on the Senate floor. A newly viral video depicts Baucus speaking on the Senate floor, while making irregular gesticulations, odd pauses and slurring of words. Some are claiming that the recent torrid pace brought about by the Health Care vote has exhausted the Senate body, and is the reason behind this, and other odd behavior.

If you’re online then you’ve probably already heard: after 13 hours of negotiations with Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska, the Democrats have announced that they have the 60 votes they need to pass a health care reform bill before Christmas. And though there’s more to be done, things are looking good enough for President Obama to comment. But how did the internet react to the news?

On last night’s Countdown, host Keith Olbermann included a quote by Andrew Breitbart that sounded rather familiar to me. I waited a few seconds to see if there would be any attribution, but the onscreen graphic simply said “Andrew Breitbart – Dec. 10.” Where was the source?

Has Matt Drudge stumbled upon the Mayan code for the rumored upcoming 2012 apocalypse? A quick click on this morning’s Drudge Report might lead you to think so. (Plus, if there was such a code, Drudge no doubt, would be an early adopter). Alas, no.

ABCNews.com has a question: “Is the U.S. Preparing to bomb Iran?”

Oh what, you’re not going to read that story? It’s a great Glenn Beck-like question, and a Drudge Report-esque headline. Now let’s see what the answer is.

And so it begins.

Huffington Post’s Jason Linkins did a fine job, the other day, of cataloging the right’s sudden antipathy for chants of “USA! USA! USA!” Now, with the news that the IOC has rejected Chicago’s 2016 Olympic bid in the first round, conservatives are in the awkward position of trying to slam the President for failing to achieve the very thing they just said was a horrible waste of time.

It’s 1993 again! Last night, Countdown fill-in host Lawrence O’Donnell ran a segment on the “vast right-wing conspiracy.” Riffing off of Bill Clinton’s Sunday Meet the Press appearance, in which the former president said that the conspiracy is “as virulent as it was” during his presidency, but not as big, O’Donnell went one further and said it was bigger and nastier. Does the claim hold up?

Once upon a time, a chauvinistic, clubby press often gave male politicians at the highest levels of government a relatively free pass on their sexual affairs. Now, thanks to the Internet, the misdeeds of someone as lowly as a a Republican Yorba Linda assemblyman named Michael Duvall can become national news in the blink of an eye. Here’s how:

Two Connecticut state legislators have been identified after a pesky Associated Press photo captured them playing solitaire on their laptops, resulting in a snapshot ripe for mocking that has already been run on popular conservative blogs Drudge Report and the website of Michelle Malkin. The Hartford Courant blog Capitol Watch lists the offending lawmakers as Rep. Barbara Lambert and Rep. Jack F. Hennessy, both Democrats, who diddled as on their computers as a colleague spoke in the distance.

The lead story right now on Drudge Report is “Inferno May Take Out Los Angeles Media Towers.” The alarming headline actually links to an innocuous story from the Los Angeles Daily News, which describes how the wildfires in LA are threatening to overrun communications facilities right now. Can you guess which direction the comments have taken on the post since Drudge started linking?

How do you know when it’s August? When Matt Drudge finds it necessary to send out a link to a Boston.com article about a “mysterious fog” that envelops the city of Boston. Oh sure there is intrigue the evokes memories of the New York City’s mysterious maple syrup smell of 2008. So…what was the deal with that mysterious fog? The answer will surprise you…

Reports of Matt Drudge’s irrelevance are greatly exaggerated. Just yesterday, the top headline on his site drew a personal statement from the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and caused a federal website to change its wording. And all this over some ham and a dumbwaiter!

We’ve noted earlier that Matt Drudge is back, and his news cycle-driving headlines seems to have picked up in recent weeks. Ever since last night, DrudgeReport.com has been leading with a large image of President Barack Obama seemingly sneaking a peek at a junior G-8 delegate. Meanwhile French President Nicolas Sarkozy looks like he’s got some wandering eyes as well. (Not pictured: subsequent bro pound.) But did Obama really sneak said peek?