On Monday, we reported on Rick Santorum‘s supposed use of the words “black people” during a campaign event in Iowa Sunday, and I was apparently the only person in the non-conservative world who thought he hadn’t said it. Since then, I’ve been joined on this lonely island by The Plumline‘s Greg Sargent, and now, The Young Turks‘ Jayar Jackson, who explained, last night, that he didn’t think Santorum said “black people,” but more importantly, that the issue is somewhat moot.

Political rhetoric on the floor of the House of Representatives took a surprisingly personal turn last night when Jackie Speier (D-CA) shared that she had lost a baby after having gone through an abortion procedure when she was 17 weeks pregnant. Her impassioned revelation was in response to a graphic description of an abortion procedure that had just been read aloud by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ).

Despite her commitment to avoid national media attention, Christine O’Donnell is still managing to make headlines. Her latest controversy revolves around her LinkedIn profile: O’Donnell lists the venerable University of Oxford under her “Education” section — a claim that the Washington Post points out is false.

In a country club version of the Hatfields and McCoys, Tucker Carlson of the Daily Caller and Rich Lowry of the National Review stepped up their online feud over allegations made by the scrappy start-up that the folks at National Review were working with Republican lawmakers to promote the “Pledge to America” in a gushing editorial in the magazine.

And it’s finally here! Just in time for Premiere Week on TV, the latest episode of “Funny, Old Clips of Christine O’Donnell” has hit the web. This time it didn’t come from Bill Maher (or even Bill O’Reilly) but from a 2003 episode of Scarborough Country. In it, O’Donnell is asked if she plans on stopping “the whole country from having sex.” She responds with an enthusiastic yes.

We’ve heard plenty about Mrs. Sarah Palin‘s plans three years from now — not to mention her potential running mates, including Glenn Beck. Now, Newsweek editor-in-chief Jon Meacham is utilizing his pot-stirring big spoon to serve up a new name: Dick Cheney in 2012. Is he serious or seriously “trolling for traffic,” as suggested by Salon’s Glenn Greenwald.