And what a fifty years! The opening chapter is packed with enough jaw-dropping anecdotes about the restricted lives women lead that it’s hard to believe so much change could occur in one lifetime, though thanks in part to the recent success (obsession for some) of Mad Men, the first hundred pages of the book function as a sort of companion piece to the show. You can read more on the book here. In the meantime, Collins was nice enough to take time out to answer Mediaite’s 5QQ (five quick questions). Enjoy.

1. How do you get your first news of the day?

I download a digest version of the Times and listen to it on the way to work.

2. The “either, or” question (you gotta pick one!):

Stewart or Colbert?
Colbert

Twilight or Buffy?
Buffy

Albany or D.C.?
D.C.

Palin or Bachmann?
Palin has certainly given me more columns although Michele is coming up there.

Eleanor Roosevelt or Gloria Steinem?
Gloria would want me to say Eleanor Roosevelt.

Peggy Olson or Joan Halloway?
Peggy.

3. What’s the biggest story the media has missed this year (or last week)?

I’m part of the media. If I thought there was a big thing we missed, I should write a column about it, not complain about it.

4. Obligatory Twitter question: Describe yourself in 140 characters or less (hash tag optional).

Columnist and writer of women’s history books currently in mental meltdown over twitter assignment.

5. Are you nervous or excited about the future of Journalism? Why?

Excited. The next generation is going to get to make a whole new thing. I’ve got total confidence reporting will continue to go on, and actually get better on the state and local level. And there will be entirely new ways of writing that will be appropriate to the internet. It’s going to be amazing for young journalists. But in the near term, try to find a spouse who has good health insurance.

You’d have to be living under a rock not to know that Mad Men is debuting its third season this Sunday. For the past month fans have been inundated with Mad Men Twitter avatars, Mad Men window-dressings, and Mad Men-themed websites. All this smoke-filled, sexed-up, whiskey-splashed glamour is enough to make one long for the heady days of the early Sixties — who knew advertising could be so compelling? We know who — the folks at Morning Joe, currently representing the most harmonious blend of advertising and editorial on the airwaves. Don Draper himself couldn’t have topped it (and he might even have switched out his whiskey for a Venti Frappucino). From there, the comparisons suddenly seemed obvious. So, in the tradition of merging the media beat with whatever pop culture sensation we’re currently obsessed with (Harry Potter and the Media Muggles, anyone?) we thought it would be fun to cast the Mad Morning Men (and Women) of Morning Joe. Hey, what else are you gonna do until Sunday at 10?

Don Draper – Joe Scarborough

Just as Don Draper’s voice can dominate a hushed conference room filled with clients, so too does Joe’s voice dominate the show that bears his name, though it’s decidedly not hushed. Scarborough, a former Congressman, is certainly no stranger to selling, nor does he lack for Draper-esque confidence. We’ve noticed he’s traded in his zipper sweatshirts for dark suits of late, but that’s not all it is — of any character on Morning Joe, he’s the one we can most easily see sitting in a darkened bar with a glass of something amber at his side. Besides, couldn’t his book on the GOP just as easily been called “Meditations on an Emergency?”

Joan Holloway – Mika Brzezinski

And what is Don Draper without a beautiful woman nearby? Mika puts the “Joe” in “Joanie,” who keeps things moving at Sterling Cooper with brisk (and bodacious) efficiency. Similarly Mika keeps the trains running on Morning Joe, as well as being the resident sex symbol (and she’s got the Peggy Noonan-shocking shoes to prove it). No word on what Mika’s college roommate might think.

Pete Campbell – Willie Geist

Oh, we’re on to you, Willie Geist. You with your affable smile and quickness to joke — we’ve watched your rise through the ranks at MSNBC, always with an eye on the top spot. Like a junior ad executive doing what’s necessary to bring in that Clearasil account, you scored that plum 5:30 anchor spot — just another feather in your cap while you bide your time. Somewhere under your bed, we know there’s a box of photographs that will finish Joe Scarborough once and for all. You don’t fool us.

Peggy Olsen – Erin Burnett

There she is, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, chipper but professional, girlish but savvy with an eye on the prize. Peggy Olsen? Erin Burnett? Exactly. Both have risen meteorically in their respective workplaces, making the heads of more seasoned types whip around, but they don’t mind the gawking (or whispering), they’ll just work a little harder like they always do. How else can you get ahead in a man’s world?

Duck Phillips – Dylan Ratigan

Is he in or is he out? That’s what we’re all wondering about Duck Philips, who secretly switched sides last season as he tried to wheel-deal himself a better place in the larger framework of Sterling Cooper and its parent corporation. Hmm, sounds like Dylan Ratigan, who just a few months ago was out (at CNBC) then in (at MSNBC), wheel-dealing himself a primo slice of the morning pie. Is Morning Meeting a challenger to Morning Joe just as Duck is a challenger to Don? Yeah, Don — and Joe — look pretty worried.

Roger Sterling – Rick Stengel

These two silver foxes have more in common than just their initials: Roger is the dashing, debonair partner at Sterling Cooper, running the show when he’s not running off to hotel rooms for midday trysts; Rick is the dashing, debonair managing editor at Time, running the show when he’s not running off to host glittering parties with celebrities. Rumor had it that he sometimes goes on the prowl as “The Ricker”; we are totally not sure who started that rumor.

NEXT PAGE: BETTY DRAPER, PAT BUCHANAN, AND MORE

We’ll get to that. But first, the video: They did talk about another TV show, 30 Rock, on which Hamm guest-starred as Tina Fey‘s handsome doctor paramour. Hamm didn’t have any scenes with any other cast members, but described meeting the gang at the table read — particularly Tracy Morgan. Said Hamm: “Everyone should have the experience of meeting Tracy Morgan for the first time…he is just a spectacular human form of chaos.” They also cracked up just looking at a picture of Jack McBrayer. Oh, also there’s a clip of Jon Hamm playing baseball. You’re welcome. Watch below:

A note on this interview: It was fine but boring. Not Jon Hamm’s fault — he was animated and chatty and came ready to play ball. But did Conan miss the part where everyone is excited about Mad Men? Where Mad Men avatars completely took over Twitter? Where people like Judd Apatow are talking about how excited they are? Where the New Yorker is running Talk of the Town pieces and Jezebel is playing Kremlinologist on Season Three photos? How about all the reviews and previews and tie-ins excuses to write about Mad Men because people love it? Sesame Street is doing a parody this year, for God’s sake. Conan, wake up!

It’s not like Jon Hamm won’t talk about the series — he did just that in the Chicago Tribune. But there’s got to be room for that after talking about another TV show that isn’t about to premiere to crazy fever pitch. Yes yes, Kenneth the Page is great. But how about having a picture of JOANIE ready to show? Do you want your show to be irrelevant?

I can’t emphasize enough what a missed opportunity this was. Mad Men has a lot of people very excited — in August, the slowest new months. Bloggers and critics also love Mad Men — and these are the people who pick these clips up the next day and give them new life. That all plays back into ratings — which Team Conan should be worried about. Shamelessly exploiting Jon Hamm should be a no-brainer. The Internet could not want him more.

I’m not kidding: when grabbed, this video had been played just 193 times. On the website of The Tonight Show — what should be a huge juggernaut, what once was a huge platform. Conan has to figure out how to use it better, unless he wants that to be just another piece of television history.

Update: It’s 11:14 a.m. and the video has a whopping 351 views. There is no mention of Mad Men anywhere on the page, and the tagline says, “Jon talks about playing celebrity softball against Andy, and meeting Tracy Morgan!” There is NO MENTION OF MAD MEN ANYWHERE ON THE PAGE. By contrast, if you search Twitter, there are a few results for “Mad Men” every MINUTE. Conan, wake up!