During an appearance on MSNBC’s Morning Joe today, NBC’s Chuck Todd offered an interesting take on the News of the World phone hacking scandal and the possible implications it has for certain media outlets on this side of the pond. Will similar publications in the States, he wondered, face the same sort of scrutiny as News Corp. head Rupert Murdoch‘s NOTW has?

At first blush, it seems like the ultimate case of hypocrisy exposed. America’s favorite undercover T.V. sleuth Chris Hansen caught on tape much the same way he has humiliated dozens of perverts, scam artists and hucksters.

Sarah Palin took a break from the neverending political firestorm that surrounds her today to address a badly-sourced National Enquirer story linking her husband Todd to a madam/prostitute arrested in Anchorage last March. Calling in to a radio talk show in Alaska this morning, Palin noted that such “b.s.” was especially “painful” because it came from Alaskans and went viral internationally thereafter.

News outlets are abuzz over a report that John Edwards has proposed to Rielle Hunter, his former mistress with whom he had a child, just a few weeks after the death of his wife, Elizabeth. The interesting thing is that the initial report came from the National Enquirer. The tabloid famously was the first to break the story of Edwards’ affair and child, so the media has seemingly collectively decided that Enquirer stories of Edwards and Hunter are the only ones they’ll “deign” to cover.

After reopening a case against former Vice President Al Gore accusing him of sexually harassing a masseuse almost exactly one month ago, Portland, Oregon police officials have announced that they are ending the investigation against Gore due to lack of evidence on the part of the accuser, Molly Hagerty, who made national news when she accused Gore of assault in the National Enquirer.

Apparently, Bristol and Levi are the Britney and Kevin. Take this with about a hundred grains of salt. Perez Hilton is ‘reporting‘ that the National Enquirer is ‘reporting’ (I can’t find anything on their site so it may only be in the print version) that Levi Johnston may (may!) have impregnated his ex-girlfriend while he and Bristol Palin were separated.

The national media have been much quicker to report on the National Enquirer-driven Al Gore sex scandal than they were the John Edwards story, both of which featured underpinnings of traditional journalism, such as named sources, documents, and in Edwards’ case, photographs. It may surprise some, then, that quick-to-lecture-on-journalism Politics Daily Chief Editor Melinda Henneberger is peddling a new rumor about Gore, with a single anonymous source. (h/t Drudge and Washington Examiner)

More sad news from the Al Gore camp, who is starting to look more and more like the new John Edwards every day: Gore and his soon-to-be ex-wife, Tipper, will not be attending Chelsea Clinton‘s wedding, and event they had reported been “looking forward to” a year ago, before the Gores hit this recent unfortunate patch of events.

News broke last night that Portland Oregon law enforcement authorities are reopening the investigation into claims that former Vice President Al Gore sexually harassed a massage therapist in 2006. NBC Chief Legal Analyst (and Mediaite founder) Dan Abrams appeared with Meredith Vieira on Today this morning, and predicted that this investigation will open and close without any charges brought against the former Vice President.

Portland Oregon law enforcement authorities announced tonight that they are reopening the investigation into claims that former Vice President Al Gore sexually harassed a massage therapist in 2006. The decision comes in light of new discoveries by the National Enquirer including the discovery of stained pants.

It looks like the National Enquirer may have moved one step closer to recapturing its John Edwards-era glory, as the masseuse who alleges that ex-VP Al Gore sexually assaulted her has brought considerably more to the table. In a teaser for their latest issue, the Enquirer identifies the alleged victim as Molly Hagerty, and says she’s given them DNA evidence, a “bombshell witness,” and “secret hotel video surveillance.”

After the bizarre National Enquirer story claiming Al Gore got inappropriately frisky with a masseuse in 2006 hit the mainstream, it wasn’t hard to imagine what the former Vice President and his wife, Tipper, felt about the headlines. Or at least it wasn’t hard to imagine for Glenn Beck and his radio team, who got an “exclusive” interview with the Gores (as portrayed by his on-air sidekicks Pat Gray and Stu Burguiere).

Reports have just surfaced that during a 2006 visit to Portland, the former Vice President was accused by a massage therapist of “unwanted sexual contact,” but a lack of evidence led to no charges being filed. The story first appeared in the National Enquirer, but has since been picked up by mainstream news outlets including the Associated Press, the New York Times and Fox News. But the AP report ends with a Detective’s claim that complainant “planned to take her case to the news media.” Is this another example of check book journalism?

When the National Enquirer started the rumor about Matt Lauer cheating on his wife, it was disputed by Lauer, the Today show and more – and when HollyScoop.com reported it was with Alexis Houston, Whitney Houston‘s step-sister, GossipCop was there to clean up the mess – not true, not related to Whitney.

How much more BS could there be in this story? Well now we find out that Alexis Houston isn’t even Alexis Houston.

In the wake of a new new National Enquirer story about Matt Lauer‘s affairs, the Today show is fighting back, calling the allegations “completely inaccurate and unfounded” (this, after Lauer and his wife spoke out against the rumors last week).

As the Enquirer digs its heels into the poorly sourced story, the credibility of the publication continues to erode post-John Edwards and Pulitzer consideration.

Over the weekend the National Enquirer published an “exclusive” story claiming President Obama had had an affair in 2004. Drudge ran it as its lede, giving the story a level of attentionit probably shouldn’t have received. When reached for clarification, the National Enquirer is standing by their story.

The story of John Edwards‘ affair with Rielle Hunter seems to have raised a media meta-quandary about how to treat stories reported by The National Enquirer. Should we report on them? Should we report that they’re being reported? Throw in a Drudge link to an already explosive rumor like, say, the President covering up an affair with a former campaign staffer, and it’s damn near irresistible. There is a responsible way to cover something like this

The National Enquirer, which published a report this morning that “investigators are attempting to obtain a tape” that proved an illicit rendezvous between President Barack Obama and former US Senate campaign staffer Vera Baker, has updated their story this afternoon to retract the claim that there is video evidence of the affair with the alleged testimony of an anonymous chauffeur. Looks like the National Enquirer Obama sex scandal is unraveling rather quickly.

Late last night the notorious tabloid the National Enquirer broke a story claiming that President Barack Obama was caught having an affair with a former campaign staffer. Despite the story being very thinly sourced, various Internet media outlets picked up the story, including Mediaite, raising questions about even repeating stories that have not been properly reported.

Chaos in Arizona, an oil spill the size of Rhode Island, and now this on the eve of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner: the National Enquirer published a story last night claiming that President Barack Obama was caught having an affair with a former campaign staffer at a Washington hotel, and they might have the tape to prove it. (UPDATE: Enquirer retracts video claim)

Rielle Hunter made her much-promoted appearance, flatteringly lit, on Oprah Winfrey today to discuss her long and sorted (Pulitzer Prize eligible) relationship with the Edwards family. Nothing terribly jaw-dropping was revealed (mostly because it had already been revealed…again and again!) though there are a couple of the exchanges that will likely set the morning talks shows on fire for the next few days.

It was a hole in one…twenty-one for Tiger Woods, according to the National Enquirer.

The newly-respectable news organization reports Woods admitted to 121 affairs during his marriage, but the one that sealed the divorce fate was when it got personal.

The 2010 Pulitzer Prizes have been announced and no, the National Enquirer did not win for its intrepid reporting of the Edwards’s seemingly endless scandals. Here’s who did win. The Washington Post won four awards, the most this year. The New York Times walked away with three.

Well, it looks like no matter how much you wish for it the Edwardses and their scandals are not going away. Behold the latest installment. Rielle Hunter has given a long interview to GQ in which she says, among other things, that it was Andrew Young’s idea to claim paternity and that (alas) the Dave Matthews anecdote is completely false. There’s more.

It’s rare that we actually wish a tabloid story were true as much as we do this item in the National Enquirer about Barbara Walters and actor Frank Langella having a secret, torrid romance. Unfortunately, Walters doesn’t feel quite the same way, and had Enquirer‘s Executive Editor Barry Levine on The View today to give him a proper dressing down, as only Walters can.