I don’t know what it is they’re putting in the coffee over at MSNBC’s Now with Alex Wagner, but I want some. On this afternoon’s show, a segment on the GOP and populism started out loose, with Wagner editorializing under her breath during a Rick Santorum clip, then went full-tilt nuts when Dylan Ratigan began doling out amped-up mini-rants on campaign finance and the financial system. The segment ended with Wagner, in the midst of her outro, laughing, “Nobody’s even listening to me.”

It is difficult at this juncture in the political process to imagine that the 2012 Republican primaries can get more outrageous than they have been for the past year, and yet every day brings a new, unexpected twist to the drama. This morning comes the news that fashion icon/legendary drag queen RuPaul is getting in on the action in New Hampshire. Sick of being confused for Rep. Ron Paul, apparently, RuPaul is “campaigning” in a New Hampshire diner this morning (in Ferragamo!) to distinguish himself from the libertarian top-tier candidate.

Several months ago, Politico reporter Ben Smith lamented that his blog at the site was being trumped by his Twitter feed. Where once people would refresh his blog for updates, now they could simply follow him on Twitter and know what he was going to post before he posted it. The blog became secondary, slower – a formalized storehouse for organized pieces of information.

It appears that Newt Gingrich has created a monster. Comparing his own inability to get himself on the Republican primary ballot in Virginia to Pearl Harbor has opened the floodgates for a vast array of over-the-top comparisons, from Charles Krauthammer‘s reference to the Battle of Hastings to Ari Melber harkening Oklahoma City. So we understand how Mitt Romney couldn’t resist comparing this disaster to something, albeit a much more comical, tame scenario.

Sen. Ben Nelson (D- Neb.), who is finishing out his second term, is expected to announce his retirement as early as today, according to POLITICO’s John Bresnehan. Nelson, 70, has already been stuck in the crossfire of a hotly-contested battle between Republican and Democratic groups hoping to claim his seat for their side.

Politico‘s Ben Smith left many media heads askew in confusion when he announced that he was leaving the major political publication for Buzzfeed, previously most popularly known for its vast library of adorable animal videos. Howard Kurtz was certainly among those that didn’t see anything about this media move coming, and naturally had a few questions for the new editor in chief on his program yesterday.

Debate fatigue? A recent USA Today/Gallup poll released yesterday shows a whopping 70% of Americans are solidly opposed to the neverending reality show known as the “2012 presidential campaign,” or at least “can’t wait for it to be over.” The desperation for the campaigns to end transcends ideological boundaries, geography, and age, with men being slightly less averse to the whole thing.

Innnneresting news: Politico’s Ben Smith is leaving the site within the next few weeks to take on a new position at… BuzzFeed.

Former house speaker and GOP presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich sat down with The Jewish Channel’s Steven Weiss to share some thoughts on the Palestine’s bid for statehood. Those thoughts were, essentially: “Hahahaha. Yeeeaaah right.” When asked whether he considers himself a Zionist when it comes to Israel, Gingrich responded that “I believe that the Jewish people have the right to have a state,” adding that “we have an invented Palestinian people, who are in fact Arabs, and were historically part of the Arab community” and who have “sustained this war against Israel.”

Since he last held a sustained lead in the Republican primary polls, way back in the summertime, there hasn’t been a whole lot of good news for establishment candidate Mitt Romney. However, according to Politico‘s Patrick Gavin, there is one area in which Romney is defeating his rivals handily. Gavin reports that the former Massachusetts Gov. is head-and-shoulders above the competition when it comes to mentions by late-night comics. Current frontrunner Newt Gingrich is running a distant 5th.

All day yesterday there was talk about a Politico/MSNBC relationship. This talk all started because of a poorly thought out, selective memory-riddled, a bridge- too-far piece in The Daily Caller by Jeff Poor. I’d hoped that someone would have come out and knocked Poor’s article down by now but nobody has so I guess I have to. I have no interest in whether Politico is a liberal publication or not because it doesn’t concern cable news. I only care about Poor’s attempt to tie Politico to MSNBC.

At noon eastern time today, the Alex Wagner era at MSNBC began with the debut of the former Politics Daily White House correspondent’s newshour, NOW. Joined by a whip-smart panel that included HDNet‘s Dan Rather, Politico‘s Maggie Haberman, and New York Magazine‘s John Heilemann, Wagner kicked off the show with an examination of how President Obama‘s handling of the debt supercommittee is playing with voters.

It’s about time the Herman Cain campaign start to reconsider their official slogan, Let [Campaign Manager Mark] Block be Block.” Block, the star of the now-infamous “Smoking” ad, went on Hannity tonight to give his take on the accusations before his candidate and delivered a totally unforced error by way of false family ties. Block told Sean Hannity that, after “connecting the dots,” the campaign had “confirmed” that one accuser, Karen Kraushaar‘s son worked for Politico, the publication that broke the story.

Rush Limbaugh has been providing us with no shortage of choice quotes throughout the Herman Cain sexual harassment scandal. So far, he’s reminded us that women can lie, liberals are racist, and that conservatives should defend Cain no matter what. Thus, it should be no surprise that he had quite a bit to say on today’s big press conference with the fourth Cain accuser. It’s also no surprise that it didn’t take him that long to realize the last name of the woman, Sharon Bialek, sounds kind of like “Buy a Lick.”

Hilarity ensued.

In a move sure to delight late-night comics, Politico is reporting that a $45,000 settlement to one of the women who accused embattled GOP frontrunner Herman Cain of sexual harassment was signed in September of 1999, or 9/99. As Colby Hall noted earlier today, though, the current controversy seems to only make Cain stronger, so perhaps this bit of nine irony will simply help raise awareness of Cain’s signature “9-9-9″ tax plan.

Mark Block is appearing so often on Fox News these days that some might mistake him for a paid contributor. Or maybe his appearances are paying off in different, more significant ways to the Herman Cain presidential campaign? News that Cain’s position in the GOP primary polls — and greatly increased donations to his campaign — seem to have come as a result of the increased attention brought about by Politico’s bombshell alleged sexual harassment report from last Sunday, seem to indicate more PR boom than bust.

Politico has unveiled even more specific sexual harassment allegations made against Herman Cain. In the late 1990s, a woman working with Cain at the National Restaurant Association notified two people at the time that the Republican frontrunner made “an unwanted sexual advance” towards her at a hotel tied to group’s events. According to sources who were aware of the incident, the woman was “livid and lodged a verbal complaint with an NRA board member that same night.”

Politico‘s Jonathan Martin reports that one of the women accusing Herman Cain of sexual harassment received a settlement of approximately $45,000, which is “significantly more than the two or three months’ salary Cain initially recalled the woman obtained.”

The Herman Cain alleged sexual harassment story already has more wrinkles than a shar pei who slept in his clothes, but the latest one is a doozy. The Washington Times‘ Kerry Picket alleges that Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel “is likely involved with the sexual harassment accuser attacks” against Herman Cain, on the strength of sourcing so thin, it has to wear snow shoes in the shower to keep from slipping down the drain.

Mark Block, the chief of staff for Herman Cain‘s campaign, appeared on Fox New Wednesday evening to drop a pretty serious whammy of an allegation: Cain’s campaign, it would appear, believes Rick Perry and his campaign people have been “stirring up” the sexual harassment accusations against Cain that have recently come under the media spotlight, kicking off with a report in Politico.

Not only is Herman Cain denying claims that he sexually harassed two former employees over a decade ago, he is also casting doubt on whether a second accusation even exists.

On Tuesday, HLN host Robin Meade looked back at how Cain has handled the allegations since news of these claims were first reported by Politico. Cain has repeatedly said he was not aware of any settlement made with his accuser, later clarifying that he had been aware that an “agreement” had been reached. Are these statements, Meade asked him, inconsistent?

When the Politico report initially came out last night, presidential candidate Herman Cain was said to have been embroiled in a sexual harassment scandal by virtue of a “non-sexual gesture” that made one of his employees uncomfortable. While he and his campaign had been mum for most of the day, Cain told Greta Van Susteren the details of the allegations to the best of his recollection tonight, explaining that what he had done was stand next to the woman, put his hand on his chin, and note, “you’re the same height as my wife.”

The Beltway was aflutter with tension (and gospel singing!) today after a Politico four-page group effort on Herman Cain and a sexual harassment accusation that has taken the news cycle today by storm. But while Politico was on the defensive over attacks from the Cain camp, it was also delivering scoop on a clash of the titans that probably never was: did President Barack Obama meet Fabio last night? (Short answer? No).

One of the more compelling parts of Politico‘s bombshell story about allegations of sexual harassment by GOP frontrunner Herman Cain (allegations he calls “false”) was the online paper’s account of a confrontation with Cain outside the studio of CBS’ Face The Nation on Sunday. Although not included in Politico’s initial story, they have now made available some video clips of that encounter.

At a National Press Club event in Washington, DC this afternoon, GOP frontrunner Herman Cain delivered the response to Politico‘s sexual harassment story that his campaign should have given in the first place, admitting that he was, in fact, accused of sexual harassment while CEO of the National Restaurant Association, that the allegations were false, and that he was unaware of any financial settlement. He even cited Politico’s story in his own defense, the same story that his campaign attacked as a thinly-sourced smear.