During an awkward exchange on CNN’s Early Start, Ashleigh Banfield grilled Louisiana Senator David Vitter over his prostitution scandal, and compared his affairs to Republican hopeful Newt Gingrich‘s. “I want you to weigh in on Newt Gingrich and what it’s like for a politician having serious baggage trying to be elected,” she asked. “The good news is in America, it’s not up to CNN, it’s up to American people and up to voters,” Vitter hit back, comparing Banfield to John King.

As the media rolls into the second straight day of evaluating the offensiveness of Teamsters Union leader James Hoffa calling Tea Party members “son-of-a-bitches,” the reaction from the White House has become the focus of the debate. On tonight’s Hannity, host Sean Hannity and guest Bill Cunningham argued that the problem was not in the statements, but in the “hypocrisy” that comes from calling for civility and ignoring Hoffa’s remarks.

GLAAD is calling on the Huffington Post to apologize for an article in which writer Amanda Fairbanks chronicles “Sex For Tuition: Gay Male College Students Using ‘Sugar Daddies’ To Pay Off Loan Debt.”

In a blog post about the article, GLAAD lists the various gay stereotypes and misconceptions that appear in Fairbank’s report. For example, she quotes a student who tells her that students participating in prostitution do so in order to “afford the extravagant and often lavish gay lifestyle” and writes that “unlike in the straight world, many say they find working as an escort on the gay scene to be an accepted, even applauded practice.”

Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has a very active social life, to put it mildly, and his personal life has consistently overshadowed his policies in the eyes of the international press. Now, as he contends with accusations that he solicited the services of prostitutes, one Russian woman is coming to his defense, claiming Berlusconi is far too attractive to have to pay for sex.

Democratic Senator Harry Reid has had enough of hookers and wants the “oldest profession” finally banned in Nevada. In a speech to the Nevada state legislature, Reid advised that outlawing prostitution is the key to Nevada’s economic recovery, a suggestion which, at best, received a tepid applause.

After popular used furniture/writing gig/pseudo-prostitution trading site Craigslist received an open letter from 17 attorneys general requesting that their “Adult Services” section (that’s where the pseudo-prostitution happens) be shut down, the site has heeded the warnings and the section is now “censored.” Fear not, though– “Missed Connections” is still alive and kicking.

Judge Andrew Napolitano‘s show Freedom Watch is all about defending the rights of Americans to exercise their freedoms as they see fit. It’s also about putting together some of the most original panel discussions in cable news. Today’s panel epitomized both, bringing Napolitano together with two sex workers– a porn star and a prostitute– to discuss how government oppression of the sex industry was hurting America.

The time that Kristin Davis spent in the clank for running Eliot Spitzer‘s preferred escort service apparently altered her career goals, because earlier this year she declared that she would be running for governor of New York. Now, her campaign video for the 2010 New York gubernatorial race is out, and it’s… interesting.

Ashley Dupre may not be the only big winner of the Eliot Spitzer prostitution scandal. The madam that helped set the governor up with prostitutes for five years, Kristin Davis, is now running for the state’s top executive job herself as a right-leaning independent.

Just a few days after asserting that his past troubles with domestic violence, steroid use, alimony, and the IRS were “not an embarrassment” to the Democratic Party, Illinois Lt. Governor candidate Scott Lee Cohen took to a local bar to announce his exit from the race. Cohen’s departure was to be expected after a shocking [...]

Pres. Barack Obama held a job-related town hall in Pennsylvania today, and when it came time to take questions, he got one very unique one from a college sophomore who has “been studying some criminology.”

What do you think, Mr. President? Ready to legalize drugs and prostitution?