The New York Times has published their other Gov. David Paterson ‘bombshell’ article today. So what does this one say. Well it’s not scandalous, but it’s not great. Paterson is remote, unreliable, and is “increasingly reliant on people whom he feels comfortable with but who lack deep experience in government” also he may not actually work that hard.

Oy. Suffice it to say this is only one of those things that can only happen in print. Canada’s national newspaper the Globe and Mail reportedly ran this unfortunate ad just four days after Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili was killed in a practice run accident.

Well, I guess this is a fitting end to an absurd newscycle. The big New York Times ‘bombshell’ story about David Paterson isn’t actually about David Paterson. Ba dump! It’s about his aid David W. Johnson. Here’s the part the rumor mill did get right: it’s a big story.

It’s very tempting to be sarcastic and say something along the lines of this is how serious journalism works. Except this is how serious journalism works. Turns out the Times had the story a few days ago and held it at the behest of the White House. Times managing editor Bill Keller appeared on the NPR show The Takeaway today, to explain how and why the Times held the story.

“Sarah Palin herself has said she is following the blueprint that God has laid down for her; her political pathway is being lit by lamps supplied by the divine. Interpreting the deity is above my pay grade, so we’re left with asking whether Palin is lucky or she is savvy” — Marc Ambinder.

As we reported earlier, Politico has published part 2 of their yearlong expose´ of White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs‘ comedic chops. Using state-of-the-art word count technology, they have determined that Gibbs is about half as funny as he used to be.

I asked Gibbs for his reaction to Politico’s report, and to criticisms of Tuesday’s Sarah Palin “handgate” gag. Here’s what he had to say

No one’s laughing now, Robert Gibbs! Or at least they’re laughing a lot less. According to a report, the number of “(Laughter)” that show up in the official transcripts of White House press room briefings and in the last six months they have dropped by almost half. What is behind this sinister seriousness?

More specifically, Rachel Maddow tells USA Today that she would like to have Dick Cheney on her show and that in her mind the interview would be “a long discussion. I would essentially treat it like a trial.” Alas, Dick Cheney will apparently not consent to appear on Maddow’s MSNBC show. He’s not the only one.

The Founding Bloggers? Or an Internet tea party? Take your pick. This morning news broke that a group of “politically diverse group of [high profile] bloggers” were so impressed with last week’s question and answer session between President Obama and the House Republicans that they have banded together to call on the president and the Congress to make it a regular thing.

Behold Sarah Palin: The Untold Story (…in her own words!) the unauthorized magazine currently selling for a scant $8.99. It’s a bit like a photo album with some text sprinkled here and there. The most notable part of the special edition however, may be the collection of photos (never before seen?) of Palin as an extremely cute child. Extremely, seriously cute. But apparently also a child who learned to love hunting early on.

There is something sadly touching about this blog post from the New Yorker’s George Packer that went up over the weekend (and quickly proceeded to made the rounds on Twitter!). In it Packer confesses to feeling that Twitter was “is an image from information hell.” Also, it’s all David Carr’s fault!

Did President Obama give the media a subtle smackdown last night? In the last fiery quarter of his speech (which began with a SCOTUS dress down and ended with Obama weirdly chanting USA) this admonishment to Congress was particularly notable.

Forget the Tablet and metered paywalls, here is an entirely new way to save journalism (or some faction thereof). Perhaps you are familiar with WorldNetDaily.com the “must-read website for anyone who hates Barack Obama.” According to the LA Times, the site is on track to pull in $10 million annually. Curious how they did it? One word: Birthers.

Interesting little fact courtesy of Howie Kurtz this morning. Turns out the coverage of President Obama in 2009 was totally fair and balanced…if you look at it from the batting average perspective. Also, FOX likes Obama less than the other networks.

I long ago lost track of the number of times that I’ve described something, or someone, as sounding like something you’d read in the The Onion, such has been the state of the news cycle since June (remember the Beer Summit?). However, what you are about to read actually is from the Onion. It is a fake* op-ed piece penned by an imaginary* Rush Limbaugh.

It has finally happened. After twelve months (or more) of rumors and speculation the New York Times has announced that it will start charging for content in 2011. Here’s the money quote from the press release.

Much has been written on this site about the despicable comments of Pat Robertson (who said that the Haiti earthquake was the result of a pact with Satan) and Rush Limbaugh (who, among other things, urged his listeners not to donate to relief efforts), both of which came up at today’s White House press briefing. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs’ responses were properly calibrated to the importance of these men at a time such as this.

As the carnage in Haiti rightly dominates the news, the seeming cliche´ that this “puts it all in perspective” really can’t be made enough. The horrified shame that Rachel Maddow displayed at the idea that the Haitian ambassador might think that Pat Robertson speaks for all Americans was remarkable. A smaller such moment, on last night’s Countdown, spoke volumes about the triviality of the current political media.

Adding to Shep Smith’s disgusted reaction to Robertson yesterday is Rachel Maddow, who last night called Robertson “the unintended consequence of your First Amendment.” And you know what? She’s right. Though somehow less frightening in the face of Twitter.

Well if this is the future of the Republican party I am bored. Phew. Who knew sticking Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin in the same room could be such a snoozefest. Today’s taped show — taped against the backdrop of the Statue of Liberty! — was basically an hour-long Palin infomercial. Video after the jump.

This goes to another obvious — and recurring — question: whether someone whose personal life has become so complicated is really fit to tackle one of the most demanding, important and stressful jobs in the universe. “Frankly I don’t see how Orszag can balance three families and the national budget,” wrote Joel Achenbach of The [...]

Tucker Carlson, four days before the launch of his new website, which boasts a staff of 21 editors and reporters, has yet to lose his idealism about the Internet! It’s a lovely thing to behold. Also, he has no plans on being the next Nick Denton.

“One reason seekers of news are abandoning print newspapers for the Internet has nothing directly to do with technology. It’s that newspaper articles are too long. On the Internet, news articles get to the point. Newspaper writing, by contrast, is encrusted with conventions that don’t add to your understanding of the news.”

Is Drudge warming up to the idea of climate change? After spending last month heralding the leaked Climategate emails and the subsequent uproar over the Copenhagen summit, Drudge has been devoting some significant space to extreme weather conditions taking place around the globe. So much so he’s devoted the entire upper left section to it!

It’s been somewhat amusing this past week to hear media types express surprise over the fact that last week’s attempted bombing of Flight 253 resulted in an immediate round of partisan finger-pointing on Capitol Hill. I’m not sure what people were expecting after a year that must have set the record for bitter partisanship battling, but I shudder at this point to think what it would to take place to have both parties agree on…anything