As a Reporter, Joe the Plumber's a Good Plumber

Simpson trial established mold for overblown stories

(NEWSER) - The media’s collective freakout over Shirley Sherrod was just the latest rerun of its freakout over the OJ Simpson trial, “a grotesque Groundhog Day set of conditions that occur all too often,” writes Mark Halperin of Time . Both were brimming with the kind of disputed facts, compelling characters, and hot-button issues that the new media—cable TV, talk radio, and the Internet—thrive on. Both allowed endless speculation and angles, and could cheaply fill virtually any news hole. More»

David Weigel steps down after leak of off-the-record remarks

(NEWSER) - Washington Post blogger David Weigel resigned today after some too-candid off-the-record comments he made about conservatives showed up on the FishbowlDC blog, reports Politico . He had issued an apology to readers earlier. It all began when Weigel, frustrated with the hate mail he was getting after an unflattering link posted on the Drudge Report, unloaded on “JournoList,” a supposedly private listserv for journalists. More»

Wurzelbacher says the candidate used him during campaign

(NEWSER) - Don't expect to see Joe the Plumber on the campaign trail for John McCain anytime soon. "I don't owe him shit," Joe Wurzelbacher told an audience in Pennsylvania this week. "He really screwed my life up, is how I look at it." Wurzelbacher said the McCain camp used him as a "ploy" because he "happened to be the face of middle Americans." He also no longer supports Sarah Palin—because she's going to campaign for McCain. More»

Stimulus, President O-bow-ma get top billing

(NEWSER) - As we await tomorrow’s feast, conservative pundit Michelle Malkin gives us something to gnaw on, running down the year’s top turkeys:

• The stimulus: The “Generational Theft Act” isn’t even a turkey, but a “Turbaconducken—the heart attack-inducing dish of roasted chicken stuffed inside a duck stuffed inside a turkey, all wrapped in endless slabs of bacon.”

Demands title from Olbermann over sweet-talking email to Mark Sanford

(NEWSER) - Stephen Colbert is a glutton for punishment. Keith Olbermann dished some out to conservative media outlets Tuesday, spanking them for plying Gov. Mark Sanford with email offers of friendly treatment, and awarding them “Worst People in the World” honors. But he omitted Colbert, despite Colbert’s email offering Sanford “a friendly place to make light of what I think is a small story that got blown out of scale.” Colbert, in turn, demanded Olbermann give him full credit. More»