1.) Stephanopoulos comes up short — For some reason, George Stephanopoulos was a moderator at Saturday night’s GOP debate in New Hampshire. Did his ideology dwarf his responsibilities as a moderator? TheDC’s Matthew Boyle reports:
“ABC News commentator George Stephanopoulos directed pointed, hard-edged questions to Republican presidential candidates during Saturday night’s New Hampshire debate, often attacking without providing evidence to justify his broadsides. When questioning former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Stephanopoulos, a former senior advisor in the administration of Democratic President Bill Clinton, premised some inquiries on the assertion — offered without supporting facts — that Romney’s job-creation statistics were inaccurate. ‘Now, there have been questions about that calculation of 100,000 jobs. So if you could explain it a little more,’ Stephanopoulos asked Romney of the former governor’s claims about jobs created by companies he has helmed. ‘I’ve read some analysts who look at it and say that you’re counting the jobs that were created but not counting the jobs that were taken away. Is that accurate?’ ‘No, it’s not accurate,’ Romney bluntly responded. ‘It includes the net of both. I’m a good enough numbers guy to make sure I got both sides of that.’ Stephanopoulos did not cite any analysts by name. In another line of questioning, Stephanopoulos asked Romney if he believes ‘that states have the right to ban contraception, or is that trumped by a constitutional right to privacy?’ Romney responded by questioning Stephanopoulos’ logic and his choice to raise a hypothetical situation that would never happen.”
Stephanopoulos is worried about condoms being banned because he uses one as a raincoat. Literally. His persistence on the issue caused the audience to boo him, which must’ve made him feel pretty small.
Why don’t they let David Axelrod or Valerie Jarrett moderate one of these Republican debates? Or maybe Obama himself could take a turn? Eliminate the middleman.
2.) It’s time for a debate on how many more debates we have to sit through — There was yet another debate the very next morning, but only because they couldn’t manage to schedule a debate during Saturday night’s debate. And since lil’ Georgie wasn’t there to attack Romney, the candidates themselves had to pick up the slack. TheDC’s Jamie Weinstein reports:
“Mitt Romney was in the crosshairs from the get-go during Sunday morning’s NBC News — Facebook GOP primary debate in New Hampshire. Attacked much more regularly and with far more venom than during Saturday night’s ABC News – Yahoo News! debate, the former Massachusetts governor and front-runner was hit from all sides, and by nearly all his nomination rivals, especially at the beginning of the 90-minute contest… During the debate, Suffolk University/7-News released their latest New Hampshire tracking poll showing Romney slipping to 35 percent, though still maintaining a commanding lead over second place Paul at 20 percent. Gingrich, Huntsman and Santorum are all within the margin of error of each other and currently vying for third.”
Just 302 more days of this, folks.
3.) Christie vs. Occupiers — New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is a hungry guy, but this weekend in New Hampshire, he met some people who were starving… for attention. TheDC’s Will Rahn reports:
“At a Sunday evening campaign rally for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie clashed with ‘Occupy’ protesters and called President Obama ‘the most pessimistic man I’ve ever seen.’ Christie, whose presence drew thousands to a local high school, said Obama was intentionally looking to exploit Americans’ anxiety and frustration with their government in ‘the most cynical re-election strategy you could ever think of.’ ‘He doesn’t care that you’re angry,’ he said. ‘He just wants you to be angry at somebody else.’ When a group of Occupy Wall Street protesters tried to shout him down, Christie, who is well known for confronting his critics at town hall meetings, was happy to play along. ‘Christie kills jobs,’ the protesters chanted. ‘Oh really?’ Christie shouted, much to the crowd’s delight. ‘Something’s going down tonight, but it’s not going to be jobs, sweetheart.'”
Well, they can’t all be gems. Look on the bright side: every minute the Occupiers spend yelling at Republicans they don’t like is a minute they’re not murdering or raping or destroying property or pooping on cop cars.
4.) Tony Blankley, R.I.P. — TheDC’s David Martosko reports:
“Tony Blankley, the former longtime Newt Gingrich press secretary who later went on serve as the Washington Times’ editorial page editor, succumbed to stomach cancer on Saturday. He was 63. Prior to coming to Washington, D.C., Blankley spent 10 years as a California prosecutor. He also served President Ronald Reagan as a speechwriter and policy analyst. Frank Duggan is a lawyer and law enforcement expert who serves as president of Victims of Pan Am Flight 103. On Sunday he shared this remembrance of his friend Tony with The Daily Caller.”
You can find Duggan’s remembrance at the link. Rest in peace, Mr. Blankley.
5.) Beyoncé is the only woman in the world, apparently — She had her baby this weekend, and since she’s the first person in the history of the universe to ever give birth, she was treated accordingly. NYDN:
“Hip-hop parents Beyoncé and Jay-Z were in lullaby land with their baby girl Blue Ivy Carter Sunday, but one new dad was fuming over the velvet rope in the maternity ward that kept him away from his twins. Neil Coulon, 38, of Brooklyn said the stress of his wife delivering two premature girls was tripled by Beyoncé’s bodyguards treating Lenox Hill Hospital like an exclusive nightclub. Coulon griped that he’s been repeatedly barred from the sixth-floor neonatal intensive care unit, once for 20 minutes, by the superstar couple’s private security. He said bodyguards wearing headsets even cleared the sixth floor waiting room, booting his relatives out… ‘They should have been more strategic about it,’ he said. ‘These are children with problems in intensive care and you’re just going to take over the hospital like you own it? All I want is an apology.'”
How many top 10 hits do you have, Neil Coulon? How many MTV Video Music Awards have you won? Huh? Didn’t think so. Try to show a little gratitude for being allowed to inhabit the same planet as Beyoncé and Jay-Z, you peasant.
6.) Today’s words of wisdom from Alec Baldwin, who just made his inevitable-but-nonetheless-triumphant return to Twitter — “I only came back on Twitter bc I miss @edbegleyjr and @GarryShandling”
VIDEO: PETA, anti-Romney protesters interrupt campaign event
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