In case you missed it, Arizona Senate candidate Richard Carmona recently let slip that the male moderator of one of his recent debates was "prettier" than CNN anchor and presidential debate moderator Candy Crowley.
For what seems like the second time in the last thirteen days, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney will stride on stage tonight and pretend, for a few moments, to not be sickened by one another's presence. Can Obama "recover" from his "poor performance" in the last debate? Can Romney convince "swing voters" that he is "more than a Mormon robot?" The estimable Mobutu Sese Seko and I will be live blogging this debate in order to, uh, help answer these questions, and to perform other vital unspecified pundit services.
• An estimated 25 million people tuned into last night's broadcast of the Grammy Awards on CBS, earning it its highest ratings in six years. [AP]
• Disney is looking to sell off the Miramax name and its library of 700 movies, and seven to 10 parties have reportedly expressed interest. [NYT, NYP]
• Nate Berkus's new TV show will hit WNBC beginning this fall. [THR, NYP]
• Kelly Cutrone's reality show, Kell on Earth, debuts on Bravo tonight. [LAT]
• Candy Crowley is the new anchor of CNN's State of the Union. [NYT]
• Amazon.com is backing down in its fight over e-book prices. [Reuters]
• Avatar was No. 1 at the box office for a seventh weekend in a row. The movie has now grossed more than $2 billion around the world. [NYT]
• It's official: Will Ferrell is the most overpaid man in show business. [THR]
• Layoffs: BusinessWeek's cuts kicked off today; layoffs now loom at Time Inc. as the company awaits word on how many volunteers will accept buyout packages; and there's a bit more detail on this week's cuts at the AP.
• MSNBC's Joe Scarborough isn't exactly on fire at the moment. [NYO]
• Palinitis: The ex-governor's sit-down with Oprah on Monday generated the talk show queen her highest ratings in two years; Fox News clowns Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity are now at war over their respective Palin interviews; and people are still talking about that Palin Newsweek cover, for some reason.
• Vivendi has tossed a last-minute complication into the NBC deal. [NYT]
• Times reporter Jodi Kantor has landed a seven-figure book deal. [NYO]
• Breaking! The Emmys are moving from September to August. [THR]
• CNN's Candy Crowley is speaking out about her weight loss. At last! [LAT]
Author/humorist David Sedaris turns 52 today. Jared Leto is 37. CNN's Candy Crowley is 60. AOL chief Randy Falco is 55. Senator Evan Bayh is 53. America's Most Wanted's John Walsh is 63. Chris Daughtry is 29. And record producer (and possible murderer) Phil Spector celebrates his 68th today. Weekend birthdays after the jump.
TV journalists have been squabbling on camera and hilariously for years, and CNN reporter Candy Crowley reminds us that the practice continues to this day. Though she doesn't actually trade words with fellow CNN correspondent Chris Welch, she follows his report by telling the camera, "Don't you believe a word of that," followed by a brief description (slightly truncated in the clip) of how fun it is to be a political reporter. What sorts of lies was Welch spreading? He was showing reporters bitching on the presidential campaign trail about having to wait in line for hotel room keys, about not getting frequent guest points in hotels, about the lack of power outlets, about the food — about everything, really. In other words, the journalists are whiny and self-absorbed. Crowley spots this for the obvious slander that it is:
