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Proof the WaPo’s Twit Policy Has Restored Its Credibility

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On September 30, several days after news of the WaPo’s new Twitter policy came out, Howie Kurtz tweeted one of his last meta-tweets on the policy, calling for "discretion."

WP has no plans to monitor tweets as far as I know, so there’s no czar in charge. Grownups should just exercise a bit of discretion…

Three tweets later, Howie set off on an obsession the likes of which we haven’t seen since 1998.

Extortion aside, got to be embarrassing for Letterman to admit to sexual affairs with more than one member of his staff.

Three minutes later, Howie revealed that if a story is about infidelity, it must be about Bill Clinton.

How long before TV recycles Letterman’s jokes about Clinton and every other politician who’s had an affair? At least he went to the cops.

But don’t put it beyond Howie to meta-tweet about Letterman.

Weird: I tweeted, Anderson Cooper’s person saw it, seconds later I’m phoning in to CNN on the Letterman affair(s). Talk about Twitter power

Howie reflected an entire minute, then tweeted,

Good thing Obama went on Letterman before this came out. Would have been awwwk-ward.

Howie boasts that his new obsession is more important than the Olympics (or, though he seems blissfully unaware of it, burgeoning negotiations with Iran).

What Olympics? Just did GMA on the Letterman case. It was the lead story. Sex, lies, extortion: Nuthin’ but viewers.

The day the NYT publishes a blockbuster story showing that John Ensign was pushing legislation to keep his cuckold quiet, Howie still thinks Letterman’s scandal is more scandalous.

Prosecutors say CBS producer Joe Halderman cashed the $2-M check in the Letterman extortion plot. That doesn’t look good.

Later that day, Howie’s still apparently unaware that a Senator faces a far more serious sex scandal than Letterman. 

Just finished Letterman stories. Anything else going on in the world? How’d that Olympics thing turn out?

Howie, yucks it up!

Leno tweaks Dave: "If you came here to have sex with a talk show host, you’ve got the wrong studio." Hi-yo!

If the WaPo’s editors were unaware of Howie’s dangerous new obsession, they became aware of it on the 3rd, two days after the obsession first began.

My column on the fallout from Letterman’s Stupid Human Tricks http://tinyurl.com/ye6dg2c

And by "obsession," I do mean "obsession."

My column on the David Letterman fiasco and whether his "creepy" behavior will hurt him with his audience. http://bit.ly/1r9sDP Read more →

Did McCain Blow Off Letterman to Pre-Empt Sarah and Katie?

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Help me with the timing on this.

Sometime–either earlier today or earlier this week–Sarah Palin sat down and taped an interview with Katie Couric. The first part of that interview airs this evening.

Then instead of showing up for a scheduled interview with David Letterman, and at a time when he said he had to run back to DC for emergency work to save the American economy, McCain did an interview with Katie Couric. In other words, after the McPalin campaign assessed how the Palin-Couric interview went, they put together a last minute interview between McCain and Couric.

As of this moment, CBS News has, as its lead story, McCain’s debate cancellation stunt. Not Sarah Palin’s second interview with a straight reporter. McCain has effectively pre-empted the interview with his running-mate. 

I get the feeling that Palin-Couric interview went even worse than the Charlie Gibson one.

And perhaps not coincidentally, McCain is now trying to postpone the VP debate.