Tweedy liberals are gonna be groaning over the appointment of conservative Sam Tanenhaus to editor of The New York Times’ Week In Review. In an internal memo, posted in full after the jump, you can see how The Grey Lady in no way takes it’s too seriously. Frank Rich suicide watch at Sardi’s!

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Last week Rev. Al Sharpton said he likes fried chicken , but has yet endorsed Barack Obama. Jesse Jackson has endorsed Barack Obama, but also runs around supporting John Edwards. It’s a mad, bad and dangerous world of civil rights endorsements. But who needs Al and Jesse when you’ve got Oprah, who is poised to take over the Democratic Party? MORE »

News stories are held and spiked for lots of reasons. But all sorts of red flags should go up when the delay–say, um, three years–is coming from the White House. Shame on The New York Times. Politico explains. At White House Behest, NYT Sat On Scoop [Politico]

Whatever you may or may not think about The New York Times‘ Deborah Solomon and her Q&A magazine column, she certainly tries to pin down her subject. In last weekend’s column, she cornered former Disney honcho Michael Eisner and briefly drilled him on politics. The result? Eisner comes off looking like an ass-kissing, dodgy asshat. Or, in other words: mission accomplished! The exchange, after the jump. MORE »

Ah, the brain… sometimes it works, other times not so much. But it always reacts. And we think that’s pretty cool. The New York Times thinks it’s pretty cool, too, and conducted an MRI study comparing brain activity reacting to party affiliation (men’s brains reacted to Democrat or Republican, but not Independent), Hillary Clinton (photos triggered feelings of conflicting impulses), Mitt Romney (anxiety!), Fred Thompson (empathy), and John Edwards (disgust, negative emotions). Strangely, swing voters had little activity in the areas of thought or feelings on McCain or Obama. You just can’t argue with science! After the jump, key findings from the study. MORE »

* Jon Stewart has no illusions — if he were any funnier, he’d be dead. [The Apiary] MORE »

* G to the W-B, President number 4-3, keepin’ it real up here in DC. [Atom Films] MORE »

* Our good friends at CEI have a new video calling out “Ramblin’ Man” Al Gore for his massive use of petrochemicals. Drudge, of course, eats it up. [CEI; Drudge Report] MORE »

• Names & Faces: Laura says her daughters are not interested in political careers but “that would be great” if they were. [WP]
• Page Six: Judith Miller’s severance package rumored to be in the seven figures. [NYP]
• Cindy Adams: Governor-elect Jon Corzine (D-N.J.) may appoint “Wall Street buddy” Orin Kramer to take his senate seat. [NYP]

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• Reliable Source: “Blond beauty queen-businesswoman” Marsha Ralls and D.C. Council member Jack Evans say they are just close friends, despite rumors of something more. . . Dennis Kucinich lunches with Sean Penn. . . Bono lunches with Nancy Pelosi and other top Democrats. [WP]
• Inside Politics: Media Research Center study finds network news was “overwhelmingly negative in their portrayal of the Iraq war.” [WT]
• Rush & Molloy: Judith Miller reportedly screamed at Bill Keller to soften the Times‘ Sunday critique of her work. . . Sandy Berger, Ron Klain join ABC’s “Commander in Chief” as advisors. [NYDN]
• Page Six: Reporters in Albany joke that the Pirro campaign is “really a pilot for a Fox sitcom.” [NYP]