Okay, here we go: In re Harry Reid's negro problem, let's all take a deep breath and give it the kind of Pollyannish spin that we're going to need to make it through what is sure to be another difficult year. Is it a little galling to see the rush of Republicans lining up to demand Reid's ouster by comparing his remarks to Trent Lott's "Gee, it woulda been swell if we kept the drinking fountains separate like ol' Strom wanted" statement from 2002, particularly when you consider that the two remarks are diametrically opposed to each other in import and intent? (Gwen Ifill dispenses with this comparison fairly effectively in the clip above. Also note how VERY CLEAR Matt Lauer wants to make it that he is ONLY QUOTING when he says the word "negro.") READ MORE

Today's Matt Lauer, interviewing that LESBIAN Meredith Baxter, known to old people as Mrs. Keaton on Family Ties, this morning: "So this first relationship you had with another woman. Did it create one of those B-movie moments when you go home and you go into the bathroom and you look in the mirror and you go, 'I'm gay!' And then you repeat it six or seven times? Or was it a more subtle-" End verbatim transcript. So. How many questions do you have about this question? For starters, what B-movie is this, and on what cable channel may I watch it immediately, please? And what personal experience of his own does this draw upon? What does Matt Lauer say to his bathroom's mirror? Is it all about Katie Couric still? And, and, and what?

Regarding the rise of publicist culture, and the death of reporting jobs, comes the news this morning that some time ago the Vanity Fair Proust Questionnaire became no longer administered by an actual live person on the phone or in person-but is instead delivered in print form to a celebrity's representative. Most likely via the tawdry communication form called "email." This news was revealed in an equally hard-hitting interview of Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter by Matt Lauer this morning, on the occasion of the arrival of a collection of the Questionnaires in book form.

Earlier in the week, Variety delivered a largely negative review for the new Will Ferrell movie Land of the Lost. ("It's never a good sign when 'Today' host Matt Lauer... delivers the least irritating performance in a movie.") The film opens today. What's the critical consensus? READ MORE