Rich Iott Does Himself No Favors, Sharron Angle Still Nutty, Update From Chile, And Allegations Against Sheriff Joe Arpaio

Hi everybody. A new week is upon us! Do you have election fever yet? Yeah, me neither. I must have fallen in the enthusiasm gap. But some of the candidates keep doing/saying completely ridiculous things, so there's that! God bless America. All aboard the Crazy Train:

• So! There is this Tea Partier, Rich Iott, who is the Republican candidate for Ohio's 9th Congressional District and it seems he has a hobby. See, he's one of those war re-enactors. You know, the guys who live out their boyhood fantasies all under the guise of being history buffs? That alone, not something to get all that judge-y about. But Iott here decided to expand beyond the norm and joined himself a group that involved donning an S.S. uniform. Yes, this was an idea he had! And...now there's a picture on the interwebs of him dressed up like a Nazi. Score.

• Anderson Cooper, who has been carving himself a niche lately as a combater of Crazy (and we love him for it!), tells us all about the recruitment video of Iott's group. Hey guess what it doesn't mention? That whole Holocaust thing! A minor oversight.
  

• Iott apparently thinks he can defend this because he has decided to go toe-to-toe with our anchor. Live. The interview begins with a whole lot of spinning. The candidate tries to claim that re-enactments are about education AND that it's perfectly okay that the website doesn't have the whole story because that's about recruitment. Does not compute. I guess people need to be sucked in with sanitized information before they can really get the full impact of the education.

• Our anchor then tries to get Iott to characterize the men he played as Nazi collaborators, and he hedges: "I don't know if you would call them collaborators. They were volunteers." This leads Anderson to note that, um, these guys left their own countries to join up with the Nazis, so...

• Anderson goes on to note atrocities committed by the very unit that Iott portrayed. Says the candidate: "This particular unit was one that was never charged with war crimes." Well! I guess it's all okay then. Oh. My. God. My favorite part? Our anchor's sleeves may be opinionless, but sometimes his face totally says, "Oh, WTF?"

• Anderson then asks if they were valiant men. Iott: "I think that they thought they were fighting for their homeland." Our anchor: "Well, I'm sure Nazis in the concentration camps thought they were doing a good thing, too. But that doesn't make it so. Do you think these were valiant men?" Oh, snap. Just a reminder, this man is running for Congress. I bet he is very glad he did this interview. Some of it can viewed below, though not, unfortunately the best parts. You're killing me, CNN.

• Anderson: "You know, I say it a lot on this program, but it bears repeating. Who you vote for is between you, your conscience, and the voting machine. We don't take political sides on 360. We really try not to. We don't want to be a liberal newscast or conservative newscast. We just want facts." Actually, I don't think it bears repeating. I think it makes you sound really defensive. But hey, knock yourself out.

• Iott has apparently handed the nuttiness baton to Sharron Angle, who has a warning for these here United States: beware Sharia law. ZOMG y'all, they got Dearborn, Michigan, and Frankford, Texas!
  

• Dearborn's mayor, John O'Reilly, is none too pleased with this accusation and he joins us for some smacking down. He points out that not only does the U.S. not have any Sharia law, there's not even much in the Middle East, which really emphasizes the utter ridiculousness of the situation.
  

• Anderson then shows us a video that is allegedly of four Christian missionaries getting arrested while trying to share their faith. This is supposedly evidence of the scary Sharia law takeover. O'Reilly notes that it wasn't a city-sponsored event and Christians were welcome. I would like to point out that if you switched the Christians with a group of protesters for any progressive cause, I have seen this video about 500 times. Two wrongs don't make a right, obviously (if there's even a wrong here), but c'mon. Welcome to the world of being treated like crap by those in authority! You don't need Sharia law for that.

• The Crazy just keeps coming tonight. Let's see, we haven't covered homophobia yet. Carl Paladino, can you help us out with that? His recent quote below:
  

Young children should not be exposed to [homosexuality] at a young age. They don't understand this. And it's a very difficult thing. And exposing them to homosexuality, especially at a gay pride parade -- and I don't know if you have ever been to one, but they wear these little Speedos and they grind against each other. And it's just a terrible thing.

• So yeah...that was fun. And before he said that he read comments someone else wrote for him (weird) that said he didn't want kids "brainwashed into thinking that homosexuality is an equally valid or successful option." Awesome.
  

• But what would Parker and Spitzer think about this? Yes, it's about that time again. This is when CNN basically says, "hello AC360 viewer. We're very happy you're watching this show. But we would also be happy if you watched our new show. Because, see, we kinda banked much of our primetime ratings on this, and, well, so far it's not going that great. Some of us are getting scared and stressed out. We're not saying we're going to cry if we get one more bad review, but you know. We're really not begging or anything. Hey, remember when we fired Rick Sanchez? You liked that, right? So yeah, um, anyway, if you could just please, please watch. Like seriously, we still have therapy bills from when Lou Dobbs worked here." It's all about reading between the lines, people.

• Anyhoo, for those keeping score at home, the Republican pool for the 2010 election now contains a witchcraft-dabbler, Nazi uniform-wearer, Sharia law-accuser, and, well, a stone-cold homophobe. And people say the GOP doesn't have a big tent...

• On now to Gary Tuchman live from Chile to report on the trapped miners. Hopefully their long (68 days!) and horrible ordeal is just about over. The rescues are scheduled to begin in 24 hours. And you know what that means. The media, oh they have come! In a piece, our correspondent shows us around what is basically a tent city. Prior to the incident, the mine was pretty much it for the area, so people have been making do. They even constructed a little schoolhouse for the children of the miners. Plus? There are clowns. Because you gotta have clowns. It sounds like everyone is pretty excited. C'mon universe, let's have a happy ending.
  

• Isha Sesay is back! I shall resume my girl crush. One of the headlines she reads involves someone throwing a book at Obama...because he wanted him to read it. Ha! Not quite the same as the whole Bush shoe incident, huh? Ah, memories. Says Isha: "Now, I'm no expert in these matters, although you're not going to hear me say that too often, but you got to be a couple sandwiches short of a picnic to throw a book at the president." Indeed.

• Drew Griffin had an investigative piece on Sheriff Joe Arpaio, which you can watch below. Also, check out producer Ismael Estrada's blog post.
  

• Finally, Anderson again talked with Tiffany Hartley.
  

• I'm going to skip the "shot" since it's a picture, but let's do another headline with Isha, shall we? Apparently Snooki (yes, the one and only!) was arrested for drunkenness (no!) and was ordered to do community service. And what community service will she be doing? Signing autographs. Oh, WTF? I can't even. Isha asks Anderson if he knows what GTL stands for. I know! Gym, tan, laundry. Yes, the fact that I know that makes me want to cry sad tears. This is not my fault, people. Our anchor: "GTL, is that something to do with grenades?" And then, "Well, grenades is their term for -- I wouldn't go into it." Having no idea what the the Silver Fox was talking about, I took to the Google (yeah, I'm shame-faced). So now I know. I gotta say, this show just keeps sounding classier and classier.
  

• The broadcast was good. Lots of variety. Even a variety of craziness. That'll do it.
  

Sorting Through The Candidacy Of Christine O'Donnell And Interview With Carl Paladino

Hello! I guess you've gathered I've hit a small blogging malaise this week. It's the punditry, people. Too much. Too much! Anyway. Tonight I also watched a ballgame, so while the bullet points will be awesome as always, they will not be all encompassing. Away we go:

• Move over Sarah Palin, there's a new kinda-crazy right-wing chick in town. Yes, the country--or at least the beltway/media--have themselves Christine O'Donnell fever.
  

• Unfortunately, she doesn't seem too keen on answering any real questions, which as Anderson Cooper notes, is not all that unique these days. In setting up this narrative, he manages to push one of my pet peeve buttons, and oh, he pushes it hard! "But now the advice to candidates is only to talk to sympathetic reporters, either on the left or the right, depending on your politics." Okay Silver Fox, follow me to the next bullet point, because obviously we need to have "the talk." Again.

• Anderson Hays Cooper! (That's right, I looked it up.) What is with you and the false equivalency with no examples? Argh! Look, there are a lot of Congresscritters, and I'm not actually trying to claim that none of the lefties shun the hard questions. But show your work, yo. Jan Brewer, Sharron Angle, Sarah Palin, and now Christine O'Donnell. Good examples for the right. Where are your examples for the left? You can't just throw out balance-y statements because you want to sound middle of the road. You're a better reporter than that. Act like it.

• That radio interview O'Donnell did with Dan Gaffney was kinda amazing.

• Team Gary (poor Team Gary) was on the O'Donnell case for us from Delaware. It's not just giggles over masturbation beliefs, people. Oh no, this woman is going to keep the reporters busy. It seems O'Donnell might be in a little campaign finance trouble, and Gary has the checks that tell the tale. Basically, she charged a bunch of not-campaign stuff to her campaign, including, um, rent. Meanwhile, our intrepid correspondent and team (hi Ish!) have been trying to get the candidate's side of story. Gee, can you guess how that's going? Can ya? Yeah...bupkis.
  

• Interestingly, the Delaware Republican Party is being pretty wish-washy about their O'Donnell support. Actually, they're not even commenting. Feel the love. And if this all wasn't enough for you, there's the odd tidbit that O'Donnell plays like she's George Washington (I cannot tell a lie), but apparently is very much capable of telling lies--and has. For example, being a college graduate? Yeah, not so much. So...there you go!

• This bullet point goes out to my fellow progressives. Hey everybody! Look, I know this whole O'Donnell thing seems like a big frickin' shiny unicorn gift from baby Jesus himself, but um,...let's not screw this up, mmmkay? Yes, she's crazy. I know she's crazy; you know she's crazy. Thing is, the more we call her that, the more the tea party people are going to get riled up to vote for her. And if we fill Congress with right-wing fringe, I'm moving to Canada. Don't make me move to Canada, people. I don't do well with cold. (I like your health care tho!)
  

• Panel time! Roland Martin, Ari Fleischer, David Gergen. Gary, come back! Don't leave me with these people!

• Fleischer: "I think there's also a strong sense at the conservative base of the party that when these things happen to conservatives, particularly women candidates, Sarah Palin and now Christine O'Donnell, there is a piling-on factor that doesn't similarly happen when there are candidates on the other side of the aisle." Oh, I am playing my tiny violin for them. Please. At this point, I wanted our anchor to be like, "excuse me? I've been covering the hell out of Eddie Bernice Johnson, thank you very much," but alas, he said nothing.
  

• Bring us home, Gerg! "You know, [Ari] talks about flaws. These are not flaws. These are fundamental issues. This is a candidate who has had trouble with money, trouble with jobs, trouble with the truth. And those are pretty fundamental to any candidacy."
  

• Anderson on Ari bringing up Chris Coons' college paper: "But, Ari, is something one wrote in college -- I mean, if we're all held to that standard, I can't even remember what I wrote in college, but I certainly didn't describe myself as a Marxist or anything..." Wait, you weren't born with opinionless sleeves?

• Our anchor: "It seems to me every year, or every few years, we learn this lesson in TV land, that pundits --no offense to you guys -- don't get it right." Um, duh? I for one don't need to learn the lesson over and over. I got it the first time, thanks. Why we continue to be subjected to these panels (besides them being cheap and easy time-fillers), I do not know. Anderson's always saying he doesn't think people want to hear the opinions of a blow-dried anchor. Why in the world would he think we do want to hear them from blow-dried pundits? Oh, they have expertise? Well, if someone can explain to me just what knowledge I'm supposed to be gaining from Erick Erickson, you win the prize.
  

• Anderson had an interview with New York gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino who is making headlines for, among other things, sending out a campaign mailer that smells like garbage. Because if there's one thing I like more than getting crap in the mail I never wanted, it's getting crap that literally smells.
  

• The interview itself was just...wow. Another crazy. It feels like they're breeding like gnats. Anderson did some nice pressing in regards to the offensive emails.
  

• Anderson: "I appreciate your time. I'd like to go over a lot more issues. I hope to have you on the program again. I appreciate you coming on. Early in the program we talked about, you know, many politicians these days not wanting to come on programs where they feel they may be challenged. I appreciate you coming on and answering questions and we'd love to have you on again." Ha. He's so never coming back. Interview below:

• That'll about do it for me. I'm happy to see Isha Sesay is still with us most nights. I loved her " this is what happens when I let you out of my sight," in reference to the Silver Fox becoming a human domino. You gotta keep him out of trouble for us, Isha! It's a big job.
  

• The show was okay. Yeah, you know which part I didn't like (panel!). There's no point, and it makes the broadcast feel too overdone with politics. Let's keep it fact-y!

• Bonus bullet point! Check out part one of Australia TV's awesome Michael Ware special.