The Interwebs: CNN.Com's Tabloidy Headlines of The Day -- Playing Doctor, Shooting Sister

Today's best scurrilous, sleazy headlines brought to you by CNN.com, your source for exploitation.

The Interwebs: Todays CNN.com Tabloidy Headlines -- Teachers and Cops Go Wild, Quadriplegec Face-Plant

From CNN.com, your source for exploitative nonsense.

The Interwebs: CNN.Com's Tabloidy Headlines of The Day -- "Skip blush -- or die", diamonds for Mardi Gras, budget blowing sadness, and more!

The Interwebs: CNN.Com Tabloidy Headlines of The Day

Starting today I will be posting the day's best screen grab of sensationalist/dumb/exploitative/wtf? headlines from CNN.Com . The idea for this originated with Gawker, via Slate. Here's Gawker's hilarious rundown of endless bad CNN.Com headers. Their inspiration was a piece on Slate.com by Jack Shafer.

The point is that CNN.Com is so tabloidy it makes the New York Post look like The Economist. Or something. The network itself is not far behind.

Politics: Guest Star-Studded Debate Turns Into The Love Vote

"...love, exciting and new..."

Let the WGA strike the Oscar's this year. We already got all the cutaway shots we need at last night's debate between Democratic Presidential contenders Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. CNN must have shown Rob Reiner five times -- so sorry about Bucket List getting snubbed by the Academy, Meathead! There was a loving shot of Remington Steele...er James Bond, and my personal fave was very fetching America Ferrara wearing the very latest in Hillary buttons.

The debate you ask? The candidates mostly stayed away from the rough stuff and at times looked so lovey dovey that I wanted to suggest they get a room. When it came down to the nitty-gritty, Hill was still stronger on substance with a very assured and detailed explanation of her health plan versus Obama's. He may have been less surefooted when it came to the policy wonkery but he brought the charm and most importantly the vision.

They both got their hits in on the immigrants being allowed to get driver's licenses issue (a red herring as its a state matter anyhow). Obama referenced Hillary's shaky answer on this initially and she was good enough to remind him gently but forcefully of his own problems with this topic earlier in the year. He sheepishly nodded his head. It was like watching an old married couple.

This was the kind of healing exchange of ideas the party needed at this juncture. Obama eloquently reached out to Edwards supporters, as did Hillary, and everyone seemed to leave the event with a warm glow -- except perhaps for Wolf Blitzer who was roundly booed for trying to bait Obama into an attack. Here's a clip -- check out 4:54 forward for the line of the night, delivered by Clinton, oh and Annie Hall:

Politics: Colbert In -- Brownback Out?

Colbert: Number one candidate for truthiness..

CNN is reporting that Republican Senator Sam Brownback is preparing to throw in the towel on his bid for the presidency. Could faux-conservative firebrand Stephen Colbert's entry in both the Republican and Democratic primaries in South Carolina been the final push over the edge for Brownback? Nah, but it makes for a good headline. CNN also explores whether Colbert can get on the respective party ballots in the palmetto state. Money is unlikely to be the problem but the rules for the Dems calls for a committee to approve candidates -- a committee unlikely to give the master book hawker their seal of approval.

Books: S.E. Hinton Stays Gold

S.E. Hinton in the early 70's

CNN.Com has a nice piece on iconic author S.E. Hinton who wrote The Outsiders, Rumble Fish, Tex, and That Was Then, This is Now. Hinton famously wrote The Outsiders when she was 17, and kept her name genderless to mask the fact that her heavily boy-centered young adult fiction was written by a girl. Her books are like Shangri-La's songs come to life, all cool greaser boys versus stuck-up Soc boys. Several movies have been made of her books, and Francis Ford Coppola's The Outsiders and Tex helped launch Matt Dillon's career. The Outsiders (the book) celebrates it's 40th anniversary in print with a special edition. Read the article here.

Politics: O'Reilly -- Blacks Eat Just Like The Rest of Us!

Bill O'Reilly: Shocked at absence of M.F.er, B----, C.S.er, etc...

CNN reports that regular guy and Fox News talking head Bill O'Reilly was surprised to find patrons of Sylvia's in Harlem (where the fried chicken is fantastic -- I've had it) didn't carry on and say "M.F. er". Of course until I saw the story on CNN I'd never heard anyone say "M.F.er". Either way, O'Reilly seems to feel that this astonishing bit of news actually stems from his enlightenment as a human being and not from his utter stupidity. Dan Froomkin at The Washington Post draws the connection between O'Reilly's boneheaded comments and his pal Juan Williams. Williams was asked, by special request of The White House, to interview the President about race. His employer NPR declined as they have been attempting to have a reporter of their choosing, preferably an anchor, interview Bush (Williams already has). The goodhearted folks at Fox made sure that Williams and the Pres got their sit-down. For a baseball guy the President sure enjoys softballs, and that's all Williams was pitching.