2012 elections

Pawlenty: I Should Have Been Tougher On Romney -- Who Is Obama's 'Co-Conspirator' (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | June 17, 2011, 9:27AM

Tim Pawlenty is showing that he can take on Mitt Romney on health care and the individual mandate -- in venues where Romney is not standing in front of him.

Pawlenty was widely criticized for a key moment at Monday night's GOP debate, when he refused to repeat his "Obamneycare" attack from a day earlier to Mitt Romney's face. But then on Thursday, Pawlenty decided to take another bite at the apple, posting this on Twitter: "On seizing debate opportunity re: healthcare: Me 0, Mitt 1. On doing healthcare reform the right way as governor: Me 1, Mitt 0."

Then Thursday night, he appeared on Fox News with Sean Hannity, and said it bluntly: He should have taken on Romney at the debate.

"Well, I think in response to that direct question, I should have been much more clear during the debate, Sean," said Pawlenty. "I don't think we can have a nominee that was involved in the development and construction of Obamacare, and then continues to defend it. And that was the question, I should have answered it directly. Instead, I stayed focused on Obama, but the question really related to the contrast with Governor Romney. And I should have been more clear, I should have made the point that he was involved in developing it -- he really laid the ground work for Obamacare, and continues to this day to defend it. And I think that's a legitimate point in response to the question that I was asked, and I should have been more clear."

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2012 elections

Gingrich On Staff Resignations: 'I Frankly Feel Liberated' (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | June 15, 2011, 10:43AM

Newt Gingrich

Appearing Tuesday night on Sean Hannity's TV show, Newt Gingrich brushed off the recent mass resignation of many of his top staffers. In response, Gingrich said that this occurred because his vision of an inclusive, grassroots campaign was too different from the traditional Republican model -- and that he feels "liberated" now.

"Look, I think that was the key to it, Sean: My vision -- the one that I learned with Goldwater in '64, learned with Reagan in '76 and '80, that you saw in '93, '94, with the Contract with America. My vision is of a people-oriented grassroots campaign where Newt.org becomes the center of new solutions, new ideas, new energy -- a campaign that's inclusive, that brings together everybody in America, of every ethnic background, who wants to change Washington.

"And I think that that was so different from the normal Republican model, that there just wasn't a fit. I frankly feel liberated.

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Pres '12

Cain: 'I Didn't Understand The Right Of Return' (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | May 24, 2011, 10:39AM

Presidential candidate Herman Cain (R)

Businessman and presidential candidate Herman Cain appeared on Sean Hannity's TV show Tuesday night, to do some clean-up duty after he seemed to accidentally acknowledge a potential right of return to Israel for Palestinian refugees, who fled or were expelled from their homes during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, or for their descendants. As Cain now admits, he simply did not know what the question was referring to -- and he added, he has now learned that they were not expelled at all.

"A lot of people think you didn't understand the right of return," said Hannity.

"They are exactly right, Sean. Chris [Wallace] caught me off guard. I didn't understand the right of return," said Cain. "That came out of left field. And of all the questions that I anticipated him asking me, I didn't even conceive of him asking me about the right of return. I now know what that is.

"The thing that you're gonna learn about Herman Cain, if he doesn't know something, he's not going to try and fake it, or give an answer that he doesn't know what he's talking about."

Funny thing, though: When Cain on Sunday had paused awkwardly during the questioning from Wallace, and then said that a right of return was "something that should be negotiated," was that not trying to fake it and give an answer about something where he didn't know what he was talking about?

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Pres '12

Gingrich: Either I Would Run For President 'Or I'd Be A Fraud' (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | May 12, 2011, 11:29AM

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) appeared on Sean Hannity's TV show Wednesday night to talk about his newly-launched campaign for president. And when asked how he arrived at the decision, Gingrich came to the conclusion that all his credibility as a citizen was riding on it.

"And so you face a choice in your life, and Callista and I really had to sort of sit down and look at citizenship," said Gingrich, as part of his answer about the issues facing the country. "You know, are you prepared to do what it takes to offer to your fellow citizens a vision of a better, healthier, safer, more prosperous America? And are you prepared to spend a year and a half of your life seeking that office?

"And we reached a crossroads of saying, either I really believe the things I've said my whole life, or I'd be a fraud. All my life, I've preached citizenship. I've preached the duty to go do things."

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Pres '12

Gingrich: 'The President Has This Fixation With The Final Four' (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | March 18, 2011, 11:34AM

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA), who is exploring a run for president, joined Sean Hannity on TV Thursday night to join the line of Republicans blasting President Obama for his appearance filling out an NCAA bracket on ESPN, saying that Obama has a "fixation" with sports over the issues facing the world right now.

Hannity referred to Obama's upcoming trip to Brazil -- to meet the country's new president -- as "another vacation to Rio," attacked Obama for playing golf, and of course, for filling out a bracket, rather than dealing with the crisis in Japan.

Gingrich also accused Obama of insufficiently addressing the crises in Libya, Bahrain, Yemen, Egypt, Tunisia and Israel, in addition to Japan. "Yes, the administration has just sort of checked out. You know, the president has this fixation with the Final Four -- spent time on ESPN giving us his version of what really mattered to him, which was the Final Four," said Gingrich.

"I like basketball -- I think the president knows more about it than I do. He may well be right about Kansas. Although I must say, I have a personal affection for Duke. One of my best friends from high school, went to school, and where they have a great coach. I kind of have a soft spot in my heart for Duke winning. But Kansas is a great school. So, maybe the president is right. But what's strange is, with all of these crises, how could you focus that kind of time and attention as president of the United States -- not as a private citizen, not as a spectator, not as a hobby?"

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Wisconsin

Palin Says Rhetoric From Wisconsin 'Union Bosses' Will Get People Hurt (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | March 11, 2011, 11:24AM

During an appearance Thursday night on Sean Hannity's TV show, Sarah Palin had a warning about the protests going on against the bill just signed by Gov. Scott Walker's (R-WI) to curtail public employee unions -- saying that unions should "tone down the rhetoric" against the bill, because it will result in people getting hurt.

Hannity and Palin discussed the death threat delivered to the Republican state Senators, which the state is currently investigating. Hannity said: And as soon as cuts start being made, we see there the violent rhetoric, the threats, this reaction. Do you think we're gonna see a lot of more of this? In other words, is this the beginning of things to come?"

"Well, these union bosses that are acting like thugs, as they are leading some of their good union members down a road that will ultimately result in, unfortunately, somebody getting hurt," Palin said, "if you believe the death threats that are being received by those who just happen to support amending some collective bargaining privileges of state unions. Well, it is these unions bosses' responsibility to turn down the rhetoric and start getting truth out there, so that nobody gets hurt."

This is, of course, the same Palin who just two months ago responded to controversies over the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), and accusations that heated political rhetoric from herself and others may have contributed to it, as "blood libel."

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Pres '12

Palin: I Won't Call Santorum A 'Knuckle-Dragging Neanderathal' -- His Wife Can Do That (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | February 10, 2011, 11:48AM

Former Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK)

Sarah Palin appeared last night on Sean Hannity's TV show, where she was asked about Rick Santorum's comments that she was not going to CPAC for the reasons of financial opportunities and the responsibilities of motherhood. And while she almost let the whole thing go, she didn't hold back from tweaking her potential rival for the Republican presidential nomination.

Earlier this week, Santorum speculated about the reasons for Palin's absence from CPAC. "I have a feeling she has some demands on her time, and a lot of them have financial benefit attached to them," he said. "So I'm sure that she's doing what's best for her and her family."

What's more, he added, that unlike himself, she lives all the way in Alaska -- and is "the mother to all these kids." As Mediaite and others have pointed out, the strong social conservative Santorum is a father of seven children, two more than Palin's five.

Hannity reviewed part of Santorum's comments -- at first omitting the section about Palin being the mother of all those children.

"Okay, that's the first that I have actually heard what he had to say. And yeah, I think the reports were much worse than what he really said," said Palin. "I think some things maybe were maybe taken out of context. So I will not call him the knuckle-dragging Neanderthal that perhaps others would want to call him -- I'll let his wife call him that instead.

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Guantanamo Bay

Rumsfeld: 'Heartbreaking Thing' That We Couldn't Persuade People Gitmo Was 'First Class' (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | February 9, 2011, 3:27PM

Donald Rumsfeld

During his interview last night on Sean Hannity's TV show, former Secretary of Defense Don Rumsfeld bemoaned the sad fact about the prison camp at Guantanamo -- namely, according to Rumsfeld, that the Bush administration was unable to convince people of just how great it is!

"It is an exceedingly well-run prison. And the folks down there have done, and are doing, an excellent job," said Rumsfeld. "The heartbreaking thing with respect to Guantanamo is not that there's anything wrong with that -- it's one of the finest prison systems in the world. What is awkward is the fact that, for whatever reason, the administration was incapable of persuading people that that was a first class operation, that they were not torturing people, they were not hurting people.

"And it was then, and it is today, a fine operation, and the men and women who operate it for the United States military deserve a lot of credit. And they've taken a lot of heat, unfairly."

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The Daily Show

Jon Stewart Dismantles Hannity's Palin Interview (VIDEO)

David Taintor | January 19, 2011, 11:08AM

Jon Stewart

Jon Stewart last night said Sean Hannity played "nurse" to Sarah Palin during their interview Monday night, and was eager to upgrade her victim status from "innocent bullied teenager to Joan of Arc."

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2012

Palin Sitting Down With Hannity For First Interview Since Arizona Shooting

Jon Terbush | January 14, 2011, 8:49AM

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin

Sarah Palin will sit down Monday with fellow Fox pundit and notorious softball lobber Sean Hannity, according to the New York Times, for her first interview since wading into the debate over the Tucson shooting.

Palin's decision to do her first post-Tucson interview on Fox News isn't too surprising given that she's a paid Fox contributor who's often expressed disdain for the so-called 'lamestream media.' But Hannity's show in particular should provide her with a very friendly setting to speak her mind without getting grilled.

In the past, Hannity's show has given Republicans a safe venue to sit in the spotlight while avoiding tough questions others in the media were dying to ask. Sharron Angle, Rand Paul, and Christine O'Donnell took to his show after they face planted out of the starting gate in the midterm elections. And Palin herself has been down this road before, having gone on Hannity's program in 2008 after her much maligned performances in interviews with Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric.

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Fox News

How Glenn Beck And Fox News Successfully Painted AZ Shooter As Hitler, Marx Devotee

Brian Beutler | January 11, 2011, 10:45AM

Conservative commentator Glenn Beck

Within hours of the shooting spree in Arizona, conservative blogs lit up with the news that the suspect, Jared Loughner, was an aficionado of Mein Kampf and the Communist Manifesto. A Hitler/Marx devotee, the logic went, is someone too idiosyncratic or crazy to be part of any mainstream political movement. Some went further, and cited the information as proof that Loughner was the sort of big-government liberal they had nightmares about.

As with so many of these fast-propagating conservative memes, this one got its start on Fox News.

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Anthony Weiner

Bachmann And Weiner Clash On Fox News Over Social Security, Debt (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | January 7, 2011, 9:45AM

Reps. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) and Michele Bachmann (R-MN) faced off on Hannity last night, and unsurprisingly the debate was contentious and filled with salty quips.

In one characteristic exchange about Social Security, Bachmann said that "all the surplus in Social Security is a big vault stuffed with IOU notes, there's not one dime sitting in there."

Weiner shot back: "Are you surprised to learn, Congresswoman Bachmann, that we don't have a room filled with dimes?"

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Barack Obama

Freak Out! Right Wingers Howl Over Obama's India Trip (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | November 4, 2010, 5:38PM

President Barack Obama, with Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Glenn Beck inset.

As you may have heard, President Obama will travel to India on Saturday, part of an overseas diplomatic mission that will put the president face-to-face with the leaders of a key strategic and trade partner, not to mention a regional nuclear power. For Obama, the India visit is a chance to get all presidential after his recent "shellacking." For India, it's a change to further a relationship mutually beneficial to both nations. For the right wing, it's a one-way ticket to Freakoutville.

Here's the right-wing India trip meme: Obama is spending more money -- $200 million per day -- than the nation spends daily on the war in Afghanistan, in order to fly something like one million planes full of his closest friends to a multi-day bacchanal on the steps of the Taj Mahal, all paid for by you, the taxypayer. Or something.

As Eric Lach reported earlier today, the meme is just about 100% garbage, according to the White House. "No basis in reality" was the way Deputy White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest described it.

But that hasn't stopped the engines of right-wing panic from spooling up to 11 over what is, basically, a totally normal -- though inarguably incredibly expensive -- part of being President.

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KY-SEN

Finally, Rand Paul Starts Talking About Aqua Buddha (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 20, 2010, 1:03PM

It took a couple months of chatter and a nasty ad from Jack Conway, but Rand Paul is finally opening up about that Aqua Buddha story. Sort of.

The tale, first told in GQ in August, has become the centerpiece of the Kentucky Senate race in recent days, with Democrat Conway calling on the Republican Paul to explain why a woman is accusing him of tying her up, putting her in a creek and asking her to pray to "Aqua Buddha" while both were students at Baylor University.

Since the story broke, Paul has basically ignored it, dismissing it as a tale told by an anonymous source and fomented by the Conway camp. Now, with polls tightening and the national media transfixed by Conway's ad, Paul is being forced to address the topic in national interviews.

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DE-SEN

Report: O'Donnell Tells GOPers 'I've Got Sean Hannity In My Back Pocket'

Eric Kleefeld | October 15, 2010, 1:31PM

Christine O'Donnell

Republican Delaware Senate nominee Christine O'Donnell has figured out how to deal with the national Republican Party not giving her enough financial support: Go out and attack them for it on right-wing media outlets, in order to raise money from grassroots Tea Partiers instead.

As Howard Fineman reports:

Specifically, according to two top GOP insiders, she said at a strategy meeting with DC types last week: "I've got Sean Hannity in my back pocket, and I can go on his show and raise money by attacking you guys."

And that was precisely what she was doing on the radio today. On Hannity's popular afternoon drive-time show, the Tea Party-inspired Senate contender acidly criticized the party, specifically the National Republican Senatorial Committee, for not funneling any serious cash (beyond a pro forma $43,000) into her race against Democrat Chris Coons.

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DE-SEN

Palin On Christine O'Donnell Ad: She Should Explain The 'Real Witchcraft' In DC (VIDEO)

Christina Bellantoni | October 7, 2010, 11:59AM

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said on Fox News last night that Christine O'Donnell has the right idea with her "I'm not a witch. I'm you," ad, but Palin thinks O'Donnell should go further.

"That's very positive," Palin told Fox's Sean Hannity after he played O'Donnell's first television ad.

"What I think she could add is to explain what the real witchcraft and voodoo politics and economics is and that's what's going on in DC," Palin said

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DE-SEN

Karl Rove: O'Donnell 'Handled The Witchcraft Thing Great' (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | September 23, 2010, 1:35PM

Karl Rove just can't get enough of Christine O'Donnell these days. Since first describing her as "nutty" on the night she won the Republican nomination for Senate in Delaware, Rove has of course found religion (no pun intended) when it comes to O'Donnell and turned into one of her greatest cheerleaders on Fox.

Case in point? Last night on Hannity, Rove was over the moon about how O'Donnell's handled herself since primary night on Sept. 14. The show's host, the perpetually starry-eyed-over-right-wingers Sean Hannity asked Rove to weigh in on O'Donnell's campaign strategy, which consists mostly of never talking to much of the press again. Despite his reservations about O'Donnell's refusal to answer tough questions in the past, Rove gave the plan a big Architect thumbs up.

"She handled the witchcraft issue great -- she made it a joke," Rove said. Still, amidst all the praise he noted O'Donnell's dreadful poll numbers and suggested there could be one flaw in O'Donnell's plan.

"She's right -- she's right on the issues, [Democratic nominee Chris] Coons is wrong on the issues," he said. "The question is, will voters in Delaware pay attention to her? "

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Christine O'Donnell

O'Donnell To Hannity: The Media Is Trying To 'Paint Me As An Extremist' (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | September 21, 2010, 11:04PM

Take me out to the softball game...

Delaware senatorial candidate Christine O'Donnell's appearance tonight on Sean Hannity's show came shortly after she canceled multiple appearances on the Sunday morning shows last weekend. And if O'Donnell was looking to dodge potentially unfriendly media waters, Hannity did not disappoint.

Introducing O'Donnell as the woman "Democrats love to hate," which he called "actually a badge of honor," Hannity and O'Donnell chatted about everything from those "witchcraft" comments ("teenage rebellion"), to her tax issues ("a computer error"), to her anti-masturbation crusade ("my faith has matured").

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Christine O'Donnell

For O'Donnell (And So Many Republicans) It's Sean Hannity To The Rescue

Evan McMorris-Santoro | September 21, 2010, 4:40PM

Sean Hannity

Tonight at 9 p.m., Christine O'Donnell will become the latest controversial Republican nominee to launder her past in an interview with Sean Hannity. Like Sharron Angle, Rand Paul and Sarah Palin -- just to name three -- before her, Delaware's Republican nominee for Senate will dodge the mainstream media spotlight in the midst of uncomfortable questions and make a beeline for the Cheers of primetime cable news, the show where everyone knows your name and they're always glad you came (if you're a conservative Republican, that is.)

The script that leads O'Donnell to her Hannity interview tonight is nearly identical to the one that led Paul and Palin to him after their somewhat botched national roll-outs. In each case, the candidate took a preliminary step onto the national stage, got singed by their own past, and ran back to the safe and comforting arms of Hannity.

[TPM SLIDESHOW: Christine O'Donnell: Anti-Masturbation Crusader. Witchcraft Dabbler. Republican Senate Nominee.]

Let's start with Palin. Back in September 2008, Palin -- still a fresh face on the political scene -- was flailing after her first national TV interview as the GOP's vice-presidential nominee. Palin had been badly burned in her sit-down with ABC News anchor Charlie Gibson, and it became clear that tough interviews were not going be a central (or successful) part of Palin's media strategy. But, critics howled, how could Palin avoid the press all together and maintain even a shred of credibility?

Enter Hannity, a shred of credibility if ever there was one. As the wreckage of her Gibson appearance still smoldered, Palin announced she was headed for Hannity country to cool out for awhile.

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Karl Rove

Karl Rove Walks Back His Diss And Gives In To O'Donnell Fever (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | September 16, 2010, 10:36AM

Karl Rove

Well, that didn't take long. After being pounded for a full day by some of the conservative movement's biggest names, a bruised and battered Karl Rove took to the Fox News airwaves this morning to get on board the Christine O'Donnell train.

Rove, you'll recall, refused to buy the tea party hype about Delaware's new Republican Senate nominee, telling Sean Hannity on the night O'Donnell won that the "nutty" things O'Donnell says meant that the GOP had no shot at winning a Senate majority with her representing the party in Delaware (a race the GOP was expected to win with establishment choice Mike Castle as the nominee.)

Since he made that comment, commentators from Michelle Malkin to Sarah Palin to Rush Limbaugh have called Rove everything from incompetent to traitorous. The end result? Rove has come to embody the "establishment" in discussions about O'Donnell. And as anyone knows, this year, the "establishment" label on a Republican resume is about as popular as a meat dress at a PETA meeting.

So perhaps it's no surprise that Rove buckled under the pressure of his right-wing critics, rushing onto Fox this morning to change the narrative. How can you call me establishment? he asked. I supported Sharron Angle for goodness' sake! And as to that whole "the GOP Senate majority is doomed" thing, Rove is now claiming that not only does he think O'Donnell can win, he actually orchestrated sending NRSC money to her campaign.

As Rove might have said in a moment of honesty, it's all kind of nutty.

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DE-SEN

Conservatives Trash Karl Rove After He Insists O'Donnell Says 'Nutty Things'

Evan McMorris-Santoro | September 15, 2010, 10:57AM

Karl Rove, former Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff to President George W. Bush

With the battle won by the ultra-right in Delaware, the national conservative pundits who backed Christine O'Donnell in last night's GOP Senate primary have turned on a man who is presumably one of their own: Karl "The Architect" Rove. After Rove bemoaned O'Donnell's nomination as the end of the GOP's chances to take back the Senate in a heated interview with Sean Hannity last night, pundits and tea partiers have slammed him as a traitor and even called for Fox News to suspend him as an on-air analyst.

In one five-minute interview, it seems, Rove went from keeper of the conservative cause to the next Jane Hamsher in the eyes of those who are ostensibly his allies. It's a stunning turn against the man who has recast himself as a right-wing media darling since Bush left office, and suggests that the next war on the establishment from angry conservatives could be aimed in part at the man who for close to a decade was the progressive movement's enemy number one.

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Karl Rove

Karl Rove Dukes It Out With Hannity: There Are 'A Lot Of Nutty Things' O'Donnell's Been Saying (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | September 15, 2010, 12:11AM

Karl Rove and Sean Hannity duked it out tonight over Christine O'Donnell's win in the Republican Senate primary in Delaware, with Rove, surprisingly, calling some of O'Donnell's remarks "nutty" and conceding that "this is not a race we're going to be able to win."

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Peter King

Weiner And King Take Their Feud To Sean Hannity's Show (AUDIO)

Jillian Rayfield | August 2, 2010, 9:39AM

Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) and Rep. Peter King (R-NY)

Reps. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) and Peter King (R-NY) continued feuding Friday on Sean Hannity's radio show about the failure of a bill that would provide health care to 9/11 rescue workers. The result was, unsurprisingly, another ten-minute shouting match.

This time, though, it was Sean Hannity doing most of the yelling.

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Immigration

Jan Brewer On Immigration Setback: Send Money So We Can Keep 'Fighting For America' (VIDEO)

Christina Bellantoni | July 29, 2010, 12:25PM

Jan Brewer

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer has said she's disappointed that a federal judge blocked portions of her state's new immigration law but she's using the setback to raise money for her effort to fight the Obama administration.

Appearing last night on Fox News' Hannity, Brewer (R) said she's been encouraged by the support from her home state and across the country as supporters of her efforts send money and kind notes about what she's done. Meanwhile, opponents of the law have used it as a rallying cry to fight for a comprehensive immigration reform measure in Congress.

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Oil Spill

Hannity And Gingrich Agree With Barton On BP 'Shakedown' -- Even After Barton Took It Back (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | June 18, 2010, 11:27AM

Gingrich on Hannity

On last night's episode of Sean Hannity's TV show, Hannity and former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) went ahead and agreed with Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) that the BP escrow account is a "shakedown." And amusingly, they failed to even mention that Barton was subjected to widespread media ridicule and then ordered by the GOP leadership to retract his comments just hours after he dramatically apologized to BP.

"We had this show on Capitol Hill today. And Joe Barton, congressman, said you know what, this is a shakedown," said Hannity. "We have a lot of other Congressmen, you know, debating whether or not the White House is exceeding their constitutional authority by demanding that BP put all this money in escrow, when in fact we have a law in place."

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CA-SEN

Fiorina Open Mic Gaffe On Boxer's Hairstyle: 'So Yesterday!' (VIDEO)

Christina Bellantoni | June 9, 2010, 6:12PM

US Sen candidate Carly Fiorina (R-CA)

Whoops! New Senate nominee Carly Fiorina (R-CA) was caught in an unfortunate open mic incident today, mocking her rival Sen. Barbara Boxer's hair, complaining about Fox's Sean Hannity and even talking about cheeseburgers she wished she'd eaten the night before.

Fiorina, who won a 3-way primary last night, was preparing for an interview with CNN affiliate KXTV this morning and chatting with her aides. In a several-minute chat with the camera rolling that CNN posted online, Fiorina mocks Boxer's hairdo. Laughing, Fiorina tells her staff that someone had seen Boxer on television and "said what everyone says, 'God what is that hair?' So yesterday!" But she also questioned a decision by fellow Republican Meg Whitman to appear on Hannity so soon after winning the GOP nomination for governor.

"I find it really surprising that on the first day of the general Meg Whitman is going on Sean Hannity," Fiorina said, while reading her BlackBerry. "I think it's bizarre ... I think it's a very bad choice actually. You know how he is."

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Pres '12

Hannity: Would You Like To See A Palin-Bachmann Ticket? (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | April 8, 2010, 11:16AM

Sarah Palin and Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN)

During their appearance on Sean Hannity's TV show last night, former Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) and Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) were asked whether either of them were considering a run for the presidency in 2012 -- and whether they might run together as a ticket.

"Are either one of you considering a run for the presidency in 2012?" Hannity asked the two. "I'm just asking. Gov. Palin, I'll start with you -- but before I get their answers, how many of you would like to see a Palin-Bachmann ticket?"

The live audience from the Minnesota Republican Party rally that day roared in applause and cheering at this idea. "Well that sounds kind of cool," said Palin.

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Michele Bachmann

Bachmann To Campaign And Fundraise With Palin -- In Someone Else's District

Eric Kleefeld | April 7, 2010, 11:19AM

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN)

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) will be welcoming a very special guest to Minnesota today: Sarah Palin, for a rally together in Minneapolis.

The much-anticipated rally will begin at 3 p.m. ET, and will be streamed online by Bachmann's campaign. Other guests will include Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a potential presidential candidate, as well as right-wing talk show host and Bachmann ally Sean Hannity.

The really interesting -- not to mention mystifying -- thing about this event is that it's not in Bachmann's district, which does not include any part of Minneapolis.

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