Not even Michelle Bachmann could draw a crowd in South Carolina. I’d say the Tea Party movement doesn’t even qualify as astroturf any more. It’s a media fiction at this point.

Other stuff —

What’s really driving the debt? A chart to clip & save.

Nate Silver thinks Texas Gov. Rick Perry would have a good shot at the Republican nomination if he chooses to run. Bring him on, I say.

Update: This review of Newt’s week is very much worth reading. It not only underscores the point that Newt is a colossal A-hole, it also makes clear that the attacks on Newt were coming entirely from the Republican establishment. The “lame-stream media” didn’t realize Newt had said anything controversial until Republicans turned it into a controversy.

Also, don’t miss this comic strip version of The Press Statement of the Century. The panel showing the sheep unloading their entire clip is priceless.