Cable news ratings, November 18, 2010: •Lawrence O'Donnell came very close to winning the 10 p.m. time period Thursday, with 311,000 viewers 25-54--just off the pace of usual time slot winner Great Van Susteren, who won with 324,000.

bye In the 16 months since we launched Mediaite, there have been certain topics that we as a site (and me, in particular) have taken a major, sometimes obsessive, interest in. As I head out today, I want to connect what I see as the common thread between some of my favorite topics to cover.

Diamond Dallas Page left the WCW/WWF world in 2002, but has kept busy by starting YRG Fitness (formerly Yoga for Regular Guys) and acted in several movies. But there's somewhere else you may start seeing DDP - reality TV. Here's more from my interview with the wrestling superstar.

The announcement of Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough's two-day suspension for undisclosed political contributions brings with it an important test for fellow suspendee Keith Olbermann. Olbermann eloquently denounced his own “probably not legal” suspension upon his return from a long weekend, and now that he has resurrected the "Worst Person in the World" segment, an award to MSNBC President Phil Griffin presents an opportunity to demonstrate consistency.

How huge is Harry Potter right now? Huge enough that video of the stars faking American accents was one of the most popular stories yesterday. Huge enough that so many people I know went to see the midnight screening last night that I could make my own Rotten Tomatoes aggregation from their Twitter reviews alone. And huge enough that Conan O'Brien couldn't get through a Potter joke in his monologue without being completely derailed by a fan in full costume in the audience.

video Things went a little off-script today when former Clinton advisor Jami Floyd visited MSNBC's Jansing and Company to talk about (what else?) Sarah Palin. She slammed the Mama Grizzly's political credentials like so: "[Former Governor Frank Keating] said she's an extraordinary asset to her party. I say she's an extraordinary ass, frankly." A surprised Chris Jansing wondered whether they could use such language on morning television. "I think we can," Floyd answered, looking a little smitten with herself. "We're all grownups." Indeed.

Fans of Keith Olbermann who were upset that he was suspended by MSNBC President Phil Griffin over campaign donations often pointed to similar donations made by Joe Scarborough as an example of unfair treatment. Well it appears that the treatment is now fair according to a Politico report that asserts that Scarborough has been suspended for two days for similar contributions. Statements from both Griffin and Scarborough after the jump.

video There's a new candidate for most absurd and hyperbolic statement of the week: Laura Ingraham's blanket statement about liberals' supposed hatred of free speech. Ingraham was inspired to say what she did on last night's O'Reilly Factor, during a conversation about recent comments made by Al Sharpton and Senator Jay Rockefeller.

VIDEO ABC's David Muir had a few tense moments in Beijing's Tiananmen Square last night. Muir, part of an ABC team including anchor Diane Sawyer had been answering viewer questions via email when Chinese police approached and demanded his passport. Muir, interrupted while reporting, never loses a beat as the officer walks right up to him while on camera, greeting the officer in Chinese and then using the interruption to make a point about Chinese freedom of the press--or lack thereof. "This is when it comes to freedom of the press, checking my passport here right outside Tiananmen Square..."

video NBC Kabletown executive Jack Donaghy is the kind of guy who does his holiday shopping at Christie's. But Alec Baldwin isn't a Jack Donaghy, he just plays one on TV. So he's not above doing a pair of low-budget commercials for regional supermarket chain Wegmans. The somewhat disorienting ads have the 30 Rock star trying cakes ("Let's have one of each!"), discussing family, and harping about the price of coffee in New York.

Sarah Palin's next bestseller, America By Heart, isn't out until Tuesday, but Palin haters and the lamestream media are already leaking portions of it. One fun nugget? Palin enjoys movies like Knocked Up and Juno - films featuring unplanned pregnancies, and decisions not to have an abortion.

The ABC executive producer who guided the re-launch of This Week with new host Christiane Amanpour will leave the show at the end of the year. ABC News chief David Westin announced Ian Cameron's departure in a memo to staff this morning:

Kudos to Fox News' Jon Scott who managed to squeeze three whole bird puns into nine seconds of air time earlier. Quite possibly a world record. We've managed to capture it here to be used as reference in journalism classes from here on out. Of course, we here at Mediaite would obviously never stoop to anything so base as silly word play.

video Sometimes it seems like people in the media just can't stop talking about Sarah Palin. And it's not just in America. Recently, Mediaite's own Mark Joyella joined the hosts of Australia's The Morning Show (while it was certainly not morning here) to talk the former governor's chances of ending up in the White House. He pointed out that she's succeeded wildly in the most important part of an American presidential bid; getting your name out there. Well, when the woman's being discussed with great familiarity on a TV show from the other side of the planet, you can't really argue that.

Put yourself in the shoes of a cable news host. So you've got a very nice Muslim woman as your guest, and you're about to start your interview about the "junk touching" craze sweeping the nation's airports. How do you begin? Filling in for Bill O'Reilly Thursday night, Laura Ingraham got right to the cringeworthy heart of the matter:

video Vice President Joe Biden appeared on Morning Joe this morning and participated in a wide-ranging interview earlier today with hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski. The three discussed the Democratic party's midterm performance, the U.S. exit strategy in Afghanistan, the START treaty, and Sarah Palin's possible run for President in 2012.

video Bill Carter took his publicity tour for The War For Late Night to late night last night - as a guest on Jimmy Kimmel's ABC show. With two weeks since the book's release, Carter could talk about the reactions he's gotten from people who have read it - like Jeff Zucker and Jay Leno.

video George W. Bush's book tour took a swing through Burbank Thursday night, with the former president gamely laughing along as Jay Leno played some of Dubya's most joked-about presidential moments, including attempting to leave an event in China through a locked door. "Now that was a man without an exit strategy," joked Bush.

video A while ago, Karl Rove wondered whether Sarah Palin starring in her own reality show was a wise idea for someone with lofty, and potentially presidential, ambitions. Palin fired back, and last night, Rove addressed the flap on Hannity - and clearly thought the reaction to his remarks was overblown.

Lest anyone believe that "culture war" is a quaint media narrative from yesteryear, we now see ourselves watching was slacked jaw a new battle emerge between the hitherto staid and erudite NPR and the now dominant and influential Fox News. Yesterday saw Fox News chief Roger Ailes refer to executives at NPR as "Nazis" in a (too?) candid interview with Howard Kurtz. Ailes later apologized for his comments to the Anti-Defamation League, but refrained from apologizing to NPR, which has elicited a response after the jump.