All Blog Posts from Political Hotsheet

Last time, it was a Harvard man and a Cambridge cop. Tonight it was a South Carolinian with political Tourette's.

When it comes to primetime healthcare homilies, President Obama has a bad habit of getting upstaged.

Just as the president was reaching the emotional apex of his speech, calling out his detractors and staring down some of the rumors that have plagued the health care debate for the past few months, someone tried to bully the bully pulpit.

"You lie!" yelled Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) as if he were a teenage Jonas brother's fan and someone had just proclaimed Miley Cyrus entertainer of the year. (Watch this at left.)

His outburst drew audible gasps from multiple members of congress and boos from the left side of the aisle. Nancy Pelosi donned a death stare that would make Darth Vader cower, and up in the balcony, Mrs. Obama shook her head from side to side.

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A senior official has confirmed that the State Department asked Twitter to delay a schedule maintenance shutdown and keep the social networking site running over the past weekend, when it was slated to be offline.

The action was seen as a likely effort to maintain communication with users in Iran, where the contested presidential election has sparked a series of increasingly violent demonstrations and protests.

At the State Department Briefing today, spokesman Ian Kelly acknowledged that officials had been communicating with Twitter and other media sites, but refused to comment on whether those conversations were in reference to Iran.

"I know the secretary has a - wants a big push for Diplomacy in using these new social media to develop horizontally communities," he said. “And of course, twitter is another one of those social media."

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In this week’s installment of CBSNews.com’s Web-exclusive show “Washington Unplugged,” Chief Washington Correspondent Bob Schieffer and his guests weigh in on the issues which are dogging the District.

First, Schieffer sits down with Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House and Republican Party icon, to discuss the future of the GOP and The Conservative Political Action Conference.

Then, Former Army Captain Craig Mullaney will stop by to talk about his critically acclaimed memoir “The Unforgiving Minute,” in which he examines the difference between what soldiers are taught in the classroom and the lessons they learn in war.

In the roundtable segment, Schieffer will talk to CBS News Political Director Steve Chaggaris and Washington Post White House reporter Michael Fletcher about President Obama’s speech to Congress and their projections for the national budget.

Finally, in a Washington Unplugged Special, Congressman Ron Paul speaks out about Obama’s decision to raise troop levels in Afghanistan, calling the plan “a disaster.” Paul says economic recovery could take “a decade” and discusses the prospects of a 2012 presidential campaign.

To catch all this week’s action, be sure to log onto CBSNews.com/washingtonunplugged Friday around 2 p.m.

Congressman Pete Hoekstra (R-Michigan), a ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, caused what some have argued was a major lapse in security last week when he used the micro-blogging site Twitter to post real-time updates about a secret congressional envoy into Iraq.

Hoekstra’s blogging blunder has now prompted action from the Pentagon, whose spokesman told the Associated Press today that they will be reevaluating their current policy, which is to keep the movements of congressional delegations secret until after the parties have arrived at their location.

In light of the popularity of social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, the Pentagon said it may have to find different ways to communicate its non-disclosure policy to delegates traveling abroad.

The troublesome twittering occured last week during a Middle East trip led by House Minority Leader John Boehner . The delegation had been the subject of a media embargo - although many news outlets were aware of the trip, it was kept under-wraps due to obvious safety concerns.

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