The Newsweek Michele Bachman cover posted newsstand sales no higher than most other Newsweek covers. The "crazy eyes" cover moved 47,225 copies, according to Newsweek, though AdWeek says other industry sources say it sold somewhere between 35,000 and 48,000. Is that good? Well, "the magazine's single copy sales averaged 46,561 per issue in the first half of 2011."

We are talking only about newsstand sales, not total circulation, but this does mean that Bachmann's incredibly controversial and very buzzy crazy eyes did not "move the needle," as annoying people say. Of course, the actual article about Bachmann, inside of the eye-grabbing cover, was pretty bland. But since when does the quality of the journalism have anything to do with newsstand sales?

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That's what she told the crowd assembled at Women's National Republican Club in New York, where she was apparently booked to speak at the same time that she was booked to be interviewed on cable news by that guy from "The Apprentice." The New York Observer was there:

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During the ensuing general election campaign, a video from 1999 emerged in which O'Donnell told Bill Maher that she "dabbled" in witchcraft in her youth. The Tea Party candidate, fearing that this might alientate her Christian support base, quickly released a video in which she stated, "I'm not a witch." The comment invited a wealth of media mockery (and an SNL spoof -- see below).

In her new memoir, "Troublemaker: Let’s Do What It Takes to Make America Great Again," O'Donnell expresses regret over the video. According to the AP, she writes, "It was a wrong-headed move, made for all the wrong reasons, but it was mine." O'Donnell also blames an insistent media consultant for pushing the idea.

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Although I am utterly flattered, my initial thought was to decline, as 2 year old nephew has more rhythm than me, and my two left feet!!

However Eileen thinks i should do it.

What do you think?

Oh come on, Christine, we know you want to. In the off-chance she declines, though, we've thought of five more political figures who might take her place:

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Two federal prosecutors and two FBI agents are conducting the investigation, though I can help them out a little bit: Christine O'Donnell violated the law against using campaign funds for personal use. Done!

(Wonkette's Jack Steuf wins the headline contest for this story, by the way.)

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The person spoke on condition of anonymity to protect the identity of a client who has been questioned in the probe. The case, which has been assigned to two federal prosecutors and two FBI agents in Delaware, has not been brought before a grand jury.

O'Donnell, who set a state record by raising more than $7.3 million in an unsuccessful U.S. Senate campaign this year, has been dogged by questions about her finances.

Her former campaign manager did not immediately respond Wednesday to questions.

------

Barakat reported from McLean, Va.

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Her 2010 endorsements basically show how slapdash the effort will be. She hates Lisa Murkowski, so she endorses a nutty primary opponent -- who wins, then loses embarrassingly, and meanwhile someone leaks cranky e-mails from Todd Palin to the press. She endorses Christine O'Donnell for basically no good reason, then does nothing much to help that poor woman once it's apparent that she's a lost cause and a flake.

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Perhaps "afterglow" is not exactly right. Or "awash."

Maybe I mean "profound relief." Barbara Boxer and Jerry Brown, and Michael Bennet (amazingly) in Colorado, Patty Murray hanging on, and most of all, Harry Reid, HAR-RY, HAR-RY, HAR-RY. My man. Dawg! For me, holding the Senate and Harry Reid is almost up there with the Giants winning.

So maybe they have the Aqua Buddha, but we have two months to go with this House, this Senate, this president. People say that 10 days or two weeks is an eternity in politics, so two months is four or five eternities. Two months is eternity-plus-plus.

And that Obama is nothing if not brilliant. This guy has had some liberal victories legislatively, and when word of these victories -- the realities of healthcare, financial reform, student loan reform, etc. -- trickles out, we will have pride and stamina again. We will experience grace again, the grace of generosity to the underdog; the grace of second winds, and psychic WD-40. The grace of unseen water wings.

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Take Delaware, where Christine O'Donnell, previously a political gadfly who had attracted little support in two other campaigns for statewide office, was propelled by Tea Party fervor to the Republican Senate nomination. The candidate she defeated, Rep. Mike Castle, had been considered a shoo-in -- by political observers, by the Republican establishment, and even by the Democratic establishment (which decided not to put much effort into the contest after Castle emerged as the likely GOP nominee -- and led Chris Coons, the unknown Democrat who claimed his party's nomination by default, by double-digits all year. Until O'Donnell emerged from nowhere to win the September 14 primary over Castle, every Senate projection map listed Delaware as a bankable pick-up for the GOP.

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It took news organizations all of a few seconds after the official 8pm closing of Delaware's poll to make the call, which was hardly a surprise, given that O'Donnell trailed Democrat Chris Coons by double-digits in every survey conducted during the general election campaign. Still, her defeat is a vivid reminder of how the Tea Party has complicated things for the GOP in this election. Because of her ideological purity, the Tea Party base insisted on nominating O'Donnell, disregarding cries from party regulars that Rep. Mike Castle -- who consistently led Coons by double-digits all year -- would guarantee a win for the party in the fall. To the base, rolling the dice with O'Donnell was something of a badge of honor, a statement that they'd rather stick to their principles and lose than compromise and win.

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GOP Senate candidates have largely focused on domestic matters during their campaigns, and only Delaware GOP candidate Christine O'Donnell, who is not expected to win, has expressed a desire to join [the Senate Foreign Relations Committee].

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So sit back and enjoy the following highlights from legendary Taiwanese CGI group NMA's 2010 election coverage. Watch out for clever references to everything from Aqua Buddha and Carl Paladino's bad e-mail habits to Sharron Angle's confusion over whether Latino students were also Asian. (Two videos are available only via link, and the last three videos, sadly, seem only to be available without English subtitles -- but in an odd way, maybe that makes them more fun?)

 1. Delaware: Christine O'Donnell

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Campaign finance experts say the turnover is unusual and could raise questions at the Federal Election Commission about her financial reporting. O'Donnell began with relatively small donations but has been taking in nearly $1 million a week after winning the GOP primary last month.

The latest treasurer to leave is Sandra Taylor, who began just two months ago. Campaign manager Matt Moran is now listed as treasurer in reports filed earlier this month.

Taylor could not be reached and O'Donnell's campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) -- Despite a spate of television ads aimed at reintroducing her to voters, Republican Senate hopeful Christine O'Donnell of Delaware has failed to chip away at Democratic nominee Chris Coons' strong lead, according to a new poll. She even may be going backward.

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The press' heroic work revealing just how much of a huge jerk Joe Miller is has also worked like a charm: 68% of Alaska voters have an unfavorable opinion of the smoldering hearthrob with his own personal goon squad and a history of alienating his coworkers with constant paranoid lying.

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The survey released Thursday from Fairleigh Dickinson University-PublicMind shows Coons holding a commanding 21-point lead, with 57 percent of likely voters saying they will vote for him compared to just 36 percent for O'Donnell. O'Donnell trailed by 17 points in a similar Fairleigh Dickinson poll released earlier this month.

"It would be an historic comeback for her to win on Tuesday," said Dan Cassino, a Fairleigh Dickinson political scientist.

Cassino said O'Donnell, a tea party favorite who spent years as a conservative evangelical commentator on cable television, would probably win in other states that have more social conservatives and a larger tea party presence.

"But there just aren't enough in Delaware," he said.

O'Donnell, who has raised more money than Coons, has been dogged by past television appearances in which she spoke out against masturbation, characterized homosexuality as a disorder, and acknowledged dabbling in various religions, including witchcraft as a teenager. She also has drawn criticism for her thin resume and spotty financial history.

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During the interview Tuesday on WDEL-AM, O'Donnell snapped her fingers and beckoned a spokesman to her side after the host of "The Rick Jensen Show" pressed her on how she would have handled the New Castle County budget differently from her Democratic opponent Chris Coons, who is the executive of the state's largest county.

Jensen told The Associated Press that O'Donnell said after the interview that she would sue if the video was released. O'Donnell campaign manager Matt Moran then called WDEL general manager Michael Reath, demanding the station turn over the video and threatening to crush the station with a lawsuit if it did not comply.

"He accused us of creating a story to garner ratings because we must be hurting since the (Philadelphia) Phillies were no longer on the air," Reath said, adding that Moran accused Jensen of "grandstanding."

After viewing the video, which the station provided to the campaign before posting it Tuesday night, O'Donnell's campaign attorney called WDEL's attorney and was very apologetic, Reath said.

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In an interview with Christian Broadcasting Network that aired Monday, O'Donnell said her campaign saw a spike in polling on the same day that a group of supporters prayed for her campaign. She asked people to, in her words, "pray specifically that the eyes of the voters be opened."

In the same interview, O'Donnell said she thinks she's being held to a double standard because she is a conservative woman.

Most polls show O'Donnell trailing Democrat Chris Coons by double digits. The two are vying for the Senate seat long held by Vice President Joe Biden.

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I've been whining for months now about reporters failing to let us know about whether Republicans were hurting their chances in House elections by nominating fringe, inexperienced or extreme candidates. Brendan Nyhan's not a reporter, but he took a different path than I did: Instead of whining, he did the work and compiled the data.

The result is a very important post that I'll urge you to read in full if you're interested in 2010 House elections. Short version: By one standard measure of candidate quality (previous elective office), Republicans have in fact nominated a strong field of candidates in competitive House seats. To some extent that's because amateur Tea Party candidates are generally running in safe Democratic seats that the GOP had no chance to win with any candidate, and, to some extent, it's because a fair number of candidates identified with Tea Partiers are actually experienced politicos. In other words, there are a fair number of Marco Rubios, and relatively few Christine O'Donnells in most competitive House races.

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