Michele Bachmann has only been an officially-declared presidential candidate for 36 hours, but she's already on the defensive over her propensity for making controversial, factually dubious statements. Monday, the news cycle feasted after she gaffed by mistaking the home town of serial killer John Wayne Gacy for that of film legend John Wayne. Tuesday on 'Good Morning America' (weekdays, 7AM on ABC), George Stephanopoulos pressed her on a statement she made months ago that the founding fathers had "worked tirelessly to end slavery."

"You have the worst record of making false statements of any of the leading contenders," Stephanopoulos said. Challenging Bachmann on the statement concerning slavery, Stephanopoulos pointed out that many of the founding fathers, including Washington and Jefferson, were slaveholders.

Bachmann first responded evasively. "What our Constitution has done for our nation is to give us the basis of freedom unparalleled in the rest of the world," Bachmann replied. "That's what people want to get back to because they realize that our government is taking away our freedom."

Anthony Weiner resigned his position as U.S. Representative Thursday in the wake of a scandal that involved his sending lewd photos of himself to women via Twitter. His behavior shocked many, including 'Good Morning America' co-host George Stephanopoulos, who spoke on the subject Thursday on 'The View' (weekdays, syndicated on ABC).

"I was, you know, as shocked as anybody else just by the compulsion that he demonstrated," said Stephanopoulos. "You heard the first story, said 'Well, this might be true.' But then he came out and talked to every single reporter in the country and said it's not true, I'm the victim here. That's what surprised me."

Just hours after Weiner's resignation, Sherri Sherpherd wondered if he could recover from the scandal. Stephanopoulos noted that Weiner has spent his whole working life in politics and he is a smart guy. But he made the point that before he did anything else, Weiner would have to get himself straightened out and settle things with his family.

George Stephanopoulos and Robin Roberts of 'Good Morning America' (weekdays, 7AM on ABC) used an obscure word when squaring off against teenage Scrabble champions in a lightning round of the word game this morning.

Stephanopoulos and Roberts spell out "waker," which is a legitimate word, but nevertheless seems a bit of a stretch. "Someone who wakes someone up," Stephanopoulos said, by way of explanation. Okay, okay. You win.

Watch the video after the jump.

Here's a bit of news from our "Department of News that Everyone and Their Mother Saw Coming." Needless to say, they've been a little behind with the health care bill debate, and Tiger Woods' apology .

Christiane Amanpour has accepted the offer from ABC's news division to anchor the Sunday show 'This Week,' taking over for George Stephanopolous, who now anchors 'Good Morning America'. This means she'll be leaving CNN where she has racked up an impressive 18-year body of work consisting mostly of international reporting and journalism.

However, does this give her the chops to moderate a political fueled talk fest? There are yeas and nays on both sides of the question.

Are George Stephanopoulos and Robin Roberts suffering from spring fever? The anchors repeatedly stepped on each other's lines today at the beginning of a segment on 'Good Morning America' (weekdays, 7AM ET on ABC).

Stephanopolous and Roberts have two false starts before Roberts attempts to gain control by quickly changing the subject to gum left under her desk.

Watch the video after the jump.

If you're looking for analysis of the Great Tiger Woods Apology of 2010, you've come to the wrong place. Our friends at TMZ, PopEater, and Fanhouse will have it all broken down from a personality, gossip, and sports perspective. No, what I'm here to talk about is the TV aspect of the coverage, and all I have to say about it is... it's troubling.

Why? Think about what happened this morning: all four networks interrupted their regular programming to show the speech. There was pre- and post-speech analysis from sports reporters as well as the news folks. There was a podium and a blue curtain. If you didn't know that Tiger Woods was about to speak, you might have thought that President Obama was about to step out and address the nation. Instead, we got Tiger talking over and over about how he's failed himself, his wife, his friends and his family.

I'm not sure what made me feel dirtier: the fact that the networks made it seem like a presidential address, or that I was actually watching it. Video and more after the jump.

George Stephanopoulos, who turned 49 today, got a birthday surprise on 'Good Morning America' (weekdays, 7AM ET on ABC) when his wife, actress Ali Wentworth, appeared on camera dressed as Diane Sawyer, then performed a modest, partial strip tease and gyrated on a desk.

"They made me keep my clothes on," Wentworth said.

Watch the video after the jump.

I don't think I did one of these lists last year, and I have no idea why. The election all by itself would have generated a pretty fun best/worst list. Maybe we were all suffering from information overload, and were just exhausted. Not sure.

But 2009 had a lot of interesting TV, too, just not all in one category. As I've done in the past, I'll dispense with the usual "best show" and "worst show" lists and just make up categories:

GOODNESS

Best comeback from a shaky first season: Parks and Recreation. As I mentioned in my "return of the sitcom" story, Parks and Rec has made the biggest improvement from first season to second since... well, since The Office. It's no coincidence; Greg Daniels and Mike Schur's Office experience taught them that patience would be rewarded, both on the part of the writers and the viewers.

It looks like the recent shake-ups at 'Good Morning America' haven't done much for its ratings -- at least after one day.

According to Nielsen, George Stephanopoulos' debut on Monday yielded about 4.7 million viewers, roughly the same number who tuned in to see Diane Sawyer's last day in the anchor chair on Friday.

It's official: George Stephanopoulos will be replacing Diane Sawyer on 'Good Morning America.'

As reported by the Hollywood Reporter, ABC has finally confirmed what we've been telling you for weeks, appointing Stephanopoulos to the chair that Sawyer has filled for the last ten years. Stephanopoulos, a former presidential adviser who most recently has been seen as host of the Sunday political forum 'This Week With George Stephanopoulos,' will begin co-hosting 'Good Morning America' alongside Robin Roberts beginning on Monday.

This just in: 'Good Morning America''s Chris Cuomo can start sleeping in a bit later.

According to the AP, Cuomo is leaving his morning post and heading over to '20/20,' where he will co-host with Elizabeth Vargas.

This may finally complete the shuffling over at 'GMA,' which, as we reported earlier this week, has Diane Sawyer leaving her spot to take over 'World News.' ABC executives are expected to announce Sawyer's official replacement, George Stephanopoulos, this afternoon, according to the NY Daily News.

For over three decades, ABC has been greeting the nation every weekday with a hearty 'Good Morning America,' and for the past 10 years, that welcome has been offered by journalistic stalwart Diane Sawyer. But with Sawyer primed to leave the show at the end of the week, will changes to the series signal the dawn of a new era in morning television -- or a final sunset for the show's aspirations?

In the continuing play of musical chairs at ABC News, Juju Chang has been offered the position of newsreader at 'Good Morning America,' AOL TV has confirmed.

The Emmy Award-winning Chang, who has previously served as a correspondent for ABC News' '20/20,' 'Good Morning America' and 'Nightline,' will replace former newsreader Chris Cuomo on the morning show.

Former presidential adviser George Stephanopoulos is about to get a promotion to the big chair. At 'Good Morning America,' that is.

According to The Washington Post, Stephanopoulos, who did a dry run on the show back on October as a try-out, has been offered the anchor job on ABC's 'Good Morning America,' which is being vacated by Diane Sawyer on December 18. Sawyer, who herself is moving up to replace Charles Gibson as host of 'ABC's World News,' has co-anchored the show for the past ten years.