Gawker: chidings

Obama Disappointed By Fred Armisen's SNL Impersonations

The Cajun Boy — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 23:09:17 EDT

The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.Did you catch NBC's "Inside the Obama White House" special tonight? Brian Williams said they shot 150 hours of film footage, mostly of Rahm Emanuel slamming doors in people's faces! What else was notable about the interview? Well, Obama doesn't really seem to be a fan of SNL's Fred Armisen.

When asked by Williams for his thoughts on Armisen's impersonations of him, Obama was gentlemanly, almost making excuses for Armisen, remarking that his is a tough voice to imitate, then going on to note that "he seems to be starting to get it down a little bit," but you couldn't help but feel a palpable sense of disappointment over his lack of a standout comedic television doppelganger, ala Dana Carvey's George Bush, Phil Hartman and Darrell Hammond's Bill Clinton, and Will Ferrell's George W. Bush.

If you missed the special, NBC will likely be putting it online at the link below, where there's all sorts of additional interview footage available for your viewing pleasure.

Inside the Obama White House [MSNBC]

Robert Olen Butler Says His Mass Email Was 'Intended Strictly For Those Who Personally Know Elizabeth And Me'

Emily Gould — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 10:40:01 EDT

So! Jilted author Robert Olen Butler isn't happy that yesterday we published the email he sent to his grad students. You know, the email that began "this sort of thing can get wildly distorted pretty quickly. You can feel free to use any part or all of this email to do so," and in which he explained exactly why his wife was leaving him for Ted Turner (she was abused by her grandpa!). In his email to us, he sounded steamed!

That email, intended strictly for those who personally know Elizabeth and me, was to explain an event that, if not explained, would be spun in ways that would unfairly make Elizabeth look bad. It had its intended effect around Tallahassee and in some other places where she and I are actual human beings. The sad thing about your sneeringly printing this in a blog is that both of us are easily dehumanized. Which, of course, is your point. Dehumanization is the essential ingredient for the daily pleasure of gossipers and gawkers. What a creepy little circle-jerk of self-righteousness you're running.