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fran srescher
Fran Drescher Serious About Senate Run
"Publicist Jordan Brown delivered the straight line that Fran Drescher is serious about becoming the next junior senator from New York." [AP, Previously] -
Fred thomson
Republican Candidate's Creepy Obama Profit Plot
Fred Thomson was a hot Republican presidential candidate for about 10 minutes at the start of the primary cycle, thanks to the former senator's Law & Order gig and the fact that he didn't seem as scuzzy as Rudolph Giuliani or Mitt Romney (not hard). He hasn't had much to do since then, except campaign inconsequentially for John McCain, try to point out Al Gore to a team of hired Serbian snipers at a presidential debate (pictured) and think about having a loser TV show like Mike Huckabee. But now it sounds like he's turning into a sad, desperate man, renting out his condo for the inauguration, instead of admiring Michelle Obama's dress like a true American. More » -
what we need more of is science
Nate Silver In Georgia Stats Shame
FiveThirtyEight.com: "'We think when it's all said and done Martin will lose by around 10 points." Kaus: "The actual margin is looking more like 14 points." -
saxby chambliss
Republican Senator Officially Wins In Georgia
Televised child-groper Saxby Chambliss soundly defeated his rival for a Georgia senate seat, with a 15-point margin of victory over Democrat Jim Martin with 96 percent of precincts reporting. This was expected, but still: This is the guy whose advertisement questioning the patriotism of his triple-amputee war-hero opponent was called "reprehensible" by eventual supporter John McCain. Though the Democrats were never going to win 60 senate seats, and if they had they weren't going to be truly filibuster-proof, Chambliss' victory will make the senate all the more fun and interesting, giving the media something to cover other than the president's screaming matches with his secretary of state. Also, with Al Franken still in a Minnesota recount, this election is STILL not over. Jesus. -
anna wintour
Secretary Wintour
Vogue editor "to accept a 'cultural post of some sort for the Obama White House,' according to at least one person in the magazine industry." [Scoop, second item] -
katie couric
Couric Wonders: Why Didn't Anyone Ask Palin About Me?
Greta Van Susteren and Matt Lauer were first out of the gate with lengthy Sarah Palin interviews after the election. The chats were slammed as softball jobs by some critics, and you can now add Katie Couric to that group, at least in one regard: She wishes someone had asked the former Republican vice presidential nominee why she didn't answer Couric's simple and ultimately devastating question about what newspapers and magazines Palin reads. Hopefully Lauer, who hosted Today with Couric for nine years, doesn't take the critique personally, particularly since Couric may very well end up back at NBC. Click the video icon to watch Couric explain her thoughts on David Letterman's Late Show. -
barack obama
Have You Purchased Your Barack Obama Plate?
First African-American President Elect Barack Obama's confident smile and kind eyes are an inspiration to us all, so why not commemorate his historic achievement on a "priceless work of art," in the form of a collectible plate? Not just any plate; a fine porcelain Historic Victory Plate featuring our dear leader surrounded by American flags and fireworks, inscribed in 22k gold trim. Only two per customer please; demand is high. This awesome infomercial includes a happy white family gathered about their Obama plate sighing, "I never thought this day would come." It's really very American. Click to watch. And another thing that should not exist: More » -
shep smith
Shep Smith Gone Rogue At Fox
It's not that Shep Smith has suddenly had a liberal change of heart. The Fox News Channel anchor was shouting about his ideological independence back in February. It's that Smith seems to have become more vigorous and visible lately about setting himself apart from conservative pundits like Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly. His Tuesday smackdown of a comedian who said the media was "in the tank" for Barack Obama followed recent defenses of the Democratic president-elect to Ralph Nader and Joe The Plumber, plus cutesy little digs at Hannity and O'Reilly. It's all after the jump. More » -
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john mccain
McCain's Tonight Show Charm Offensive
John McCain wants to be liked again. His unenviable job as the Republican presidential nominee was to derail the campaign of the first black president and to defend an unpopular party, and he only made things worse for himself by getting blatantly underhanded toward the end of everything. His performance last night on the Tonight Show — the jokes, the occasional concession to a mildly pointed question from Jay Leno, the self deprecation — seemed designed, if only subconsciously, to invoke the McCain of the 2000 campaign bus, beloved by the press, or of the October Al Smith dinner, who was seriously funny, or the candidate who made a conciliatory concession speech to an angry crowd. More » -
sarah palin
Palin Says Hillary's Her Feminist Sister
As if life isn't depressing enough for Hillary Clinton right now, when everyone from the president elect on down seems to be giving her the cold shoulder, now the former Democratic presidential candidate has to contend with the warm, unfortunate embrace of Sarah Palin. Palin said in part two of Greta Van Susteren's interminable interview that Clinton broke the glass ceiling for her Republican vice presidential run. Then she remembered that Hillary lost, so she amended her statement to say Clinton just bloodied her head against the glass ceiling, apparently so a social conservative whose looks earned her outsized press attention could complain about the media's "double standard." More » -
disasters
Obsessive Daily Show Fan Enraged By Line Fiasco
Election night might have been a hopeful triumph for most Americans, but it was an evening of screaming and insults for Canadian Sharilyn Johnson, according to the epic rant she just uploaded to Huffington Post. Johnson had to be in the live Daily Show audience on election night, because she's been watching everything Jon Stewart has ever done since 1994, is also super-into Stephen Colbert, has friends on staff, knows line-runners by name, etc. etc. Johnson (on left in photo) lined up a ticket seven months in advance, confirmed and reconfirmed, traveled to New York from Toronto, waited in line and then watched as her world ENDED. More » -
election
New code names: "Renegade" (Barack), "Renaissance" (Michelle), "Radiance" (Malia) and "Rosebud" (Sasha). [Chicago Tribune]
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tim robbins
Tim Robbins Disenfranchised Himself
You may recall that Tim Robbins "flipped out" at poll workers on election day, accusing them of abridging his "freedom to vote" by offering him a provisional ballot and then politely asking him to please leave the voting area since his name was not on their list. The actor had been voting at the polling place for 15 years, you see, and was used to being totally VIPed. The incident was clearly part of a conspiracy by New York City bureaucrats against rich white Hollywood liberals, so staff at the Times and at City Hall were immediately assigned to parallel investigations. The conclusion: Tim Robbins is confused and possibly senile. Reports the Times: More » -
sarah palin
Palin Says Fake Wardrobe Not Her Idea
Listen up, voters: It was not Sarah Palin's idea to try and fool you by wearing fancy clothes she would not normally have anything to do with! The Republican National Committee bought an opulent $150,000 wardrobe for her and seven family members before she even showed up at the convention, the former vice presidential nominee told Fox News Channel's Greta Von Susteren Tuesday night. The legendary MAVERICK was just "goin' with the flow... if that's the way they do this." She's never even been to a Saks or Neiman Marcus. Why on earth is she telling everyone this now? More » -
matt drudge
Why Matt Drudge Still Rules (And Where He Goes From Here)
Is Matt Drudge completely over in the wake of his ill-advised hyping of pro-McCain propaganda?If you're even bothering to ask the question, the answer is self-evidently "No," it can always be argued. It was thus inevitable that someone — Slate's Jack Shafer, it turns out — would emerge to swat down the greatly exaggerated reports (from Media Matters and so forth) of Drudge's demise as an influential blogger. He works too hard and has drawn too much traffic to go away so easily, Shafer argues: More » -
cnn
CNN Knows The Hologram Sucked, Says Fox
He's not the most trustworthy source, granted, but Fox News host Chris Wallace claims to have heard that CNN is all embarrassed about its election-night holograms, which teleported the likes of singer Will.I.Am and correspondent Jessica Yellin into CNN studios in New York. Wallace, who serves as Fox's ambassador to the Godless liberals at the Daily Show, also maintains ties to CNN, via an old college roommate who is a technical producer there. He called this buddy at 5 pm on election night, resulting in the following exchange, according to Broadcasting & Cable: More » -
books
Paging Sarah Palin
"'There are several of our imprints who are eager to talk to Governor Palin,' Random House spokesman Stuart Applebaum said." [Post, Previously] -
shelby steele
Why Obama Can't Win Author Unrepentant
" I stand by every word of the analysis... I have had to apologize for the stupid, silly subtitle." [Times] -
barack obama
Let's Watch Obama Turn Europeans Against One Other
It's been fun to watch the American press covering how foreigners react to Barack Obama. First we heard how nominee Obama was inspiring the black working class in Europe, along with fashionistas. Then president-elect Obama became the toast of the global intelligentsia, for his expected foreign policy changes. But now some little feuds are opening up across the Atlantic that will allow U.S. newspapers to give readers what they crave: A chance to laugh at sad, bickering Euros. Based on what the Times of London is saying, we foresee some front-page coverage! More » -
starbucks
Starbucks Also Wins Election
Starbucks may be awful at traditional advertising but the company seems to be just ingenious at tricky guerilla marketing campaigns. Witness its big election-day coffee giveaway: It was a massive PR victory for the company. Starbucks spent maybe $350,000 on a single ad during Saturday Night Live, then kicked back and watched as the Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Newsweek etc. gave the promotion tons of free press. And the cost of the coffee? Oh that's the best part: It was practically free! Reports Ad Age: More » -
sarah palin
Off the Campaign Dole, Sarah Palin's Hair Now Totally Shaggy!
What's the deal Sarah Palin? Is Alaska too small-time for you to bother dolling up your hair all nice like you did for the media elites? The former Republican VP nominee's locks are, in case you didn't notice, way messy since she got back to Alaska; see the photos above, taken at her Anchorage gubernatorial office and at the Anchorage airport. Why is this terrible thing happening and how do we stop it from destroying us all? More » -
books
Bush Sanitized Himself After Touching Obama
Barack Obama and his "good bride" Michelle are set to meet the First Family at the White House Monday. This will be unavoidably awkward, what with Obama having spent the last two years talking about how terrible the Bush Administration has been and all. It certainly doesn't take the edge off things that Bush seemed deathly afraid to touch That One at their first meeting four years ago. Fox News tracked down the relevant passage in Obama's second memoir, the Audacity of Hope:
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sarah palin
Sarah Palin On Charges She Is An Idiot: No Comment
The news media has tracked failed VP candidate Sarah Palin to the wilds of Alaska to get her reaction to the LOL-legation that she thought Africa was a country rather than a continent. Her forceful rebuke of the charge can be summed up as: It, uh, sounds like some bitters are saying I maybe, uh, didn't know the answer to a question so, uh, who was it that said that, anyhow? Click to watch the mush-mouthed meanderings of a geographically challenged woman. -
oprah winfrey
Oprah Cry-Guy Identified!
As Barack Obama delivered his presidential acceptance speech, Oprah Winfrey prominently led the nation in a good cry. But when the cameras caught her, she was leaning heavily up against some white guy. Who was that?? Oprah basically owns Chicago, so the Sun-Times promptly deployed an investigative team to find out. The man is Sam Perry of California's Silicon Valley, he is an Obama volunteer and contributor, a former wire-service reporter, and basically one of the nicest guys ever, according to his wife, who should know. Her quote and a clip of the Daily Show making fun of Perry, after the jump. More » -
dead trees
Obama Saves Newsweeklies, Too!
"By late yesterday, Time, which published more than 100,000 extra copies, had already gone back to press, while Newsweek, which also added 100,000 to its print run, was very close to doing the same." [Post] -
barack obama
Daily Show: Well, We Can Always Make Fun Of Fox News
The Daily Show weighed in on whether it will face a CRISIS OF COMEDY in a new, much more competent Obama Administration. As host Jon Stewart made clear Wednesday night, the show thinks it'll be fine, and as we predicted, the show will hedge its bets with other targets — namely, Fox News and Democrats not named Barack Obama. Here's what Daily Show writer J. R. Havlan said at the New York Comedy Festival, via the Times: More » -
barack obama
As Obama Won: The Flickr Album
In some prior election year, the behind-the-scenes footage of a president-elect's first moments might have been captured by a photographer for, say, Life, or at least distributed through a glossy magazine like that. It must have been some small comfort to Barack Obama to be able to rely instead on a longtime photographer of his own, David Katz, at such an intimate moment, and at such a tender one, a day after the death of his grandmother. As for distribution? Photography's bridge to the 21st century, Flickr. The campaign's remarkable set of 82 behind-the-scenes pictures includes the one above, of Obama watching McCain concede, and our other favorites, after the jump. More » -
feuds
Epic History Of McCain-Palin War
"They are all shitting on each other. . Let’s try to make some sense of it." [Wonkette] -
cartoons
Palling Around With Monuments
The urge to draw, literally, a link between Abraham Lincoln and Barack Obama would have been irresistible to editorial cartoonists even if both men were not Illinois legislators, outspoken against a foreign military adventure and exploitive of their hardscrabble upbringings in the national hinterlands. Who better to juxtapose with the country's first black president than the commander-in-chief who emancipated American slaves (even if Obama's ancestors were not among them)? More » -
sarah palin
Palin Dripping Wet For McCain Staff
"After a minute, Palin sailed into the room wearing nothing but a towel, with another on her wet hair." [Newsweek/Reuters] -
barack obama
Ed Norton's Obama Documentary Sold To HBO
Amy Rice and Alicia Sams' documentary on Barack Obama has been filming since summer 2006, before the president-elect was even seeking the Democratic nomination. But the directors were inspired by the Illinois senator's speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, and thought he'd be worth following. Actor Ed Norton's Class 5 Films put up some money, the Obama camp provided inside access and now the bet is paying off, and not just because the candidate went all the way: HBO, it was just announced, is paying in the low seven-figures for the film, and theatrical rights are still available. Chalk it up as yet another Obama win against the Clintons! More » -
kenneth cole
Kenneth Cole's Bad Slogans Cut Across Party Lines
Middling designer Kenneth Cole is well known for writing his own pun-tastic advertising copy after only seconds of thought, and he hasn't lost his razor-sharp mind. Yesterday there was already a Kenneth Cole billboard up for Obama's election: "A precedent we can be proud of.—Kenneth Cole." He had one ready for a McCain election, too: "Out with the old...In with the older.—Kenneth Cole." In case of a third party victory, he could have gone with: "OMG I'm so surprised I didn't even think one up! Well okay how about like, 'Third is the word.' Yea, I like that because it has, like, different levels. Raoul, send that one over to the billboard people.—Kenneth Cole." [NYT] -
nate silver
Stat Geek Called Election, Mulls Stats Empire
In case you didn't obsessively compare election results to his site in real time, it's worth noting that baseball stat whiz Nate Silver wholly justified his gushing press and nailed the popular vote. His prediction: 52.3 percent Obama, 46.3 percent McCain. Actuals: 52.4 percent Obama, 46.3 percent McCain. Within a tenth of a percent, bitches! Granted, there are a couple of million votes yet uncounted, but Silver has already extrapolated how those will play out, and he's still super-close. Unless you want to step to his stats?? Thought so. Silver may grow fabulously wealthy applying his battle-tested techniques to other realms, according to the Wall Street Journal: More » -
fox news channel
Daily Show's First Jokes About First Black President
After calling Fox News Channel to task for its Barack Obama coverage, the Daily Show's Jon Stewart asked Fox host Chris Wallace if the network might need to change its stripes under the incoming Democratic administration. Actually no, Wallace said, because Obama, like all presidents, will inevitably screw up, and skeptical coverage will be rewarded. "Let me just say," Wallace added, "I worry about you. That William Ayers joke bombed. This crowd is not ready." He had a point. More » -
sarah palin
Angry McCain Camp Says Palin A Huge Diva
Sarah Palin famously claimed she had "absolutely no diva in me," but former McCain aides did their best to demolish that assertion in a super-juicy Thursday Times story. Among their embittered, anonymous and still entirely plausible claims: They budgeted the Republican vice presidential nominee around $25,000 for clothes and were shocked at her $150,000 shopping spree; Palin wrote a concession speech that she desperately wanted to deliver Tuesday night; and she never told McCain about a call she thought she had scheduled with the president of France (really a DJ prank). Now they're talking about sending lawyers to audit her family's closets and just generally trying to destroy her chances of running for anything anywhere, ever. Here's what they told the Times about Palin's clothes shopping:
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election
Palin-Africa Story Implodes Right Wing Media Cabal
Were you aware that Fox News Channel sometimes fails "to question... anonymous, and quite absurd, claims?" Or that the right-leaning cable news network sometimes inflates implausible narratives by deciding on a "thematic link" in advance and searching for footage to fit that storyline? Yes, for several years now? Well then you're several steps ahead of conservative blogs like the A-List Ace of Spades or Michelle Malkin's startup Hot Air, which all of a sudden are none too happy with Fox News for claiming Sarah Palin doesn't know that Africa is a continent. Welcome to the last gasps of what Hillary Clinton called the "vast right-wing conspiracy!" More » -
sarah palin
Palin Didn't Know Continents Vs. Countries: McCain Leak
Failure may be an orphan, but McCain campaign veterans seem to be doing their best to pin blame for defeat on their MAVERICK VP choice Sarah Palin. Fox News Channel political correspondent Carl Cameron today disclosed the first of what he predicts will be an "avalanche" of unflattering stories about the Republican vice presidential nominee: Off-the-record tips from McCain aides that Palin did not know Africa was a continent or the constituent countries in the NAFTA treaty. He later told Bill O'Reilly Palin didn't know the constituent nations of North America, either. More damning, from a campaign perspective? More » -
bill o'reilly
No Matter What, Bill O'Reilly Always Wins
Who's the big winner of this election, besides whoever got laid in exchange for their ticket to last night's Obama rally? Bill O'Reilly, of course! Loud Fox asshole and bold fresh piece of humanity O'Reilly lays out his strategy: "We are going to be the watchdogs. We don't know what Obama is going to do. It's my job to explain every move he makes, but I'm not going to nitpick him." I guess he's now like Keith Olbermann, and vice versa! There are some benefits to being in the opposition party. (He said this to TMZ, btw. Bill, why do you talk to TMZ but not to us? We won't nitpick you.) [TMZ] -
newspapers
It's A Great Day To Be A Newspaper
We all know that print is dead and so forth but, darn it, nobody can deny that today is a great day to be a newspaper. Everybody wants a souvenir of Obama's victory, and you know what makes a great souvenir? That's right, a newspaper. This is a photo of a line outside the NYT building on 40th Street of people waiting—for a newspaper! Incredible. Reports of news stands from Brooklyn to Manhattan actually selling out are flooding into Gawker HQ!: More » -
election night stories
Obama Redeems Hipsters And All Of Us, Too
I watched the election results last night at a big shiny CNN party surrounded by flat screen TVs and media people in suits. Sure, there were free mozzarella sticks and lots of cheering, but Lou Dobbs was there too, and when the Obama victory came through I wished that I was out in the streets surrounded by hundreds of crazy cheering hopeful people. And I found that very thing on Bedford Ave. in Williamsburg, the geographic heart of all we mock. Hipsters, it was your finest moment. And you can't help but believe that when the amorphous hipster mob takes to the street for democracy while a grim Lou Dobbs climbs silently into his pajamas somewhere across town, brighter days are ahead. God bless America.









































