Barack Obama recently compared his ears to those of Alfred E. Neuman, the cartoon face of Mad Magazine. Well, Mad Magazine has just released two new spoof movie posters making fun of the two presidential candidates.
The website has many other parody posters available for download, such as “The Knockout” a hilarious depiction of a boxing Barack Obama beating Hilary Clinton in a boxing match — a perfect analogy for their intense primary race.
The two newest are “The 46-Year-Old Political Virgin,” where Obama is the spitting image of Steve Carell in the overly innocent “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” poster. Where the original boasts, “Better Late Than Never,” the Obama poster warns, “He’s come too soon.”
As for Sen. John McCain, MAD takes a stab at the septuagenarian‘s (nope, he’s not quite an octogenarian yet!) age. The “No Country For Old Man” poster bills McCain’s possible win as “A Frightening Sequel to the Bush Presidency” and keenly notes, “Running the Nation? This Guy Shouldn’t Even Be Driving!”
I think both posters are very clever, poking fun at two of the most obvious “shortcomings” of each candidate – Obama’s limited experience and McCain’s, well, advanced age!
Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin made good on rumors that she would appear on Saturday Night Live this past Saturday. Although I think it was smart of Palin to come on the show to prove that Tina Fey’s jabs aren’t getting to her, her performance was less than stellar. In the past, I’ve seen John McCain make a surprise visit with humorous results. However, I believe Palin’s cocky attitude got in the way of even making it seem like she was making fun of herself.
Click to watch the opening segment
The opening begins like a typical opening sketch, with Tina Fey playing Palin in a press conference. She addresses the audience as the “liberal elite media” and the “liberal regular media,” and tells them, “I am looking forward to a portion of your questions.” She pokes fun at McCain’s debate style, insisting that she thought he did well in the past week’s debate while saying Obama’s angelic voice makes McCain’s voice sound like a garbage truck.
As soon as the skit cuts to the real Sarah Palin watching from backstage with producer Lorne Michaels, it goes downhill. Palin is upstaged by Mark Wahlberg, who is searching for Andy Samberg to beat him up after last week’s “Mark Wahlberg Talks to Animals” skit. Her funniest line comes after Alec Baldwin mistakes her for Fey, slams Palin, is corrected by Michaels, and tells her she’s “way hotter in person.” “I must say, your brother Stephen is my favorite Baldwin brother,” Palin fires back.
Besides that one jab, Palin comes off as cold and unable to see the humor in herself. Even though it’s pretty obvious that her lines were all fed to her, it wouldn’t kill her to appreciate the zingers aimed at her as much as she appreciates the ones she makes toward others during speeches.
Click to watch the Palin rap
Palin returns during the Weekend Update, where Amy Poehler performs a hilarious rap that Palin declines to perform herself. The rap clearly makes fun of Palin, with lines like, “My country tis of thee, from my porch I can see, Russia and stuff.” Palin bops along, but for some reason, the sense that she’s really there to let SNL have their way with her isn’t apparent.
Overall, Palin should loosen up a little if she ever finds herself in a similar situation. Of course, she wants people to take her seriously, since clearly they aren’t, but SNL viewers expect a little self-deprecating humor from these candidates. Sarah showed up, but she didn’t bring it.
Leonardo DiCaprio has produced this star-studded, humorous five-minute YouTube public service announcement that, for the first minute or so, has celebrities like Courteney Cox Arquette and Halle Berry saying “Don’t vote.” Of course, the clip drips in sarcasm – Jamie Foxx interjects, “Who cares about global warming, and the fact that…;” “…our polar ice caps are melting,” DiCaprio completes his sentence- in between all the so-called “urges” not to vote. After plenty of jokes (highlights include Jonah Hill’s “I’ve never fought a war on drugs. I’ve never done shit on drugs besides played Halo 2.”), the obvious is stated, kicked off by Berry saying, “Don’t vote…unless you care about health care,” a sentiment echoed by more of the stars on various other important issues, like the war or abortion.
Obama and McCain's stances on abortion
The video did a great job conveying the importance of a vote. By using a sort of reverse psychology, the nonpartisan ad used personalities that appeal to all types of demographics – Ellen DeGeneres, Sarah Silverman, Jennifer Aniston, will.i.am, Usher – to make viewers feel as though they’d be stupid not to exercise their right.
The stars tell the audience that they need to register to vote, almost saying “duh” with their tone. And then, they each say something along the lines of “I’ll wait while you write this information down.”
The ways the actors, singers, and comedians convey their message really does make the audience feel like voting is as obvious a thing to do as brushing your teeth in the morning. And that is how it should be. Party politics aside, if we care about what’s going on in this world – and we should, because a lot needs to be fixed – we need to get out there.
So, as the video suggests, send it to five friends. Get the word out. Register as soon as possible, deadlines are fast approaching. Then, on Nov. 4, get to the polls. Think about the issues that matter. Think about who will get the results you want in areas that matter to you. Then, make your voice heard. Vote.
Despite the huge potential for disaster (Palin’s response to Katie Couric asking her what newspapers she reads wasn’t exactly articulate; Biden gaffes more often than he changes his underwear), Thursday night’s debate between Sen. Joseph Biden and Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin went surprisingly well. The two vice presidential candidates made obvious remarks in the name of political theater, but also made many valid points against their opponent’s ticket. Biden choked up talking about the accident that killed his wife and daughter, Palin played up the good in her being a “Washington outsider,” winking and “You betcha”-ing the whole way through. Still, each candidate held his or her ground. Palin focused on energy, her “area of expertise,” and Biden attacked the work of Sen. John McCain, doling out facts and figures in his characteristic self-assured fashion.
Both candidates looked good – Palin in her usual perfect make up, impeccably coiffed and dressed, Biden flashing that signature grin, even when Palin took stabs at him for “pointing backward.”
Moderator Gwen Ifill
Word on the street is that Tina Fey will be back for tonight’s Saturday Night Live to play Palin yet again. Although there was, as usual, still a lot to be poked fun at on Palin’s end, the writers are going to have to be even more creative to construe what she said into something as hilarious as their previous Palin skits, given her stronger-than-expected performance.
Two rock music giants, Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel, will play a fund raising concert for Barack Obama’s campaign Oct. 16. The concert is being billed as the first time the two stars have ever graced the same stage, but the Huffington Post posted this YouTube video, debunking that claim:
Even if they’ve played together before, it seems like a good opportunity to see two legends in one night. And to support a presidential candidate right before a very important election.
Don’t get too excited, though: tickets are supposedly going for between $500 to $10,000.
The Huffington Post says Obama will be there, and the campaign said it would be “the last event in the tri-state area before the election.” The concert is scheduled for the day after the third and final presidential debate.
Billy Joel performs
No word yet on other performers.
Springsteen and the E Street band are also scheduled to play at the Super Bowl Halftime Show on February 1.
This map on Patchwork Nation shows the classification of different regions of the US
The Christian Science Monitor site has a really cool feature called Patchwork Nation, which follows where the candidates go to give their stump speeches – areas the site dubs with cute little names such as “monied ‘burbs,” “minority central” and “evangelical epicenters.” According to the site’s “About” section, “the site is based on evidence that people’s voting patterns are based at least partly on where they live.”
The colors represent the different types of communities visited.
Well, according to the candidate tracker, Sarah Palin needs to expand her horizons just a bit. Although she is a newbie and has not been on board quite as long as everybody else, and although she seems to be holding McCain’s hand through a lot of this campaign process, she needs to visit someplace other than the suburbs and “industrial metropolises.” I know that Republicans tend to be wealthier than their Democratic counterparts, but if Palin and McCain want to win over people who might not be in the more stereotypical demographics of the party, little miss VP candidate should probably reach out a little more. And, if she’s going to prove she isn’t just his Mini-Me, she should leave Sen. McCain at home.
Palin's tracker on Patchwork Nation
She’s also only been on 20 total visits, according to the site, while Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden has been to 39. He has visited eight of the 11 different types of communities recognized by Patchwork Nation, while Palin has been to six. Step up your game, Sarah!
Tina Fey returned to Saturday Night Live last night to portray Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin once again. Her take on Palin’s Katie Couric interview was priceless, especially the part about Palin’s claim that Alaska’s proximity to Russia is great for her foreign policy credentials. “Every morning when Alaskans wake up, one of the first things they do is look outside to see if there are any Russians hanging around, if there are you gotta go up to them and ask ‘What are ya doin’ here?’ and if they can give you a good reason, or they can’t, then it’s our responsibility to say, you know, ‘Shoo, get back over there,'” Fey’s Palin said.
Here’s the video of the foreign policy portion of the actual interview:
A few other gems from the SNL skit centered on Palin’s experience with the United Nations this past week. Fey said, “I was disheartened by how many of them were foreigners,” and she referred to Bono as “the king of Ireland.”
Saturday Night Live also took on Friday’s presidential debate between McCain and Obama. For the most part, SNL used the debate skit to poke fun at McCain’s “gimmicks” that he has used to shake up his campaign, like his proposal to postpone the debates. Darrell Hammond’s McCain suggests irrelevant events like three-city pie eating contests as part of the campaign. They even threw in a Hillary Clinton joke. SNL alum Chris Parnell as Jim Lehrer said, “I would like to thank…Sen. Hillary Clinton, who flew down here just in case Sen. McCain didn’t show up. I’m sorry it didn’t work out.”
Click to watch SNL's take on Friday's debate
Footage of Friday’s debate can be found on cnn.com.
YouTube celebrities count in the politician/celebrity discussion, as far as I’m concerned. And thanks to the amazing one-stop-shop for all things election, perspctv, and Black & Right, which perspctv had a link to, I was able to stumble upon this lovely little gem, that I’m sure, given more exposure, would go viral. And I’m hoping to start that exposure in this little blog.
Essentially, he’s just a 5-year old boy chanting “Yes We Can,” but to me it shows how important this election is. Maybe this kid is being fed the words, and he has no idea what he’s actually saying, but, regardless, he is the future that this election is going to impact. If you look at it this way, I think it’s pretty powerful.
On the other hand, I can see how this just drills the throwaway “change” message even further. Critics believe that there needs to be more substance behind the argument. To this I say, if a 5-year-old can see that we need something different, why can’t everyone else?
Taking advantage of the massive support from the musical community for Barack Obama, his campaign now offers a CD entitled “Yes We Can: Voices of a Grassroots Movement.” According to The Associated Press, the $24.99 for a digital download and $30 for an actual CD will go directly to the campaign through Election Day, and after that it will be sold through other outlets.
John Mayer is one of the artists featured on the CD
The CD contains previously released tracks, like “Waiting on the World to Change” by John Mayer, along with tracks specifically recorded for the album, such as “American Prayer” by Dave Stewart and “Promised Land” by Malik Yusef featuring Kanye West and Adam Levine from Maroon 5. Los Lonely Boys, John Legend, Sheryl Crow, and Stevie Wonder are also among the diverse line-up featured on the album. It was put out by Hidden Beach Recordings, a division of Universal Music Group.
According to the AP article, the McCain camp criticized Obama for using this method of fundraising. “‘It’s ironic that on a day when the economy is in turmoil, Barack Obama fails to release an economic plan, but instead chooses a celebrity rock album,’ said spokesman Tucker Bounds.”
Maybe Obama shouldn’t play into his celebrity connections so much, but I think that this is a perfectly acceptable way to make some money for the campaign. The fact that all these credible musicians back him might fuel McCain’s “Obama is a celebrity” fire, but it also speaks a lot for Obama’s message. Those in the “in crowd,” particularly the musicians who value a democratic government, are behind Obama enough that they would sell their music to further his cause. Obama’s promise of change really resonates with a large demographic, especially young voters, who are influenced by the music of the stars featured on “Yes We Can.”
A variety of stars already showed their support in will.i.am’s video “Yes We Can,” which featured stars like John Legend, Tatiana Ali, Kate Walsh, Scarlett Johansson, Common, Kareem Abdul-Jabar and Aisha Tyler, among many others. The song used clips from an Obama speech from the New Hampshire primary, and featured the celebrities singing over it with the speech serving as the lyrics. It’s a pretty inspiring piece of work, and I think the compilation CD just takes it one step further.
I really don’t think it’s wrong for Obama to profit from it, either. If famous people want to come together to help him spread his message, and it’s going to help him fund his campaign, why not?
The fabulous Barbra Streisand performed for an audience who paid $2,500
Jodie Foster attended Obama's $28,500 fundraiser
a pop to see her at a reception held after a Barack Obama fundraiser Tuesday. Stars like Will Ferrell, Jodie Foster, and Leonardo DiCaprio forked over the $28,500 per person to attend the dinner at an LA mansion, which was followed by Streisand’s performance at the Wilshire Hotel.
Streisand, who supported Hillary Clinton in the primaries, recently said what all women were thinking on her website: “I believe John McCain chose Gov. Palin because he truly believes that women who supported Hillary—an experienced, brilliant, life-long public servant–would vote for him because his Vice President has two x chromosomes. McCain’s selection of Governor Palin is a transparent and irresponsible decision all in the name of trying to win this election.”
Although Obama received criticism from McCain for holding a celebrity fundraiser on the night the stock market took a serious tumble (an Associated Press article quoted McCain saying “He talks about siding with the people — siding with the people — just before he flew off the Hollywood for a fundraiser with Barbra Streisand and his celebrity friends. Let me tell you, my friends: There’s no place I would rather be than here with the working men and woman of Ohio.”), Obama said his campaign was being fought for people who would “never see the inside of a building like this and don’t resent the success that’s represented in this room, but just want the simple chance to be able to find a job that pays a living wage,” according to this Wall Street Journal piece.
Since Obama rejected public finance, he can still get private donations while McCain cannot. I think Barack had every right to appear at this fundraiser. The celebrities have the “cashola” to help him out in a big way, and they showed up. Reports say over 300 people were at the fundraiser, which raised about $9 million.
Obama has raised $374 million to date from individual contributors, according to the Federal Election Commission.
The majority of that came from donations of $200 and under. Obama clearly did what he could to build up his grassroots following, and now that he has the ability to dip into the pockets of the rich to help him with his funding, why shouldn’t he? He already hit a one-month record of $66 million for August, according to the New York Times, so he should keep the momentum going.
The two newest are “The 46-Year-Old Political Virgin,” where Obama is the spitting image of Steve Carell in the overly innocent “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” poster. Where the original boasts, “Better Late Than Never,” the Obama poster warns, “He’s come too soon.”
Twentysomething 
