The Oscars

There were no political statements at this year's Oscars --- if you count some rather mild Jon Stewart remarks, some clever, others a bit flat. Or there were a few could have been delivered by Bob Hope. "Oscar is 80 this year, which automatically makes him the front runner for the Republican nomination."

Even Alex Gibney, winning for best documentary for "Taxi from the Dark Side," about the U.S. military interrogation of prisoners that Discovery found too controversial to air, was restrained in his acceptance speech, pretty much letting his work speak for itself.

The lack of political firebrand was one surprise at this year's Oscars, where instead the highlight was Diablo Cody, winner for best screenplay for "Juno." She was a former stripper who penned her script at the snack bar at a Target store in Crystal, Minn.

Any hint of political statement came from the makers of "Freeheld," Cynthia Wade and Vanessa Roth, the winner of documentary short, about a lesbian woman who is denied legal benefits as her partner is dying of terminal cancer. It also was presented by soldiers in Iraq, via satellite, although nothing was made of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

Perhaps the otherwise apolitical nature of the ceremony is that the country could be on the cusp of an historic election and the Bush bashing has just run its course. As Stewart noted, Hollywood could be about to witness something only a screenwriter would dream up.

“Normally when you see a black man or a woman president, an asteroid is about to hit the Statue of Liberty.”