Wilshire & Washington

Lou Dobbs' Slip

Lou Dobbs was railing against Condoleezza Rice's contention that America's inability to talk about race amounted to a "birth defect."

He challenged the concept, arguing that Americans don't have a problem talking about race but do fear the "recrimination and distortion" that can come if their comments are misinterpreted.

"We're living with the issue of race. We've got to be able to talk about it. And I guarantee you this, not a single one of these cotton..." He pauses ... "these ridiculous politicians should be the moderator on the issue of race."

He almost said "cotton pickin...," which surely would have tested his whole thesis.

Hillary on Jay

Hillary Clinton appears on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" on Thursday, timed to her fund-raiser at the Wilshire Theater.

Clinton has made three appearance on "Tonight" this campaign season, and also has been a guest on "Late Show with David Letterman," "Saturday Night Live" and "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart."

John McCain is a guest on Letterman's show on Tuesday. (corrected)

"Stop-Loss": Auds Still Shun the War

Updated

That, and other news, in today's Political Panorama.

Kimberly Peirce's "Stop-Loss" became the latest Iraq-war themed movie to sputter at the box office, despite a marketing campaign that evoked Abercrombie & Fitch more than a call to arms. The pic posted $4.5 million at the box office.

The marketing campaign may have had its intended effect --- just not in the numbers that the studio wanted. Variety's Pamela McClintock reports that 61% of the audience were females and 45% was under the age of 25.

The movie, however, did earn positive reviews. Reihan Salam writes in the Atlantic that the movie still matters. "While military families bear the burden of near-constant deployments and physical and emotional injuries, the rest of the country barely senses the cost of our efforts to pacify Iraq and Afghanistan. This could be a brief for a larger, better-equipped, and better-funded military coupled with more generous benefits for veterans -- an agenda embraced by many on the right and left. But that's not Peirce's message. Aimed at a broader and younger audience than earlier Iraq War polemics like Redacted and In the Valley of Elah, the movie aspires to a more affecting, powerful indictment of the war, one that paints the young Americans who choose to join the military as victims, cruelly hoodwinked by politicians with a callous disregard for their lives."

Gore's Campaign: Al Gore unveiled his new $300 million global warming campaign on "60 Minutes" last night. The new series of ads --- which will appear on shows such as "American Idol" --- feature strange bedfellow pairings of politicos and celebrities to get the point across of the need for action. One of the first, narrated by William H. Macy, pairs the Rev. Al Sharpton with the Rev. Pat Robertson.

Here's the first ad:

The spots are intended to show the bipartisan support that global warming efforts already have, and  by extension suggest that the  skeptical views now reflect a tiny minority, or at least the fringe.

That does not mean they are not out there. A Washington DC think tank funded by oil and gas companies has spent $35,000 on an ad that takes on Gore and his connections to the entertainment industry. The Washington Post reports, "The ad argues that Gore and his allies in Hollywood use plenty of energy but that "Al Gore wants to cut our energy use, putting our jobs and our future in jeopardy.""

50 Cent Switch: 50 Cent tells MTV News that he's switching from Hillary to Obama to I don't know. In other words, don't make this man a surrogate.

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Quotable: "...Now that we're down to two contenders, it's turned into an unending last episode of Survivor. They're eating rats and they're frying bugs, and they're frying rats and they're eating bugs; no one is ever going to get off the island and I can't take it any more." Nora Ephron, on the presidential campaign, in a blog post on Huffington Post.

The "Rudy" Vote

Actor Sean Astin campaigned for Hillary Clinton in Indiana on Friday, and while he is perhaps most recently recognized from "Lord of the Rings," it's his 1993 football movie "Rudy," set in the Hoosier state, that still strikes a nerve.

A clip:

Bill Maher: Is the Pope Like Wright?

Barack Obama has been faced with the lingering question: If Rev. Wright's remarks have been so inflammatory, why didn't he just pick up and leave the church?

On 23/6, Bill Maher extends the logic to the Catholic Church, with an aim at Fox News commentator Sean Hannity. Perhaps more than any cable news host, Hannity has been the most aggressive in attacking Obama on the Wright issue.

Maher writes, "If you leave a church when the head of the church says bad things about America, what do you do when your church hierarchy is caught up in a systematic and decades-long sex abuse scandal? And did I mention the people being sexually abused were children? Hundreds of them?

"How about when the head of that church, or Pope, associated with and promoted members of the clergy who not only facilitated the sexual abuse and rape of hundreds and hundreds of children, but engaged in a decades-long cover-up of those crimes?

"Reverend Wright associated with Farrakhan. The Pope works with Cardinal Law. Which is worse? Isn't it the man who shuffled "priests" like Shanley and Geoghan and many others from parish to parish with the full knowledge of their crimes, and then claimed he had no idea?"

Gore: No Endorsement Yet

That, and other news, in today's Political Panorama.

Waiting for an Al Gore endorsement? Keep waiting. "What have we got, five months left?" he told the Associated Press. He predicted that the nomination fight will "resolve itself" before the convention. "I think it is going to resolve itself, but we'll see."

McCain's New Ad: As Chuck Todd of NBC News notes, John McCain's new ad casts the candidate in historic terms, just as a Clinton or Obama presidency would be one for the books.

China Fight: Tina Daunt of the Los Angeles Times writes that Hollywood isn't so enthusiastic about the Olympic in Beijing anymore, what with Darfur and the Tibet protests. She cites George Clooney's recent effort to convince Omega watches to boycott.

Daunt writes, "Clooney, who has been working to raise public awareness about Darfur for several years, is trying another tack: Two weeks ago, he urged Swiss watchmaker Omega to reconsider its sponsorship of the Olympics. (Clooney is a spokesman for the company and appears in its ads.)

"The actor told the BBC: "I have talked with Omega [about China] for over a year and will continue to talk to Omega." Omega, which has a long association with the Games, told Clooney that they weren't interested in making a political statement by pulling out."

Ben Stein's Movie: Ben Stein holds a press teleconference today to talk about "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed," his new documentary on intelligent design. Among the pic's supporters are James Dobson, Don Wildmon and Chuck Colson --- three names not usually connected with anything related to the entertainment business.

Obama on "The View": Here are excerpts from his appearance today.

Obama Talks Wright on "The View"

Taping an appearance on ABC's "The View" on Thursday, Barack Obama said he's talked to his former pastor Jeremiah Wright since the controversy erupted over inflammatory remarks Wright gave on the pulpit.

"I think he's saddened by what's happened, and I told him I feel badly that he has been characterized just in this one way, and people haven't seen this broader aspect of him," Obama said, according to ABC News.

Co-host Elizabeth Hasselbeck, who has been the most critical of Obama among all of "The View" regulars, asked the candidate whether his choice of pastor reflected his sense of judgment.

Obama responded, "Part of what my role in my politics is to get people who don't normally listen to each other to talk to each other, who [say] crazy things, who are offended by each other, for me to understand them and to maybe help them understand each other."

The appearance will air on Friday.

Gore's Climate Campaign

Al Gore tells "60 Minutes" that the Alliance for Climate Protection will launch a new, $300 million ad campaign on global warming next week.

The twist is who will be involved in the spots.

According to CBS News, "Some of the ads will feature unlikely alliances to drive home the message that people of all stripes are concerned about global warming. These include the Rev. Al Sharpton and the Rev. Pat Robertson, Toby Keith and the Dixie Chicks, and Nancy Pelosi and Newt Gingrich."

Gore also takes on skeptics like Vice President Dick Cheney.

"You're talking about Dick Cheney. I think that those people are in such a tiny, tiny minority now with their point of view, they’re almost like the ones who still believe that the moon landing was staged in a movie lot in Arizona and those who believe the world is flat,” says Gore. "That demeans them a little bit, but it's not that far off."

Taking on Elton John

Updated

That, and other news, in today's Political Panorama.

The Drudge headline this morning was "Don't Go Breakin the Law," a reference to Elton John's April 9 Radio City Music Hall concert for Hillary Clinton. The Washington Times suggested that Clinton's campaign could be in violation of campaign finance rules by having John, a foreign national, take such a prominent role in a fund-raising event.

Not so, says a Federal Electon Commission spokesman. In a statement provided to the Clinton campaign, FEC spokesman Bob Biersack said, "I did not intend to convey in my conversation with the Washington Times reporter that there is anything unlawful about Elton John performing in a concert to raise money for a US presidential candidate. The Advisory Opinion 2004-26 is clear in the circumstances of the request that foreign nationals may volunteer and may even solicit contributions from non-foreign nationals, provided they are not soliciting other foreign nationals."

John is performing at the concert for free, according to the campaign.

More importantly is the question of whether the event will sell out. Noting eight reminders that the campaign has sent out to supporters and reporters, as well as a contest tie-in, ABC News' Eloise Harper has doubts.

The Gore Option: Time's Joe Klein looks at what it would take for Al Gore to secure the nomination.

McCain's Methods: Time's Michael Scherer zeroes in on John McCain's relations with the telecom industry, including Echostar's Charlie Ergen, Paxson's Bud Paxson and Eddie Edwards of Glencairn Communications.  It's a mied bag of collecting contributions from the industry while at the same time railing against the influence of lobbyists.

Ari's Latest: Ari Emanuel writes on Huffington Post, "The real experience Hillary Clinton gained during her years in the White House has finally been revealed: she learned, just like her husband, how to manipulate words to cover up her lies." His brother, Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel, is a former Clinton administration official and the only superdelegate House member from the state yet to choose a candidate.

Stone's "W": James Cromwell will play George H.W. Bush and Ellen Burstyn will play Barbara Bush in Oliver Stone's upcoming pic "W." Variety's Michael Fleming reports that the film could be finished in time for the November elections. Josh Brolin plays the title role.

The Latest Fund-raising Numbers

This election cycle, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have each raised about $2.94 million from the entertainment industry through the end of February, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Both candidates have raised nearly equal amounts throughout the campaign, but this is about the closest that they have been. Only about $3,000 separates them, underscoring the split in Hollywood's allegiances.

John McCain was far behind in show biz money, having raised a still respectable $573,375.

Industry donors are giving about 82% to Democratic presidential candidates, and 18% to Republicans. That is a bit more lopsided than the traditional patterns of giving. Since 1990, 69% of all entertainment industry contributions have gone to Democrats, and 31% to Republicans, according to the CRP.

Clinton Donors Chide Pelosi

Haim Saban, Sim Farar, Robert L. Johnson and Clarence Avant are among the Hillary Clinton donors and fundraisers who signed a letter to Nancy Pelosi that criticizes her for taking Barack Obama's side in the battle over superdelegates.

Pelosi has said that she believes that superdelegates should vote for whoever is the leader in pledged delegates --- a position that favors Obama because it is more than likely he will have a lead in those votes by the end of the primary season.

But the letter, obtained by Talking Points Memo, also has what appears to be a veiled threat to withhold contributions to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

"We have been strong supporters of the DCCC. We therefore urge you to clarify your position on super-delegates and reflect in your comments a more open view to the optional independent actions of each of the delegates at the National Convention in August. We appreciate your activities in support of the Democratic Party and your leadership role in the Party and hope you will be responsive to some of your major enthusiastic supporters."

The full letter, via Talking Points Memo:

Where Are The "Boys on the Bus"?

That, and other news, in today's Political Panorama.

I'm a little late today, tied up with a few assignments...

Campaign Trail: Despite unpredecedented coverage of the presidential race, there actually are fewer reporters on the trail with the candidates this year, as newspapers cut back on coverage, reports the New York Times.

Katie's Debate Boost: As the only network not to host a debate, CBS News looks to boost their fortunes with a Katie Couric moderated forum in North Carolina.

McCain and the Media: Neal Gabler writes in the New York Times about why the media so loves John McCain. "Seeming to view himself and the whole political process with a mix of amusement and bemusement, Mr. McCain is an ironist wooing a group of individuals who regard ironic detachment more highly than sincerity or seriousness. He may be the first real postmodernist candidate for the presidency — the first to turn his press relations into the basis of his candidacy.

"What makes 2008 different — and why I think Mr. McCain can be called the first postmodernist presidential candidate — is his acknowledgment of the symbiosis between himself and the press and, more important, his willingness, even eagerness, to let the press in on his own machinations of them. On the bus, Mr. McCain openly talks about his press gambits. According to Mr. Lizza, Mr. McCain proudly brandished an index card with a “gotcha” quote from Mitt Romney that the senator had given Tim Russert of “Meet the Press,” a journalist few would expect to need help in finding candidates’ gaffes. In exposing his two-way relationship with the press this way, he reveals the absurdity of the political process as a big game. He also reveals his own gleeful cynicism about it.

"The candidates who are dead serious about politics, even wonkish, get abused by the press for it. Mr. McCain the ironist gets heaps of affection. In this race, though, it has forced some press contortions. While John McCain 2000 was praised for being the same straight talker off the bus as he was on it, John McCain 2008 is praised precisely because he isn’t the same man. Off the bus he plays to the rubes (us) by reciting the conservative catechism; on the bus he plays to the press by giving the impression that his talk is all just a ploy to capture the Republican nomination."

Making Sense: Variety's Brian Lowry writes that Obama's race speech left many cable news commentators, well, speechless. How do they respond when they are programmed for the trivial?

Lowry writes, "The Project for Excellence in Journalism neatly summarized the Obama coverage, saying that "perhaps the most intriguing element was watching the media culture try to deal with a speech that was so complex it defied the TV panel debate, the skills of the veteran political writer or the parameters of a 90-second nightly news segment."

Church & State: Jack Klugman, Michael J. Fox, Wendie Malick and Dan Lauria taped a special program in D.C.'s Penn Quarter on the separation of church and state, reports the Washington Examiner's Yeas & Nays.

MoveOn Moment: MoveOn and Robert Greenwald's Brave New Films will deliver more than 200,000 petition signatures to NBC in New York and ABC in Washington on Thursday asking the networks not to "parrot Fox's right-wing smears during the critical 2008 election."

Morris' Plans: The Politico's Jeffrey Ressner writes that director Errol Morris plans an online site featuring an archive of unredacted photos, interview transcripts and court papers related to Abu Ghraib. Morris is working on a new documentary, "S.O.P.: Standard Operating Procedure."

McCain's Iraq Speech

He delivered these remarks this morning before the Los Angeles World Affairs Council.

When I was five years old, a car pulled up in front of our house in New London, Connecticut, and a Navy officer rolled down the window, and shouted at my father that the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor.  My father immediately left for the submarine base where he was stationed.

McCain, Money and a Movie

Speaking in 2006 before a group of businessmen in Washington D.C., John McCain vowed to pursue reform of the corruptive influence of money and politics. "This fight will go on as long we are alive," he said, before offering a wry quip comparing the Beltway to the devil.

This snippet is one of the few times that McCain appears in the new documentary, "Mr. Schneider Goes to Washington," Jonathan Neil Schneider's look at the choking hold that lobbyist money has on the political process, despite years of efforts at campaign finance reform.

Schneider got a myriad of officials to talk candidly: retired Sen. Ernest Hollings, Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.), a Federal Election Commission official, public interest lawyers, and even lobbyists.

What he did not get, however, was an interview with McCain, the champion of campaign finance reform.

"I thought for sure this would be something he would be thrilled to be involved with," says Schneider. Instead, when he inquired with his staff toward the end of 2006, "Each time I just got the cold shoulder. It became increasingly obvious with each call that he wanted no part in this project."

The reason, he suspects, is that by then McCain was in the early stages of his presidential campaign and, for practical purposes, has tamped down the campaign finance rhetoric.  "Reaching out to donors one week and being critical the next isn't the best strategy," Schneider says.

His documentary, which he finished last year, is an effort to make sense of a campaign finance system in which lawmakers complain about having to spend 70% of their time raising money, yet always fall short in their efforts at bringing true change to the system. Schneider calls the system of financing elections the "incumbency protection program," with those who raise the most money far and away the most likely to win.

The former producer of "America's Next Top Model" says he was inspired to make the film after watching Hollings, then retiring from the Senate, give a blunt interview to "60 Minutes" in 2004 in which he blasted the influence of money and lobbyists on the process. Anxious to break out of voter apathy, Schneider gave up his career, exhausted his savings and even waited tables to finish the project.

The resulting documentary is a mix of talking heads, point of view narration and Michael Moore-like stunts. For instance, there's an ambush interview with Rep. Jerry Weller (R-Ill.) when Schneider catches up with him in Las Vegas, where Weller was hosting a $5,000-per-person event. In another scene, he uses Skid Row homeless to re-enact Sen. Mike Crapo's (R-Ill.) promotional video to entice lobbyists to come to his fund-raising weekend of outdoor fishing. (Crapo wouldn't allow any of that video's footage to be used for the doc.)

Schneider does not yet have a distributor, but he has tried to capitalize on the attention from the 2008 presidential race. During the lead up to the Iowa caucuses, he arranged a screening at the University of Iowa, although Joe Biden was the only candidate to show. Lee Iacocca recently gave the pic his endorsement, saying that "Throughout the film I kept asking myself, "Where is our democracy heading?" "Aren't there any rules anymore?""

Schneider's biggest trouble was in getting many lawmakers to participate. But he does get candid comments from lobbyists Wright Andrews and AT&T's Rodney Smith.

"I think [many lobbyists] believe the system is way out of control as well," Schneider says. "The lobbyists were going to be the big bad guys, and at the end of the day, I think the people who are most accountable are members of Congress. But we are equally responsible for not making government an important part of our life and taking it for granted."

He's skeptical any change is coming, even with candidates like Barack Obama declining to take contributions from PACs and registered lobbyists. Internet fund-raising is a "far better way of collecting those funds," but candidates like Obama still have to rely on bundlers to provide initial cash infusions to launch their campaigns.

This election cycle also has seen McCain secure the nomination despite an under-financed, bare-bones campaign.

Schneider suggests that he's still the exception to the rule, but says, "If he were in the film, he would be the hero of this thing."

Eastwood Perplexed by Arnold's Ax

Clint Eastwood tells the Los Angeles Times he bears no hard feelings toward California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger after he got booted from the state parks board, but he's not sure why he was removed.

"I think it was just somebody got a bee under their bonnet at the right moment, so there we are," Eastwood said.

The official word is that Schwarzenegger declined to renew Eastwood's term on the board because he wanted to give others the chance to serve. But Eastwood and Schwarzenegger's brother-in-law, Bobby Shriver, who also was dropped from the commission, believe it is because they are opposed to plans to build a toll road through San Onofre State Beach.

Eastwood told the Times that he has long opposed the toll road, which Schwarzenegger supports.

"You're not going to get people who are interested in state parks who want to build freeways through state parks," Eastwood said. "So I don't know what the big surprise was there."

Eastwood said he talked with Shriver on the day they were dropped.

"We laughed about it," Eastwood said, "and I said, 'Me? But you're his brother-in-law!' And he said, 'But you're his friend and longtime mentor!' "

McCain's Big Night

John McCain receives Nancy Reagan's endorsement at her Bel-Air home tonight.

Not too far away, he'll also be raising money at the home of his national finance co-chair, Jerry Perenchio, the founder of Univision and prolific GOP donor and fund-raiser.

Perenchio and his wife, Margie, live in the estate that was featured in the TV series "Beverly Hillbillies," a sprawling expanse barely visible from the street. He's a famously media shy mogul, known for parlaying bold investments in entertainment and sports into wildly profitable enterprises. (He was a former partner of Bud Yorkin and Norman Lear in their sitcom production company).

Oddly enough, Perenchio sold Univision in 2006 to a consortium led by Haim Saban, who is one of Hillary Clinton's campaign co-chairs.

Perenchio has stuck with McCain even during his campaign's dark days last year, but there is one oddity about their relationship. As the Washington Post noted last year, Perenchio was just the kind of "soft money" and 527 donor that McCain targeted in campaign finance reform.

The Ties That Bind

Barack Obama is a distant cousin of Brad Pitt, while Hillary Clinton is related to Angelina Jolie.

Pitt and Jolie have yet to endorse.

Internet Impact

That, and other news, in today's Political Panorama.

It had to be said: Political journalists, especially those online, have to be provocative to have their voices heard in this Internet age. That's the conclusion of Time's Michael Scherer, who writes,

"As the value of the package declines, the value of the individual article increases. Online, news organizations charge advertisers based on the number of hits they can get on a site. And since the hits are often coming for specific stories, and not the entire site, a blockbuster story that gets linked to, say, Drudge, is money in the bank."

His peg was a Politico story that all but wrote off Hillary Clinton's chances of securing the nomination.

Scherer continues, "...the competition on the level of the individual story is more intense than ever before, and there is enormous pressure to distinguish yourself from the pack. Assume, for instance, that 12 news organizations do the same story on the same day about how Hillary Clinton has a tough road ahead of her to get the nomination. Which story is going to get the most links and therefore the most readers? Is it the one that cautiously weighs the pros and cons, and presents a nuanced view of her chances? Or is it the one that says she is toast, and anyone who thinks different is living on another planet?"

Scherer is stating something that becomes immediately obvious to any journalists who is adapting to the Web. But it is perhaps less clear to the public at large, which is probably a bit whiplashed at the style of political reporting and commentary this season. The campaigns themselves have caught on to this style of sweeping judgments, and have tailored their daily barrage of conference calls with Drudge-worthy headline snippets. (Richardson is "Judas"; Bill Clinton is "Joe McCarthy").

Now, I will label this post the most important you'll read all day. Just to be provocative.

Just the Facts: A new survey from the Pew Research Center offers some amusing tidbits: More people knew that it was the writers who were on strike (91%) than that Condoleeza Rice is secretary of state (70%). Only 56% know that John McCain is a senator from Arizona, but 84% know that Oprah Winfrey has campaigned for Barack Obama.

Pundit Overload: What happens when one man watches pundits for 24 hours straight?

Bill Challenges Etheridge: Bill Clinton challenged Melissa Etheridge's contention that gays and lesbians were "thrown under the bus" by his adminstration with his support of the Defense of Marriage Act. He says she ignores the realities of the time and adds, with a bit of indignancy to his college-age questioner, "We live in a real world here."

The "View" on Race...

Is this what Obama was thinking when he called for a new kind of discourse on race?

He'll get to answer that question when he appears on "The View" on Thursday.

Was Sinbad Right?

The Clinton campaign says that Hillary Clinton may have misspoken last week when she recalled arriving on a trip to Bosnia in 1996 to sniper fire.

Clinton said, “I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base.”

You'll recall that Sinbad, who was part of the delegation on the trip, challenged Clinton's account that the trip was a dangerous mission. He told the Washington Post, “I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base.”

But there's also been a YouTube video of a CBS News broadcast from 1996 that shows Clinton's arrival, to no sign of sniper fire, along with visits elsewhere in the region. (And yes, there is a brief glimpse of Sinbad joking with a soldier about his haircut).

According to the New York Times, spokesman Howard Wolfson said today, “It is possible in the most recent instance in which she discussed this that she misspoke in regard to the exit from the plane, but there is no question if you look at contemporaneous accounts that she was going to a potential combat zone, that she was on the front lines.”

Hillary in Beverly Hills

Hillary Clinton returns to Southern California on April 3 for a fund-raiser at the Wilshire Theater in Beverly Hills.

This will be her first fund-raiser in the L.A. area since before the California primary, when she raised money at an event at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel following the Democratic debate at the Kodak Theater.

Tickets to the "evening of live conversation and celebration" start at $100, raising to $2,300. Host committee members are down to raise $20,000.

Six days later, on April 9, Elton John will host a concert for Clinton at New York's Radio City Music Hall.

John McCain, meanwhile, will be in Los Angeles on Wednesday to address the Los Angeles World Affairs Council.

Writing Off Clinton

Updated

That, and other news, in today's Political Panorama.

Before New Hampshire, many wondered how the Clinton campaign could survive. Then she won. Before Super Tuesday, it looked doubtful she could survive an Obama surge. Then she won California, Massachusetts and New Jersey. Before Texas and Ohio, there were even calls for her to drop out of the race. Then she won those states. Last week brought a series of stories that outlined just how slim her chances are of capturing the nomination.  Are these just the ingredients for another Clinton comeback?

The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder has a nice commentary on the latest speculation, concluding that the media's influence  is overstated (either way you look at it) and warning that  "it is not clear what the reality is."  Moreover, the race is now stuck in time --- with the new contest on April 22 --- and that certainly makes things ripe for plenty of wild musings.

McCain on Letterman: He pays a visit to "Late Show with David Letterman" on April 1, his 12th appearance and first since securing the GOP nomination.

What About Iraq: Coverage of the war in Iraq plummets, according to a recent study. From the New York Times: "Experts offer many other explanations for the declining media focus, like the danger and expense in covering Iraq, and shrinking newsroom budgets. In the last year, a flagging economy and the most competitive presidential campaign in memory have diverted attention and resources."

Obama Speech: Tina Daunt of the Los Angeles Times reports that some of Barack Obama's supporters went from "despair to delight" in the past week, worried about the Wright comments then relieved once the candidate delivered his speech on race.

Fred's Comeback: Former presidential candidate Fred Thompson signs with a new agent, signaling a return to acting.

"Fox & Friends" Fight: "Fox & Friends" Steve Doocy and Gretchen Carlson get taken to task by Fox anchor Chris Wallace for over-the-top Obama bashing.

"Hillary" No Go: The Supreme Court turns down a conservative group's appeal to promote an anti-Hillary documentary outside of campaign finance laws.

Celebs Weighed: The Politico's Jeffrey Ressner writes about a recent panel on the merits of Hollywood-ites on the campaign trail. One of the bigger perils: Celebrities bringing their own causes to campaign events.

Good Friday

That, and other news, in today's Political Panorama.

Posting will be a bit lighter as we head into Easter weekend...

Clinton Crassness: When 11,000 pages of Hillary Clinton's White House travel schedules were released, many assumed that most attention would be on her role (or lack of role) in NAFTA, S-CHIP, health care and voyages with Sinbad. Instead, many reports, including those from the AP, zeroed in on where Clinton was during the key dates in the Monica Lewinsky scandal.  Is this relevant to the campaign?

Liberal media watchdog Media Matters for America rounds up the obsessive focus from its anchors and correspondents on Lewinsky, even while Tim Russert asserted on the day that they were released, "Senator Clinton has made her experience such a part of this campaign, particularly her eight years as first lady. So this may be very rich in terms of exactly how did she spend her time, who did she meet with?"

To Endorse or Not To Endorse: Bill Richardson gives his nod to Barack Obama, while John Edwards offers no clue as to where he is leaning in an appearance on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."

"I've actually spent time with each of them.  First of all, we went through the entire campaign in very close range, we sat through, you know, unending forums and debates so I've been though a lot with the two of them. And I've spent a lot of time talking to them since then. I think they both bring great strengths but I think the strengths are different.  You know, in the case of Senator Obama he is inspirational, he gets people excited, he gets young people out who otherwise may not be involved in the process.  Senator Clinton has a toughness and a tenacity and experience that has value.  So I think both - either of them I think will be a great candidate and I think either one will be a great President."

The Adams Connection: Steven Waldman writes on Huffington Post that after watching HBO's "John Adams," he concludes that the founding father could very well have agreed with Rev. Wright.

The Ellen Dance: After an odd moment on "The Ellen Show," in which he appeared to have the host in a headlock after some ill-fated dance moves, Chris Matthews (and Ellen DeGeneres) explain what happened.

A Daniel Ellsberg Reunion

On April 7, 1973, Universal executive Jennings Lang hosted a fund-raiser at his home for Daniel Ellsberg and Anthony Russo, then on trial for their roles in leaking the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times.

The event turned out to be more than a humdrum cocktail party. Barbra Streisand performed, and agreed to sing to anyone over the phone for $3,000 a song. Guests included John Lennon and Yoko Ono, as well as Ringo Starr. Streisand sang "Happy Birthday" to Ellsberg, who had just turned 42. All told, according to Time, some $50,000 was raised for the defendants' legal costs.

The head fund-raiser back then, Stanley Sheinbaum, and his wife Betty, are hosting a reunion of sorts on April 7, the 35th anniversary of that event. This time it is to raise money for "The Most Dangerous Man in America," a documentary in development about Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers that is being produced and directed by Rick Goldsmith and Judith Ehrlich. Ellsberg and his wife, Patricia, are the guests of honor.

According to the invite, the "2nd Edition of the Amazing Daniel Ellsberg Birthday Party" costs $350-per-person ($1,000 per co-host), and includes "work-in-progress film clips, Dan's infamous magic tricks and, of course, birthday cake!"

The host committee is led by Streisand and her husband, James Brolin, and includes Cindy Asner, Dianna Cohen and Jackson Browne, Jodie Evans and Max Palevsky, Sheri and Richard Foos, Claire Greensfelder, Lyn and Norman Lear, Jamie and Michael Lynton, Sara Nichols, Lynda and Stewart Resnick and Marge Tabankin and Earl Katz.

The charges against Ellsberg and Russo were dismissed on the grounds of governmental misconduct --- one of many chapters in the Watergate

A Rift in the Ranks

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has pulled brother-in-law Bobby Shriver and actor Clint Eastwood off state parks commission after they opposed a plan to build a toll road through a state park.

"I had hoped to continue to do this work and continue to protect the park system from developers," Shriver said today in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "It shows you how strong these developers were that were able to arm-wrestle the governor into firing us."

Eastwood and Shriver were appointed to the park board in 2001 by then-Gov. Gray Davis, and Schwarzenegger reappointed them in 2004.

Will Obama Survive Wright?

Updated

Time's Joe Klein suggests that Barack Obama's viability depends on whether the public and the media give in to the sensational:

He writes, "Whether Obama survives now will depend on the most important and overlooked part of his speech—the final section, in which he challenged the public and, especially, the media to stow the sensationalism: "We can play Reverend Wright's sermons on every channel, every day ... and make the only question in this campaign whether or not the American people think that I somehow believe or sympathize with his most offensive words," he said. "But if we do, I can tell you that in the next election we'll be talking about some other distraction ... And nothing will change ... Or, at this moment in this election, we can come together and say, 'Not this time.'"

"And that is the existential challenge of 2008: whether we will have a big election or a small one. Will we have a serious conversation about the enormous problems confronting the country—the wars, the economic crisis, the looming environmental cataclysm—or will we allow the same-old carnival of swift boats and sound bites? The answer depends on the candidates, of course, and on the media—where cynicism too often passes for insight. But most of all, it depends on you."

Initial polling and anecdotal evidence from Pennsylvania doesn't look good for Obama, although there are still four weeks to go until the primary there. And the swift-boating, so to speak, already has begun, thanks to talk radio producer Lee Habeeb. (And a McCain aide has been suspended for pushing the video.)

Obama's speech, however, has gotten more than 2 million hits on YouTube (compared to just over 50,000 for the Habeeb vid), perhaps helped by a professional marketing push.

Jon Stewart mocked the notion that 24-hour news networks are even capable of having a serious discussion about race --- starting with a dig at Frank Luntz.

James Fallows praises Mike Huckabee for his reaction to the speech, in which Huckabee said, "Sometimes people do have a chip on their shoulder and resentment. And you have to just say, I probably would too. I probably would too. In fact, I may have had more of a chip on my shoulder had it been me."

Fallows writes, "Actual honest and empathetic discussion about race...! We've come to expect that presidential campaigns will be the equivalent of World War I trench slaughter, in which there is a "winner" at the Somme but really everyone loses and it's a matter of who is farthest from being bled dry at the end. But the idea of actual discourse about real issues -- it would be nice to think that it could happen.

"It was a moment like this that first drew John McCain to my attention as a politician, nearly 30 years ago.

"In the bleak years just after the Vietnam war, when the tensions that would later resurface in bitter fights about John Kerry's wartime record -- and Bill Clinton's, George W. Bush's, Dick Cheney's, Dan Quayle's -- were at their rawest and most visceral, McCain played a surprising political role. He was the most inclusive and least embittered of hawks, when dealing with doves who had opposed the war in which he had paid such a price. Later he led efforts toward reconciliation between Vietnam and the United States. And when the Swiftboaters of 2004 began running their slimy ads against John Kerry, McCain was there to deplore the "dishonest and dishonorable" attacks, something roughly equivalent to what Mike Huckabee has just done.

"John McCain probably didn't vote for John Kerry that year; Mike Huckabee is probably not going to vote for Obama this year; I am probably not going to vote for McCain. But stands like theirs, and Obama's, are glimmers of hope."

McCain already has suspended one of his advisers for taking the low road, so how will respond if a 527 launches a Wright/Obama attack in the general?

From Left to Right

David Mamet's transformation from "brain-dead liberal" to conservative got plenty of play last week, after he penned a 2,500-word essay in the Village Voice.

But Andrew Klavan writes in the Los Angeles Times that it is "wonderful news for the culture, far better, I fear, than many conservatives will appreciate."

He writes, "The big question is whether the good men and women of the right will realize what a gift they have been given in Mamet. Will they turn out for his plays and embrace their excellence? His is a hard language of four-letter words and scorching insights. Will rightists, despite their commitment to good behavior and values, remember that art is an examination of the world as it is, not as we would have it be?"

Klavan writes that Mamet will "come to find out just how small-minded, exclusionary and intellectually corrupt many on the left can be" and "will also discover a right wing he never knew."

I can think of more than a few playwrights who would challenge this next graph, which casts the right as more open-minded than the liberal dominated creative class:

"He will discover thinkers who seek historical and moral truth as if it really mattered, and writers who defend liberty as if it were what in fact it is: the prerequisite of full humanity. Rather than the low and tiresome obsession of the left with the color of people's skins, he will find people who embrace a philosophical colorblindness. He will meet women of intelligence and competence who -- mirabile dictu -- don't despise men and manliness but openly admire them. Yes, he will find that a gathering of right-wingers is less welcoming to gay people than the left is, but he will also watch something astounding unfold. Unlike liberals, rightists, after a period of open discussion and thought, will actually admit when they're wrong and change their minds. This anti-gay prejudice will fall -- it's falling now."

Call me a bit skeptical of the latter. What isn't mentioned is that many so-called "creative" conservatives long have bristled at the religious right, in particular its targeting of the gay community. If anything, Hollywood conservatives have had to go to great lengths to distance themselves from the "red-meat" aspects of the religious right, especially when it poses a challenge to freedom of speech, while maintaining their commitment to conservative principles on national security, the environment and other issues. And perhaps Mamet, in his use of "four-letter words and scorching insights," will offer a refreshing challenge to social conservatives, who seem to thrive on the notion that the creative class in Hollywood and New York is stacked up against them.

Celebrity As a Handicap?

Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman is expecting a strong challenge this year from comedian/talk host Al Franken, who is almost certain to be the Democratic nominee.

The state's GOP is banking on Franken's plethora of outrageous statements during his radio career to hobble him in his bid, not to mention exhaustion that voters may have over the last time they went for an uncoventional candidate, Jesse Ventura.

While Franken could have a fund-raising advantage, and the benefit of name recognition, his celebrity could work against him.

In the Politico, Barry Casselman writes that "many observers have said that if Franken is the DFL nominee, he, not Coleman, will become the focus of the race, making it more difficult for him to defeat the incumbent."

Casselman notes that Coleman still has a 10-point lead over Franken, and "still enjoys favorable ratings with voters."

Franken is markedly serious on the stump --- perhaps to buffer an impression that he's not serious about his bid. In commercials, he even riffs on it, calling himself a "satirist" rather than "comedian." And that was on display in an appearance on "Late Show with David Letterman," where he predicted a "new progressive majority" was emerging that would help him in his candidacy.

"People take my campaign seriously," he told Letterman. "...We put together a very serious campaign, but I have to be myself."

To which Letterman added, "Are you comfortable that you will get the clown vote?"

And Now On the Right...

Updated

That, and other news, in today's Political Panorama.

Barack Obama's speech on race drew generally rave reviews among commentators and columnists, and a stellar endorsement in a New York Times editorial. But early signs show that it will not stop conservatives from exploiting Rev. Jeremiah Wright's comments against him should he turn out to be the Democratic nominee.

In fact, the GOP seems almost gleeful that Obama didn't fully distance himself from Wright.

“It was a speech written to mau-mau the New York Times editorial board, the network production people and the media into submission. Beautifully calibrated but deeply dishonest,” GOP media consultant Rick Wilson, who crafted the 2002 ad tying then-Sen. Max Cleland to Osama bin Laden, told the Politico. “Not good enough.”

"You don't have to say that he's unpatriotic, you don't question his patriotism," Chris LaCivita, the Republican strategist who helped create the Swift Boat Veterans ads in 2004, told Talking Points Memo. "Because I guaran-damn-tee you that with that footage you don't have to say it."

All of this is assuming --- probably quite correctly --- that political discourse is waged in quite the same way that it was in 2004, when John Kerry was swamped by Swift Boat ads. Obama all but challenged the media to take their coverage to a different level, perhaps a bit too lofty in this environment.  And uncertain is just how John McCain would respond if 527s launch an advertising broadside that uses Wright. He was critical of the Swift Boat ads in 2004, so would he put out a call to stop such attacks this year?

Mike Huckabee has a slightly different take than other conservatives.

Other Speech React: Here's a different take from comedy writer Adam McKay on the Huffington Post:

"...Today's speech was different. It felt like a noise I had never heard but someone once tried to describe to me. It was somewhere between a good episode of The Wire and a John Dos Passos novel. It had perspective. Barack Obama was talking about the future of man and whether or not we will continue to fight each other because of random colors (flags, skin, etc) or whether we will solve big problems together like we have done before (medicine, space travel, democracy). Will we evolve or will we skirmish...? Tilt your head the right way when you listen to the speech. I'm pretty sure it's there."

David Greenberg writes on The New Republic, "Taking nothing away from the speech, which clearly had its merits and its flaws, it was obvious in advance that the commentariat would swoon over it, almost regardless of its content. The reason is that the news media create certain familiar narratives, especially in campaign coverage, in which speeches like this play a key part. It's a melodramatic narrative of a hero, a crisis, and a comforting resolution. In these narratives, the hero--who need not be as well-liked among the pundit class as Obama seems to be--is engaged in an admirable pursuit, only to find himself caught in an unforeseen controversy or tested by an unprecedented challenge. The moment demands a new level of statesmanship. Invariably, he rises to the occasion, faces the adversity, hits the right notes, and leaves us all feeling better."

"One could see this same archetypal narrative taking shape last week when nabobs spoke of the Jeremiah Wright controversy as Obama's "greatest test yet" and a "defining moment for his campaign." A man in whom so many had invested such hopes was on the ropes. For the narrative to conclude satisfactorily, to reach its reassuringly familiar resolution, Obama had to be seen as "doing what he needed to do." And he was."

"The subject of the speech, billed as a frank confrontation of taboo racial issues, also guaranteed an enthusiastic response. (The same was true for Romney and religion.) Media commentators have shown a profound skittishness whenever race and racism have come up on the campaign trail--especially the issue of differing in racial perspectives on certain issues in American society. Ironically, Obama's pledge to offer a "bold" recognition of the stubbornness of some of these differences was precisely what then allowed the pundits to stop worrying about or dwelling on them. The mere act of assuring his audience that racial divides are bridgeable, that the story will end happily, reinscribes the narrative of crisis and satisfying resolution."

War Protests: On the fifth anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq, protesters take to D.C. with a series of demonstrations, including one highlighted by Rage Against the Machine. Code Pink does "five minutes of stillness" at Union Station.

We'll Be Hearing: Hillary Clinton's First Lady years,  Sunni/Shiite pop quizzes, Reagan Democrat react, Bush economics, Bloomberg & Gore, 401K blues.

Enough Already: "Denounce and reject," Newt Gingrich-as-moralist, TGI Friday jokes, call-girl MySpace pages,  Democrat vs. Democrat,  Florida anger.

Obama's Speech

Barack Obama's speech on race drew immediate high marks among the pundit class --- but the real question is how this nuanced, carefully crafted and deliberate piece of oratory translate into a campaign defined in sound bites and You Tube moments.

Even Obama admitted the challenge when he said, "Given my background, my politics, and my professed values and ideals, there will no doubt be those for whom my statements of condemnation are not enough.  Why associate myself with Reverend Wright in the first place, they may ask?  Why not join another church?  And I confess that if all that I knew of Reverend Wright were the snippets of those sermons that have run in an endless loop on the television and You Tube, or if Trinity United Church of Christ conformed to the caricatures being peddled by some commentators, there is no doubt that I would react in much the same way."

Obama delivered a speech in markedly measured tones before a small audience in Philadelphia, and steered clear of the soaring rhetoric that has defined his rallies. He addressed white anger, particularly among middle- and working- class whites over school busing and affirmative action. And he did not condemn that anger but explained how politicians and the media have exploited it.

"Like the anger within the black community, these resentments aren’t always expressed in polite company.  But they have helped shape the political landscape for at least a generation.  Anger over welfare and affirmative action helped forge the Reagan Coalition.  Politicians routinely exploited fears of crime for their own electoral ends.  Talk show hosts and conservative commentators built entire careers unmasking bogus claims of racism while dismissing legitimate discussions of racial injustice and inequality as mere political correctness or reverse racism."

These current headlines are telling in the (not so surprising) ways that the cable news nets  plan to cover the story: 

MSNBC: "Obama: Racial anger is 'real.'"
CNN: "Obama: We can move beyond racial wounds."
Fox News: "Obama condemns pastor, but won't disown him."

The latter headline strikes me as a particularly narrow view of the speech --- and it is the challenge that the Obama campaign faces in the coming days. That's why, as much as they dread YouTube clips circulating of Rev. Wright's inflammatory remarks, it may turn out to be a saving grace in that users will be able to capture it in its entirety.

<>The text here:

Predict at Your Own Peril

If there's one thing that this race has instilled in pundits this year, it's the dangers of making sweeping predictions.

Time and again, they are being proven wrong. Mike Huckabee doesn't have a chance. John McCain is on his last legs. Hillary Clinton is toast. And the wisdom now brewing is that Barack Obama's campaign may be in terminal condition because of his connections to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

At a panel on the presidential election on Saturday in Santa Monica, political consultants did offer some sooth-saying, but you didn't get the feeling that they would place a bet on it.The event was one of the highlights of the American Assn. of Political Consultants convention at the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel.

"Virtually every cliche, every rule, is being broken," said Republican strategist Ed Goeas, noting the emergence of McCain as the nominee with only 15 paid staffers.

Although there's plenty of evidence to suggest a big Democratic year, he was encouraged by McCain's leads in polls in Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Democratic consultant Mark Mellman offered a host of historical data that points to a Democrat's year to win the White House, and even challenged the polls that show McCain about even with other candidates. The reason? General election polls at this point are notoriously unreliable.

Mellman said, with a touch of irreverence, "The simple fact is people are only mediocre predictors of their own future behavior."

The only only thing he sees as likely to prevent a Democratic victory is party disunity --- which has been on full display in recent weeks. "I think we are getting closer to the edge of the precipice," he said, although "We're far from there yet."

Democratic consultant Bill Carrick called Obama the "likely Democratic nominee" and said that he could change the electoral map in a general election battle with McCain. If Clinton is the nominee, he said, the dynamic will look much like it did in 2004.

"I don't think she's going to be expanding the Democratic base," he said.

Republican strategist Mike Murphy, too, said that he thinks Obama will be the nominee. He doubted that there will be an Obama-Clinton or Clinton-Obama ticket, noting the animosity between the two candidates. "You'd probably need a food tester anyway," he quipped.

What makes this election so difficult to predict is the electorate believes that the country is "seriously on the wrong track." Murphy compared it to the California recall election in 2003, when polls showed voters thought the state was on the wrong track. When the state Democratic party enlisted Diane Feinstein to do commercials the inferred that Arnold Schwarzenegger was too inexperienced, Murphy noted, Arnold's numbers went up.

Jeanne Cummings of The Politico noted that the profilieration of media this cycle has made it "much harder for candidates to drive their own narrative."

As example, you have Obama with more pledged delegates and more votes "and yet he is not considered the front-runner."

"At best, he is in a tie," she said.

There are other wild cards:

The Internet. The massive amounts of money raised on the 'Net have made it a force of its own in politics, "a totally different battleground." Goeas said.

The youth vote: What happens to it if, as Goeas predicts, Clinton is the nominee?

And immigration: While anti-immigration activists get stirred up, McCain's moderate stance could pay off via the Hispanic vote in western states. And as Murphy points out, if the anti-immigration vote is so strong, why can't they get a candidate nominated?

Striking Back at Sinbad

"He's a comedian, you know," Hillary Clinton said on Monday, in response to Sinbad's criticism of her claims that her trip to Bosnia with him and Sheryl Crow were in any way perilous.

According to Ben Smith of The Politico, Clinton recalled "that she was moved into the cockpit for safety, that the plane made an evasive maneuver, and that there was no greeting ceremony."

"We basically were told to run to our cars," she said.

H'w'd Clinton Bundler Slams Obama, Media

More evidence that the bitterness among the Clinton and Obama camps is seeping down to the donor level.

Daphna Ziman, a Hillary Clinton bundler well-known in Los Angeles political/entertainment circles, raised a lot of hackles last month for an e-mail that questioned Barack Obama's support of Israel.

Ziman has a new piece now circulating,  "The Road to the White House Is Paved By a Distorted Media," that chides the media for the coverage of the Eliot Spitzer story (she calls them "wolves" and uses the admonishment "shame on you") but charges that they've treated Obama with kid gloves. But she also questions whether and why he has changed his name, and again brings up his support of Israel.

(According to Newsweek, AIPAC says Clinton, Obama and McCain "have strong congressional voting records on issues important to the U.S.-Israel relationship.")

Ziman writes, "Never in any political race before this presidential “War of the media”, have I witnessed such a censorship of questions that ordinarily would be welcomed. The phenomenon of Barack H. Obama is not just that of a youth movement marching towards the most powerful job on the planet. Or the fact that an African American presidential candidate is inspiring the crowds of college graduates. But the fact that NO QUESTIONS ARE ALLOWED, or if a direct question is posed that there is an inevitable sigh of “How dare you ask?”"

Obama supporters would surely mention one word in rebuttal: "Rezko."

She goes on, "Well, I have many questions that I dare ask Barack (must not mention middle name or else) Obama.
1. Were you born Barry Dunham or Barack Hussein Obama?
2. Did you change your name? When? Where? And Why?
3. Was there a naming ceremony? Where? Under what circumstances?
4 .Why are we not allowed to mention your middle name?""

The full works below:

Supremes Take Up Indecency

Will networks be responsible for unexpected swearing on TV?

Variety's William Triplett reports that the Supreme Court will decide whether the FCC acted fairly in citing Fox for swear words that were uttered during a broadcast of the Billboard Music Awards in 2006.

The high court's decision to take the case was unexpected, and marks the first time that they will decide on broadcast indecency in more than 30 years.

The FCC cited Fox for two instances of "fleeting expletives" during the broadcast, while Fox argued that the FCC was "arbitrary and capricious" in its punishment.

Obviously, the case has big ramifications for the networks, which have been bristling under a crackdown on content during the Bush years. What remains to be seen is wyhether the justices take a narrow view of the matter, or whether they consider the wider question of whether the FCC even has the authority to regulate indecency.

Guilt By Association

Updated

That, and other news, in today's Political Panorama.

Sunday morning talk shows cast extra scrutiny on Barack Obama's handling of the fallout from incendiary comments about his preacher, Jeremiah Wright, perhaps the most egregious criticism coming (not surprisingly) from Fox News Channel.

On the Huffington Post this morning, Frank Schaeffer offers a twist on the guilt-by-association furor: "When Senator Obama's preacher thundered about racism and injustice Obama suffered smear-by-association. But when my late father -- Religious Right leader Francis Schaeffer -- denounced America and even called for the violent overthrow of the US government, he was invited to lunch with presidents Ford, Reagan and Bush, Sr."

How long until (another) Pat Robertson video surfaces?

Initial polls show that the Wright comments are cutting into Obama's support.

Elton for Hillary: Elton John will perform at a fund-raiser for Hillary Clinton at New York's Radio City Music Hall on April 9. Tickets start at $125 for mezzanine seats and $250 for Orchestra. The event is billed as "Elton and Hillary: One Night Only."

Shriver Still on Payroll: The Los Angeles Times reports that Maria Shriver continued to collect a salary from NBC even though she has long disappeared from news programming.

Pitt and Clinton: Former President Clinton and Brad Pitt break ground for new homes in the Lower Ninth Ward.

YouTube Politics: The New York Times' David Carr challenges the notion that the young voters are more obsessed with style than substance. He writes about a YouTube channel called "The Latest Controversy," in which Obama and Clinton supporters are quizzed quite extensively about why they choose their respective candidates. Among those who have provided extensive answers: Musician Derrick Ashong, a 32-year-old Obama supporter.

Quotable: "Bitch may be the new black, but black is the new president, bitch." Tracy Morgan, responding on "Saturday Night Live" to Tina Fey's endorsement of Hillary Clinton several weeks ago.

Shoving It Back at Spitzer

Payback for payola investigations?

Radio stations are having a field day with the Eliot Spitzer story. ("I guess Spitzer does believe in pay-to-play after all!").

There's this YouTube clip saluting Spitzer's "moral crusade against our so-called corrupted industry" and wondering what he did with the more than $40 million in settlements he exacted from radio.

According to Radio-Info.com, "some stations continue to salute the Spitzer folly with promotions like Keymarket's in Pittsburgh. Its country "Froggy" uses the sounder from the old "Dragnet" TV show to give away copies of Sara Evans' greatest hits, which includes the tune "Cheatin'." Grand prize is two nights at the Super 8 near Cheat Lake, WV. And on satellite, Sirius put up a short-term "Client 9 Radio" talk channel, to discuss both Spitzer's own predicament and wider issues."

There's also this "Daily Show" trailer:

Denounce and Reject

Barack Obama writes on Huffington Post that Rev. Jeremiah Wright "has never been my political adviser; he's been my pastor."

ABC News obtained video of a sermon in which Wright rails against "God Damn America."

Obama writes, "I categorically denounce any statement that disparages our great country or serves to divide us from our allies. I also believe that words that degrade individuals have no place in our public dialogue, whether it's on the campaign stump or in the pulpit. In sum, I reject outright the statements by Rev. Wright that are at issue."

"Let me repeat what I've said earlier. All of the statements that have been the subject of controversy are ones that I vehemently condemn. They in no way reflect my attitudes and directly contradict my profound love for this country."

McCain's YouTube Moment

He's got a new YouTube video out, "Journey to Freedom," marking the 35th anniversary of his release from the Hanoi Hilton.

A New Shingle

Political communications firm Glover Park Group marked the opening of its new L.A. outpost at a Sunset Tower Hotel on Wednesday, with considerable talk, naturally, on the presidential race, Geraldine Ferraro and all things Eliot Spitzer (much of its off the record).

Glover Park, founded in 2001, includes such political and corporate vets as Joe Lockhart, Carter Eskew, Michael Feldman and Chip Smith. Its L.A. office will be headed by Jenny Murphy and Sarah Leonard, with an eye on drawing clients from studios, initiative campaigns, aerospace firms and individual film projects.

The firm already had a part in the release of "An Inconvenient Truth," and among those at the reception were the film's director Davis Guggenheim and producer Lawrence Bender.

A New Video

Is there any way the Clinton campaign can stop these things?

Just When We Thought...

Clinton and Obama agree to an April 16 debate in Philadelphia, and Obama has accepted an April 19 CBS News debate in North Carolina.

I can't wait for another discussion about health care mandates...

My sarcasm aside, there are, believe it or not, a number of issues under-covered in recent forums, like global warming, tax policy, the weak dollar, national security and defense spending.

Moonves Likes the Long Race

CBS chief Les Moonves is bullish about the protracted presidential race --- it's filling the network's coffers.

"The race will be long. The dirtier and the longer, the more political advertising," he said at a media conference on Thursday, per Variety's Jill Goldsmith. "We actually paid for Geraldine Ferraro to say what she said," referring to the former vice presidential candidate's controversial comments about Democratic hopeful Barack Obama.

Moonves would not say who he is backing in the race.

"We have three very able candidates and I wish them all well. And I hope they spend a fortune."

But he did raise the gender card when it came to Katie Couric, whose ratings have been unspectacular.

"There are a lot of people who don't want a woman anchor," Moonves added, noting that "there are probably a lot of people who don't want a woman president either."

He even suggested that he may be interested in politics some day.

Damon, Affleck Judge MoveOn's Obama Ads

Updated

MoveOn.org is hosting a make-your-own Obama ad contest, a.k.a. "Obama in 30 seconds."

Anyone can create a 30-second ad about Obama between now and April 1, with the entrants whittled down by the public and a panel of judges picking the winner. The extensive list of judges include such celebrity Obama-ites as Ben Affleck, Matt Damon John Legend as well as Larry Lessig, Donna Edwards, Oliver Stone, James Schamus, Tom Ortenberg, Jesse Jackson and Markos Moulitsas.

The winner will get $20,000 worth of video and editing equipment, and MoveOn will air the ad nationally. Winners will be announced on April 17.

Among the rules: "No personal attacks on anyone."

MoveOn has endorsed Obama, but it prohibited by law from coordinating its activities with that of the campaign.

Let's hope there's no late-night phone calls in the bunch of entries.