Tag: Politics (91-100 of 116)

Apr 6 2012 01:40 PM ET

Vote for Barbie! She's running for President of the United States

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Image Credit: Charles Eshelman/Getty Images

Mitt Romney is forever lampooned as a Ken doll, but now there’s a candidate that we pop-culture-obsessed folks can endorse: Meet the Barbie I Can Be… President doll, Mattel’s latest incarnation of the icon. Just in time for the 2012 election season, Barbie is officially announcing her candidacy as leader of the “B Party.”

The look? She’s stately and patriotic for sure, and there appears to be some First Lady realness happening fashion wise: Hello, Jackie O. and Michelle Obama! Besides a bunch of platitudes about this new Barbie being empowering for girls everywhere, the release trumpeting the news is delightful, mixing Barbie’s newfound presidential ambitions and empowering message of “B inspired, B informed, and B involved” with her traditional focus on fashion and glamour.

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Apr 6 2012 12:56 PM ET

Sean Hannity shells out six figures to see Obama burn the Constitution

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Image credit: McNaughton Fine Art

No, it wasn’t a subversive fundraising drive for the upcoming presidential campaign. The cash in question went to Utah artist Jon McNaughton, who confirmed to EW that Fox News pundit Sean Hannity bought one of three originals of “One Nation Under Socialism” (pictured, right). While the amount Hannity paid wasn’t disclosed, McNaughton’s reported asking price was $300,000.

The conservative painter, who appeared on Hannity last month, has been known to criticize the president in his work, including a national debt-themed piece called “Wake Up America” and a six-foot creation called “The Forgotten Man” that shows Obama standing on the Constitution as he turns his back on both the Founding Fathers and the downtrodden Average Joe.

“I’m a very unconventional artist,” McNaughton told EW. “Those in art circles in New York and other in-the-know people really do not like my paintings. They go to great lengths to criticize them, but I think that 100 years from now when people look back on our time in history, some of these paintings are going to resurface as how the right felt about what was happening.”

Indeed, in his description of “One Nation Under Socialism,” McNaughton names Obama as a Constitution-compromising purveyor of socialism — “an ideology, which will lead to the destruction of America.” He concludes, “At this very moment, our Constitution is literally [sic] going up in flames. What will you do to preserve the Constitution and save America?”

While this is an important question, we at PopWatch have another one: Where should Hannity hang his new artwork? READ FULL STORY »

Apr 4 2012 11:01 AM ET

'Daily Show' lambasts Sarah Palin's 'infiltration' of 'Today' show

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Jon Stewart admitted that Sarah Palin was “quite good and likeable” during yesterday’s stint cohosting the Today show. He took issue, however, “not with how I viewed Governor Palin as cohost of the Today show, it was mostly with how Governor Palin seemed to view it.”

Stewart then set about deconstructing Palin’s claim she was “infiltrating” the mainstream media when she was, in fact, benefiting from it. He snarked, “Do you really believe cohosting the Today show is entering the lion’s den armed only with some Jesus fish earrings and an Iwo Jima-sized flag pin?”

Throughout the segment, Stewart knocked, among other things, the passive-aggressive subtext roiling beneath Palin and cohost Matt Lauer’s “witty” banter, Palin’s contradictory politics, and how she managed to shoehorn her divisive worldview into a conversation about Oprah Winfrey’s failing OWN Network. Stewart also sent correspondent John Oliver to “NBC’s liberal hornet’s nest” to check in with Palin’s supporters and salute the fearless ex-governor — just like the ghost of Ronald Reagan did in one devoted follower’s homemade Palin sign. You can see that in the videos below.

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Apr 2 2012 12:40 PM ET

Katie Couric and Sarah Palin's morning showdown is nearly upon us: Who will YOU watch? -- POLL

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Image Credit: Getty Images

Batten down the hatches, morning show watchers! A storm will be brewing tomorrow at precisely the same time as your cup o’ Joe. As we reported yesterday, Sarah Palin will guest host the Today show tomorrow morning. Elsewhere on the airwaves, Palin’s former nemesis Katie Couric, a beloved former Today anchor, will be in her second day of a week-long stint at Good Morning America.

Under normal circumstances, this head-on competition between two such charismatic and formidable figures is the stuff producers pray to the ratings gods for. Add to that the contentious relationship between the news anchor and the conservative political star, and now you have a full-on media event. Below, refresh your memory of Couric and Palin’s first encounter, then tell us which woman you’ll be watching. READ FULL STORY »

Mar 22 2012 12:44 PM ET

Tom Hanks apologizes for Bill O'Reilly fundraiser jab

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tom-hanks

Image Credit: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

Celebrity feud averted! Yesterday, footage was made public that showed Tom Hanks emceeing a 2004 school fundraiser in which a fellow parent donned blackface and a stereotypical (read: racist) costume. Hanks explained that he had been “blindsided” by the “hideously offensive” gag, but a conservative civil rights group called for President Obama to repudiate the actor, who provided the narration on a recent Obama 2012 campaign video.

But that wasn’t the end of the story for the two-time Oscar winner. While hosting the 2004 event, Hanks made an awkward off-hand joke about the taste-challenged interloper: “Who would have thought that Bill O’Reilly would join us?” The implication being that Fox News pundit O’Reilly was racist. READ FULL STORY »

Mar 22 2012 10:25 AM ET

Republican rivals bludgeon Mitt Romney with Etch A Sketch, kind of -- VIDEO

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It may not win him the presidency, but Newt Gingrich has earned a coveted PopWatch shout-out after he took to the toys to raise new concerns about opponent Mitt Romney’s conservative credentials.

One day after convincingly winning the Illinois Republican primary, Romney found himself again on the defensive after his communications director, Eric Fehrnstrom, said that his candidate’s move to the far right would be corrected during the general election: “It’s almost like an Etch A Sketch. We kind of shake it and start all over again.”

Speaking at a campaign rally in Louisiana, Gingrich brandished an Etch A Sketch and recounted the quote from Fehrnstrom, whom he called the “most honest” person on Romney’s staff. Gingrich then pointed out all the supposed problems with Romney having an Etch A Sketch as a campaign model before giving the toy to a girl in the audience, saying “She could now be a presidential candidate.” (The girl, no doubt, most likely wondered why the red iPad Gingrich handed her kept erasing all of her apps.) Watch the speech here: READ FULL STORY »

Mar 21 2012 04:47 PM ET

Wallace and Gromit praised on the floor of Parliament. Hear hear! -- VIDEO

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WALLACE-GROMIT

Image Credit: DreamWorks Animation

Place yourself, for just a moment, back in the days of the George W. Bush administration. Now imagine the head of Bush’s economic team standing before Congress and declaring that their newest budget was expanding tax breaks not just to Hollywood, but the world of videogames, pay-cable television, and animation as well — with a full-throated endorsement of Woody and Buzz Lightyear to boot.

Kinda hard to picture, isn’t it?

But that’s exactly what happened this week across the pond in Parliament — and we’ve got the footage to prove it below. READ FULL STORY »

Mar 21 2012 01:10 PM ET

Tom Hanks blackface controversy: Conservative group calls for Obama to replace actor as campaign video narrator -- VIDEO

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Though Barack Obama is not yet in full-tilt campaign mode, the President’s aspiring Republican opponents have been on the attack throughout their primary season. There’s even an effort to ding Obama through an unlikely intermediary: Tom Hanks. In response to Hanks’ involvement in an Obama campaign video called “The Road We’ve Traveled,” conservative civil rights group the Congress of Racial Equality sent Tucker Carlson’s website The Daily Caller a video of Hanks emceeing a 2004 school fundraiser where a fellow parent donned blackface.

The two-time Oscar winner was, by his own admission, “blindsided” by the bit, in which James Montgomery wore a leopard-print outfit and an Afro wig, and carried a stuffed gorilla, among other stereotypical garb. Hanks explained the situation with this statement: “For many years I emceed the annual fundraising auction for my kids’ school. In 2004, I was blindsided when one of the parents got up on the stage in a costume that was hideously offensive then and is hideously offensive now. What is usually a night of food and drink for a good cause was, regrettably, marred by an appalling few moments.”

Though Hanks swiftly condemned the costume as “hideously offensive then and… hideously offensive now,” CORE Spokesperson Niger Innis deemed the skit “heinous” and “racist,” and demanded Obama dissociate himself from Hanks. See the video and weigh the possible consequences for Hanks below. READ FULL STORY »

Mar 20 2012 02:11 PM ET

Chuck Norris thinks Newt Gingrich could beat Barack Obama in a hand-to-hand fight

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Chuck-Norris

Image Credit: Everett Collection

Newt Gingrich and Chuck Norris wouldn’t seem to have much in common. Gingrich was one of the most powerful men in the country in the ’90s, when he spent his years as Speaker of the House cheating on one wife with his next wife. Norris, conversely, was one of the most powerful men in the universe, thanks to his role on Walker, Texas Ranger, a show about how martial arts will save America. But interesting times create strange allies with warring hearts, so Norris is currently robo-calling for Gingrich’s presidential campaign. In the call, Norris claims that he’s interested in finding out which GOP candidate could beat President Obama in a head-to-head fight. He pointedly stresses, “I didn’t say hand-to-hand combat… even though I think [Gingrich would] win there, too.” Listen below. READ FULL STORY »

Mar 20 2012 10:49 AM ET

Michelle Obama visits 'Letterman,' talks covert FLOTUS ops and Bo's bright future -- VIDEO

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First Lady Michelle Obama dropped by the Late Show With David Letterman last night to promote her Joining Forces initiative, but naturally there was some prodding about the not-so-nice side of politics this election year. FLOTUS remained winkingly positive, saying, “[Barack] is always upbeat — particularly about Congress.” Bah dum bum! Obama also revealed that she occasionally “sneaks out” of the White House for covert trips. Find out where below. READ FULL STORY »

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