A Little of the Old In and Out



(image via parentheticalnote)

In: Senator John McCain. The Senator comes from a long line of heroes; just because he lost one sanguinary engagement to the Rove Army in South Carolina in 2000, that doesn't mean Karl won the war. Quite the contrary. Behind the scenes within the halls of power, Senator John McCain is using stone-cold military tactics to out maneuver his biggest 2008 rival, the candidate of the Evangelicals -- Bill Frist.

First, McCain crafted with a jeweler's eye the soi-dissant "Gang of 14," thus disengaging the nuclear option, and effectively cockblocking Frist's illusory pretentions at Senatorial authority. Now, this: The Centrist Senator John McCain once again made an ass out of the not-yet-ready-for-Prime-Time Majority Leader of the United States Senate, Bill Frist. According to TheHill:

"Angry over what he considers a breach of Senate courtesy by GOP leaders, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has teamed with Democrats and centrist Republicans to force the leaders to back down on an effort to undermine fundraising limits he helped make law in 2002.

"... McCain brought his grievance with Republican leaders before his Republican colleagues and won, said a GOP lawmaker who attended the meeting. The leadership promised to give McCain a vote on stripping the rider.The confrontation attests to McCain�s growing clout on Capitol Hill. By working with Democrats and winning the backing of a handful of Republicans, he has demonstrated that he can wrest the chamber�s agenda from the leaders. It also shows that McCain may be becoming more influential within his own caucus at a time when President Bush is struggling in the polls and the senator has emerged as a front-runner for the 2008 presidential race."

Navigating the vital center like the Naval War hero that he is, The Senator is picking off disaffected moderate Republicans -- Trent Lott, the noble John Warner (formerly Mr.Elizabeth Taylor), the embattled and eccentric Lincoln Chaffee -- as well as clear-thinking, pragmatic Democrats, like Joe Lieberman and Daniel Inouye. No, he will not get the Evangelical vote, the fastest growing segment of the electorate; but McCain may hold the key to a future emerging reality: The Centrist Majority. Do us proud, "cool papa."



(image via hbo/comeback)

Out: The Comeback. So we weren't the only ones who thought Lisa Kudrow's "The Comeback" was astonishingly bad ... Teeming with suckyosity to the n-th degree, is how we'd characterize that fiasco (Averted Gaze). The writing was on the wall when The Elder Brother of the New York Chattering Class, Kurt Andersen reported in New York, " Kirstie Alley�s Fat Actress is a funnier version of Lisa Kudrow�s sad Comeback, which even people at HBO say sucks." That's ... a 360-degree media bitchslap if we ever heard one. . According to Variety (link via Defamer):

"HBO is not bringing back 'The Comeback' -- the first time in recent history that the paybox has not renewed a scripted series for a second season.

"'... Michael Patrick King and Lisa Kudrow developed a uniquely original series. However, we looked at our schedule and, given our future commitments, we felt we would not be able to give the show the support it needed,' said a spokeswoman for HBO."

Wouldn't it have been deliciously evil if they had told Lisa, "I hope we can still remain 'Friends'"?



(image via agmnews)

In: The Clinton Global Initiative. Streisand squealed; Brad Pitt clamored for some face-time; the Italian Press Corps cooed. Contrast and compare the CGI's success with the impotent fumblings of the United Nations' 60th Anniversary hoopla. One was effective -- raising money and setting bold but manageable goals for achievement; the other, well, the other was slatternly. Says the salmon-colored weekly of the event:

"Staged for three days at the Sheraton New York Hotel in midtown, the Initiative�a conference with a $15,000-a-head price tag, an emphasis on concrete results, and a kind of anti-poverty evangelism that drew more than $1 billion in pledges�was an extraordinary, high-powered gathering so sui generis that it generated almost no coverage from a media that didn�t know what to make of it.

"The event showcased Mr. Clinton�s breathtaking personal ambition: For all the assumptions that every move Bill Clinton makes is directed to elevating his wife to the Presidency, it�s clear that Mr. Clinton has other�some might say bigger�things on his mind. The gathering�s four topics were poverty, religion, climate change and governance, and the former President discoursed happily on everything from the textile trade in Lesotho to the necessity of insuring Gazan start-ups against terrorism. Mr. Clinton�s first day had been spent chatting with Condoleezza Rice, Tony Blair and the King of Jordan.

"The next evening, he looked on as News Corp. chief Rupert Murdoch took pointed shots at Time Warner chief Richard Parsons, seated a few feet away."

The full, must-read article here. Clinton Global Initiative session transcripts here.



(image via mtv.com)

Out: Lil Kim, Bitch. What would we do without our pals at Page Six? Blog love to the intrepid gang of Sixxies. Today, they report:

"BEFORE Lil' Kim started serving her one-year sentence for perjury, she gave an interview to Fab Five Freddy for the VH1 Hip Hop Honors, which will pay tribute to her former flame, Notorious B.I.G. She says they had instant chemistry and that he called her 'his bitch' or 'Queen Bitch.'"

If abruptly claiming Lil Kim as one's own personal bitch makes for "chemistry" (Exaggerated cough suggesting feigned detchment), then incarceration should be motherfucking alchemy.



(image via acten.net)

In: Rafat Ali. Yesterday, we duly linked to Rafat Ali's story about the events surrounding iFilm and Viacom (We truly hope we didn't have anything to do with this). Rafat is, of course, a digital media resource par excellence. Everyone who "does" digital media analysis is in awe of Mr. Ali's meticulous work doing digital journalism on the digital medium. Unfortunately, standing alone and unprotected in this cut-throat digital universe leaves one prey to to the opportunism of journalistic scavengers. That's why it was a bad move -- a very bad move -- for the WSJ to lift his scoop, uncredited (link via gawker). We stand by our own, WSJ; and the NYC media blogosphere is a notoriously loyal and ferocious space.

Message to Howard Kurtz: How about a "Reliable Sources" segment on "When MSM lifts blogger scoops"? (ED NOTE: Sept 22: Kudos. WSJ did the right thing)



(image via gosh.org)

Out: Madonna and Guy Ritchie. After getting the wind knocked out of her by a colt, Madonna is sure acting a little fishy. According to the 3AM Girls:

"MADONNA and Guy Ritchie were booed at the premiere of Ritchie's new movie Revolver in London last night.

"The 2,000 strong crowd in Leicester Square turned nasty when the singer and her husband turned up on the red carpet nearly an hour late and snubbed their waiting fans.

"The couple marched straight up the carpet refusing to stop for any pictures or autographs.
Dressed in a black sequinned Roberto Cavalli tuxedo dress and with her arm in a matching sling after her horseriding accident, Madge, 47, even mocked her fans once inside the building, saying: 'Can we take a picture, can we take a picture - NO!'

Oh no she didn't! Can you say: Straight to DVD? The full story here.