Media-Whore D'Oeuvres



(image via nationalpost)

"This has been an election full of magic. White Magic that only the black man from everywhere and nowhere could perform. Even his adored grandmother dying on the eve of the victory had a mythic feeling of completion to it in a candidacy full of signs and symbols. Remember the three-point basketball shot when he played with the soldiers in Kuwait? It’s as if Obama is the prince who lifts the curse in a fairy story, a curse that began eight years ago with an election wrenched away from the rightful winner and begetting as a consequence the wrathful visitation of tragedy and wars and hurricanes and economic collapse." (TinaBrown/TheDailyBeast)

"On the afternoon of Friday, Oct. 31, Katie Couric sat down in the Olympic Flame diner at the corner of 60th Street and Amsterdam, and ordered a cup of coffee. Outside, the weather was mild. Beams of sunlight streamed through the window. A woman dressed in some sort of elfin costume strolled down the sidewalk .. On the afternoon of Friday, Oct. 31, Katie Couric sat down in the Olympic Flame diner at the corner of 60th Street and Amsterdam, and ordered a cup of coffee. Outside, the weather was mild. Beams of sunlight streamed through the window. A woman dressed in some sort of elfin costume strolled down the sidewalk .. 'I really would like more time,” said Ms. Couric. 'Because I think time is not our friend at the Evening News.'" (Observer)

"By 8 o’clock when I went down to the Rainbow Room to go with Kathy Sloane to the Election Night Party being given by Irene and Bernard Schwartz ..In my part of the room at the Schwartz party, in the bar, everyone was watching the flat screen TV with the results coming in -- Obama 194, McCain 69. Mr. and Mrs. Spielvogel had front row seats. Judy and Peter Price were right behind. George and Mariana Kaufman were behind them. And Jill Spalding, Rita Gam, Susan Silver, Barbara Goldsmith, Dalia and Larry Leeds. The Jimmy Nederlanders, Margo McNabb Nederlander, Hilary and Wilbur Ross, Ann Rapp and Hunt Slonem .. Last night listening to President-elect Obama’s speech in the Park in Chicago, I couldn’t help thinking about Michelle Obama, wondering how she will approach her role as First Lady of the United States. I have a feeling she will do us proud, accede to the stature, and take us with her. A new day dawns in America." (NYSocialDiary)

"AFTER years of dedicated service to CNN, Christiane Amanpour may finally be getting her own show. Our insider said, 'She's getting her own hour. She was furious after CNN gave [Newsweek correspondent] Fareed Zakaria his own show on Sunday -- especially since it's all about international affairs which is her specialty.' CNN honchos bowed to Amanpour's wrath and are ready to announce her program 'soon.' A rep for CNN said only, 'Christiane and Fareed are good friends and [she] helped launch his show and has been a regular guest.'" (PageSix)

"Obama has carefully studied how Bill Clinton got off track by moving left early in his presidency. That's a big reason why Democrats suffered massive losses in Congress in the first midterm election after Clinton's 1992 victory. Look for Obama to quickly take steps this week to demonstrate that he has no plans to open the liberal flood gates." (CQPolitics)

"This is America. This is what we’re about. We are more than race, we are more than color. We are more than some of the divisions that rifled this country. Barack Obama, whatever your politics, has shattered history and shattered precedent, and now will become president." (Neal Cavuto/Fox Business Network)

"Waiters must have breathed a sigh of relief when estranged couple Ronnie and Jo Wood missed each other by seconds. Jo, 53, had been dining with a friend at the Groucho club in Soho last night. An insider said: 'Jo left fairly quickly, but it wasn't clear if she knew Ronnie was on his way. As soon as she left, Ronnie arrived. There couldn't have been more than 30 seconds in it.' Ronnie, 61, who still had the label on his Prada jacket, told onlookers: 'Thank God we did not cross each other - it would have been trouble.'" (Thisislondon)

"Joan Rivers stopped by (The Howard Stern Show) to promote her upcoming stand at The Cutting Room in New York and Howard immediately cut into her for bragging about her $500 wedding gift. Joan insisted that she told her assistant to make a donation to the charity Howard and Beth specified, but she didn't tell her the amount - the assistant did that on her own. Howard said the charity contacted him and said that Joan wanted him to know how much she gave: 'I said, Gee, Joan must think $500 is a lot of money.'" (HowardStern)

"IVANA Trump refuses to believe hubby Rossano Rubicondi cheated on her with a hot Italian model named Belen - but she still plans to grill him. 'Nothing sexual happened. That I know for sure," Ivana writes in her Page Six Magazine column in this Sunday's Post.'" (NYPost)

"The presidential election has been good for web traffic for sites like Huffington Post and Politico. Even pubs that take a once-removed look at the political race, like BusinessWeek, have benefited from the long, drawn out contest. Politics was the talk of the day at the opening of the Ad:Tech NY conference, so I asked media and ad execs what the end of the outcome will mean for them starting tomorrow .. Betsy Morgan, CEO Huffington Post, lamented the possible loss of major traffic driver Sarah Palin while on a morning panel. But she insisted that HuffPo’s readers will find other obsessions and that the blog will try to capture them. 'We’ve had such terrific growth on the site, and part of it has been to politics. But we’ve also had growth on all our verticals. Politics will still be important to the site and people will most certainly still have a lot of interest. Today people are obsessive about the presidential race. Tomorrow it will be something else. But there will also be the economy and entertainment – Angelina Jolie could be our next obsession to replace Sarah Palin.'" (Paidcontent)



(Nicolas Ghesquière and Chloe Sevigny via Fashionweekdaily via PatrickMcMullen)

"The dining room curtains dramatically raised last night at Cipriani 42nd Street, and after extensive cocktails, hungry guests at the 12th Annual Accessories Council ACE Awards hurried to their tables. While nearly everyone was met with a decadent lobster plate, Stella McCartney's table was completely set with salads ..Pharrell Williams might have plenty in his life too, but that didn't stop him from flying in to warmly shower his friend Lorraine Schwartz with compliments and the Innovator of the Year title. 'Lorraine is like my second family,' he boasted. 'And she serves some sick kosher food on Friday nights' ..Designer of the Year Nicolas Ghesquière admitted that he wished to have all those hours to himself while seated with his date, Chloe Sevigny." (Fashionweekdaily)



"Lush portraits of black boys against paisley prints may be what artist Kehinde Wiley is known for, but it's time to get reacquainted. Wiley is now branching out into clothing, combining his signature Africa-inspired prints with urban modern classics. His debut collection will include everything from snorkel coats to baby clothes. He will also introduce a line of signature suits, one of which he proudly wore to the Saturday opening of 'Down,' his recent solo exhibition at Deitch Projects. 'We don't have exact dates for the launch,' said Wiley at the event, 'But it will be some time at the end of this month or early next month.'" (Papermag)

"More than 1,100 people have come to make calls since the center opened, said Jess Womack, 65, a retired corporate lawyer who started volunteering for Mr. Obama three months ago. Among those, he said, most people are confident, but also anxious ... Hillary Johnson, 39, greeted volunteers at the tables, distributed call lists and seemed to vibrate with energy. When volunteers arrived this morning to open the doors, said Ms. Johnson, Donald Sutherland was waiting for them. 'He made calls for nine hours straight today,' she said, her blue eyes open wide. 'It was amazing. He is a great man.' Marquis Alexander, 30, another volunteer with short locks and an enormous Obama T-shirt, said Mr. Sutherland had matched that shift on Monday as well. He rattled off the names of other celebrities who had sat at the long, thin tables here today, calling people across the country. "'Chris Tucker, Ryan Phillipe, um, the guy from The Wire who’s on Heroes now, I saw him too,' he said. But Mr. Sutherland left a lasting impression. He raised his eyebrows at the actor’s ability to talk on the phone all day 'without taking any breaks.'" (TVDecoder)

"(Lawrence) Summers, 53, is favored to return to the Treasury post that he held under President Bill Clinton because Obama values his experience and familiarity with markets and global leaders, a crucial asset during the markets crisis. Still, people close to the president-elect stress no final decision has been reached and that Timothy Geithner, president of the New York Federal Reserve, is also a strong contender. Geithner would also be welcome by many in the financial community; at age 47, he would be a fresh face in an administration that ran on a mantra of change ... On the national security front, the first decision may be whether to ask Defense Secretary Robert Gates to remain for an interim period, a move favored by a number of influential congressional Democrats and the military. As the new president focuses on the financial crisis, they argue, this would offer continuity. 'He's done an extraordinary job,' Senator Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat, said of Gates. 'I would hope that in some capacity he could continue to serve.' If Gates isn't asked to stay, a leading candidate for Defense would be retiring Republican Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska. Hagel accompanied Obama on his trip to Afghanistan and Iraq in July, and the two have become close. The Illinois senator has said he wants a bipartisan Cabinet." (Bloomberg)

"I arrived in LA and hit the ground running!!!! Last night my divine friend Cameron Silver threw an awesome book signing party at his vintage couture shop for me for my new book about Geoffrey Beene -- it was SO much fun (You can see more pictures here). I saw all my Los Angeles buds: artist Karen Kimmel, architect Barbara Bestor, The Cobrasnake, Jeremy Scott, LVMH's Katherine Ross, the adorable writer Linlee Allen and my new BFF James Galanos (I kid you not -- he is FABULOUS)." (Papermag)

"NEWSWEEK has .. learned that Palin's shopping spree at high-end department stores was more extensive than previously reported. While publicly supporting Palin, McCain's top advisers privately fumed at what they regarded as her outrageous profligacy. One senior aide said that Nicolle Wallace had told Palin to buy three suits for the convention and hire a stylist. But instead, the vice presidential nominee began buying for herself and her family—clothes and accessories from top stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. According to two knowledgeable sources, a vast majority of the clothes were bought by a wealthy donor, who was shocked when he got the bill. Palin also used low-level staffers to buy some of the clothes on their credit cards. The McCain campaign found out last week when the aides sought reimbursement. One aide estimated that she spent 'tens of thousands' more than the reported $150,000, and that $20,000 to $40,000 went to buy clothes for her husband." (Newsweek)