Strollerderby : Katie Couric

Palin on Katie Couric: She Totally Annoyed Me

Madeline Holler — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 20:09:00 GMT

Sarah Palin defended her incomprehensible Katie Couric interviews this morning in an interview with Fox News in St. Louis. She said she was annoyed that the CBS News anchor didn't ask her the questions she had prepped for. No, she didn't say that. She said she was annoyed that she didn't get asked questions that she, Sarah Palin, thought were important to Americans.

Some might argue that alone is a demonstration of the VP candidate's questionable judgment. Americans might actually want to know where their leaders get information and a little more about their general worldview. And also that she understands the implications of Supreme Court rulings and what the hell Dick Cheney has been doing for the past eight years. (He, Ms. Palin, has been a maverick!)

VP Debate Wink Count: Palin, 3; Biden, 0

Biden Chokes Up Discussing Family Tragedy

Michelle Obama: The Anti-Palin

Video: YouTube, via Huffington Post

Morning News: Debate Prep Works! For Everyone!

Madeline Holler — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 13:00:00 GMT

Well, well, well. Only once or twice did Sarah Palin spiral into a dark and twisting tunnel of English words strung together with a kind of free-form syntax. Mostly, she stuck to the script, winked at the audience, did that clenched teeth thing (with the head tilt and pointed finger) and sounded like the spunky mom-gal we met but five weeks ago.

Joe Biden, too, benefitted from hours of debate practice against lady politicians and scored big points after he choked back tears remembering his big life tragedy. What a girl!

In summary: everybody won because nobody lost (but Biden won just a little bit more, what with the actual information and all).

Now, not everything that was said was factual. Go here for a rundown. We feel sad this is the only debate the two will have. But Palin performed well, which should put at ease those calling for her to step down from the ticket.(Question: is she really into gay civil unions as she seemed to indicate?)

So sure her debate was relatively gaffe-free. But if you've been getting your daily workout through the isometric muscle exercises brought on by involuntary and rigorous cringing, then you felt fat and disappointed after the 90 minutes of questions. Not to worry! Grab your pilates mat. We've got one last round of Katie Couric interviews.

Daily Palin (and final installment of Daily Couric): Sarah can't really name a past vice president that she admires. Sure, she says George Bush Sr., but look at her. She doesn't mean it. On the worst thing Dick Cheney has done as vice president, she names the duck hunting accident. Curious coming from an "energy expert" who's into transparency and busting up the old boys network. We figured she would at least say something about Cheney's meetings with the movers and shakers in the energy industry ... which were secret ... and a big group hug to an old boys network. Just sayin'.

A surprise cringe sneaks up on us when Katie asks the to VP candidates their favorite movies. Oh, come on, Katie, this isn't for the Today Show!

A Daily Palin Bonus: Pregnant teen Bristol Palin and her fiance Levi Johnston appear to be planning a summer wedding. She's due with their baby in December. In terms of marrying for the sake of the child, what's the lag time called?

Oh, enough of vice presidents, here's the other big campaign news: McCain is pulling out of Michigan, which is swinging plenty in favor of Obama.

Also, the House will try again today to pass a bailout bill. The lobbyists have had time to "educate" the lawmakers, so confidence is high that Bush will have something to sign, pronto.

In health news, we have a study that says exposure to phthalates in-utero may affect the development of baby boys' genitals.

Also, high-conflict parents teach their kids how to have crappy, fight-prone relationships.

The FDA says it's not going to immediately ban over-the-counter cold medicines for kids. Even though they don't really work. And may not be safe.

Sarah Palin Has a Gay (and Probably Pissed) BFF

Morning News Every Morning!

Sarah Palin pro choice -- for gays

Palin Wins the Wink War

Biden Chokes Up

Photo: USAToday.com

Morning News: Palin, Hasselbeck Can't Answer Simple Questions

Madeline Holler — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 13:00:00 GMT

Yesterday was not such a great day for two of John McCain's biggest fans: Sarah Palin and Elisabeth Hasselbeck -- we've got video in a sec. Also, guess which one's approval rating is tanking?

In the Morning News Daily Palin: Sarah Palin fumbled (again) in her interview with Katie Couric. And as if to say, "no, she's really that unable to talk about big national issues," they edit in segments of Joe Biden answering, quite thoughtfully, the same essential questions. We should be totally used to this by now, yet, yet, we still couldn't help but drop our jaws that she couldn't name a Supreme Court decision she disagreed with (though what do you want to bet she uses the line "legislate from the bench" in tonight's debate?).

Elisabeth Hasselbeck got all tongue-tied and pissy with Barbara Walters on The View yesterday when she was asked why she thought Sarah Palin would make a good president and then got all hysterical and head-shakey [via Jezebel] and said she'd been studying for that particular question on the pop quiz for a while. Tip to Liz: Take a page from Palin and get increasingly adorable when you're stuck!)

Sarah Palin's approval rating in Alaska has dropped significantly. She's not in George W. Bush territory by any means. But she used to be in the 80s. Now she's in the high 60s.

Judging from the polls, Obama's approval rating by voters is going up and he has taken a significant lead. Think Dems will settle down now?

Momcrat Liz takes us inside the world of political ice-cream and begs to differ with the candy red states in the Straight Talk Crunch, what will all the swinging that's suddenly going on.

Gwen Ifill, tonight's debate moderator, is having to defend her independent, fairness cred to the McCain camp. They've suddenly decided that Ifilll, who is writing a book The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama, won't be fair to Sarah Palin in the debate. If you've ever watched Ifill, and we're embarassed to say we have, you know she'll be so overprepared and fair it'll ruin half the fun (but only half!). And she won't smile at either of the candidates. And also, she's a good friend of Condi Rice's. And she has laughed plenty at Joe Biden.

Speaking of Condi Rice -- and really, it's been so long since anyone has -- she's had another personally troublesome trip to NYC.

The Senate did what the House wouldn't: it passed a bailout bill. $700 billion. We'll see what the House does today.

Finally, in personal health disasters: turns out some U.S. cereals are more than half sugar by weight. One serving of at least 11 popular cereals (Honey Smacks, for example) have as much sugar as a glazed donut. (And we all know no one eats just one serving.)

Also, was Heather Locklear set up for her DUI arrest?

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Catch up on the rest of Morning News!

Video: CBSnews.com

Morning News: Sarah Palin Has a Gay (and Probably Pissed) BFF

Madeline Holler — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 13:00:00 GMT

CBS, you're such a tease! All these delicious little video interviews of Sarah, and Sarah and John, and, last night, Sarah and Willow (Willow! The forgotten Palin child!). We've ignored you for years -- decades even -- CBS, but that gamble with Katie Couric is starting to pay off. For us. We hear it's done nothing for the Evening News' ranking among networks (sorry 'bout that).

Today's Morning News we start with our Daily Palin (our daily Katie, it would seem). And we know you've got something good in store for tonight. Thank you, CBS, thank you.

We love the start of the video, Katie's shock that Willow will be tagging along. Since nothing in a campaign is ever accidental -- nothing but sucky interviews -- the fact that Willow's presence surprised Katie gives us much to mull. Decoy? Shield? Effort to soften Katie? Also, we know what you're thinking: where's Trig?

First and biggest cringe comes a few minutes in. Katie asks Palin what newspapers she has read over the years -- or even now. Palin names exactly zero and then paints a picture of geographic chauvinism. "Alaska's not a foreign country ... we get the news ... why do you think we don't get news" that kind of thing. Still, no publications named. (Tip to SP: if you get this question again just say "The Times," "The Post," "The Tribune." Covers all the biggies. You're welcome!)

She goes on to talk about abortion, the Morning After pill, her church, creationism, drilling for oil. She's good with these answers, she's pre-Tina Palin. At the end, we find out she doesn't hate gays, because one of her best friends of 30 years is a lesbian, pardon us, "chooses to be gay." Quick, Katie, hunt down that friend who insists on loving ladies! (Read or skim the transcript here.)

In other Morning News: The Senate is getting all high and mighty by voting on their own rescue plan this morning. This will supposedly get the House's panties in a bunch and force them to pass a fast and big rescue plan. The Senate's version, however, includes tax cuts for businesses and alternative energy -- an effort to appease Republicans. And if Obama votes in favor of the Senate's bill, how bad will that fuck up his pledge to cut taxes for the middle class?

We know you're all about your right to vote this Nov. 4 but is it really worth risking your life? Turns out, there's an 18 percent increase in the number of fatalities on election Tuesdays. So, maybe you could consider walking to your polling place?

Remember the guy who dumped nine of his 10 kids, ages two to 17, at a Nebraska hospital -- legal under the state's relatively new safe haven law? Well, seven of those kids are now living with grandma (who, surely is getting a bunch of help from the nice folks of Omaha). The other two are living with friends so that they don't have to switch schools. Happy ending? It could be worse.

Photo: CBSNews.com

Sarah Palin Makes Repeat SNL Appearance!

Madeline Holler — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 15:04:00 GMT

Tina Fey reprised her role as Republican VP nominee Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live last night. This time, Amy Poehler channeled Katie Couric and the two sat down for an interview.

The saddest part? Some of Fey's lines were lifted straight from Palin's actual supercringe interview.

Morning News: The 'Everything's Falling Apart' Edition

Madeline Holler — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 13:00:00 GMT

In this issue of Morning News, we ask: is anything ever easy? Yesterday, the Bush administration and lawmakers appeared to be making progress -- real progress! -- toward a economic bailout plan. John McCain's call to suspend his campaign appeared political, sure, but one could have still argued "courageous." We could chalk Palin's cringe-y interview with Katie Couric the night before to nerves.

Then evening came around. And everything just totally fell apart.

Today, a summary of those things. We'll start with Sarah falling apart in our Daily Palin:

If you had to rock yourself to endure the discomfort of watching Sarah Palin's Wednesday night interview with Katie Couric, you'll need to shower in cold water before watching Part II from last night (video above). This woman, who you have to admit -- if you can set politics aside -- is actually fun to watch deliver a well-written speech, can't possibly have a shred of credibility remaining. Did she prep for the interview with that infamously random word-pusher, the South Carolina beauty pageant contestant? She's reminding us of our first college job as a telemarketer, memorizing flip cards and filling the silence with insta-responses ... "I can appreciate your hesitation, ma'am," ... and we were totally better at it than her! (On a bright note -- this interview may turn Katie Couric's career around!)

Also falling apart? Negotiations over the terms of the $700 billion bailout. Republicans revolted in the 11th hour (actually around 10 p.m.), saying they didn't like federal intrusion in private business. They wanted, instead, to cobble together a free market plan. Democrats called them big babies (a paraphrase).

The nation's largest S&L, Washington Mutual, just fell apart. The feds seized it and sold off its assets to JP Morgan Chase. And with that, it would appear that the friends-with-benefits style free market has officially fallen apart.

Finally, let's look at how John McCain's noble move to suspend his campaign during a crisis is totally falling apart: it's disingenuous, it's transparent and it's only helping Obama. Oh, and it's pissing off everybody else.

McCain doesn't have a monopoly on desperate and dangerous election publicity stunts. A guy running for governorship of Bangkok, Thailand, drowned during a photo op. He walked into a river to demonstrate how the filthy water caused rashes. He started waving and yelling for help, but his staff thought it was part of the stunt.

Is this photo not evidence enough that everything has fallen apart for Ed McMahon?

What's falling apart for you?

Morning News: Financial Crisis, Campaigns Would Be Hilarious If They Weren't So Sad

Morning News: Nope, No Improvements. Nation Still Falling Apart.

Video: CBSNews.com

Your baby is ugly

Brett Singer — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 18:30:00 GMT

CBS News sent correspondent Steve Hartman into the field to ask people if they thought his baby was cute. But Steve did something tricky: he used a distorted image of his offspring (not the image at the right; that's Baby-faced Finster from Bugs Bunny). The idea was to see if anyone would say, "Dude, what an ugly kid."

Of course, no one did. That's generally not the way polite folks behave, especially not on camera. Steve's not-exactly-Earth-shaking conclusion: "cuteness is relative ... if the baby's your relative, it's cute." (Maybe CBS' abysmal news ratings aren't all Katie Couric's fault, hm?)

What would have been more interesting would be to have two sets of parents explain why they found their baby to be cuter than someone else's. Personally, I prefer my children to other people's children, and I think most parents feel the same way. That said, some kids, like some people, are cuter than others. Angelina Jolie is more attractive than, say, Bea Arthur. It would therefore stand to reason that some babies are cuter than others.

But when it's your kid, you think they're beautiful. Which is the way it should be. The only time this belief becomes potentially problematic is when you force that opinion on other people, ad nauseum. There are times when parental worshipping at the altar of adorableness can become utterly unbearable.

This might just be me, or maybe not. Have you ever wanted to tell someone to just shut the hell up about their baby? Does "aw, isn't my Susie gorgeous?" ever start to sound like "isn't my Susie way more gorgeous than that little monster you have?"

(For the record, I find my children cute -- most of the time, anyway -- but I try to keep that to myself as much as possible, at least when there are other people around. Do I pull out photos for folks to admire? Of course. But that's only because MY children are OBJECTIVELY cute. Ba-dum-bum.)

image: heo.com

Katie Couric to Return to 'Today'

Madeline Holler — Tue, 27 May 2008 19:36:00 GMT

Everybody's once favorite morning cup of coffee now least watched evening news anchor (and also toothy mother of two), Katie Couric, will return to the "Today Show" Wednesday. Her former colleague Matt Lauer made the announcement today and everybody's going crazy.

We all knew her days at CBS Evening News were numbered. But a return to the show that launched a thousand mornings for us and a career for her? Too good to be true.

Indeed, it is. Her return is likely just for one segment and also alongside nasally Brian Williams and blah Charles Gibson. The threesome will be making joint appearances all around New York City that day. What results will be filmed and repackaged into a special, "Stand Up to Cancer." It is scheduled to air this fall.

From ABCNews.com

The broadcast, "Stand Up To Cancer," will air on Sept. 5 on ABC, CBS and NBC and will feature live performances by recording artists and movie and film stars who will, along with the evening news anchors from each of the networks, deliver information about potentially life-saving cancer research.

Is this going to replace that Jerry Lewis telethon?

Question: What IS Katie Couric going to do when her evening news career ends sooner rather than later? Will she really swap jobs with CNN's Anderson Cooper?

Photo: celebritybabies.typepad.com

PWT (Parenting While Traveling)

MetroDad — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 22:22:00 GMT

According to the NY Daily News, Katie Couric's tween and teenage daughters are missing their mom while she is in Iraq, but she's still taking care of them. This past Monday, the NYC restaurant Fresco by Scotto got a call from the "CBS Evening News" anchor, direct from her cellphone in the Middle East. "She said her daughters needed some 'home-cooked' Italian food and put in a delivery order for them," laughs a source.

At first, I laughed about this too and thought this was just another egregious example of celebrity extravagance. But then I thought about it some more. Katie Couric is a single mom raising two kids and is in the middle of a war zone while her two kids are anxiously at home, not only waiting for her return but also probably worrying about her safety. What a nice touching gesture from their mom to let her daughters know that she's thinking about them.

As someone who travels around the world for work quite a bit, I'm newly inspired to do something similar for my wife and daughter while I'm away on long trips. How about you? Do any of you who travel for work do something similar for your families? Do your spouses? An inquiring mind wants to know...