Barbra Streisand and Barack Obama - like buttah...
Jake Turcotte
It seems that the Tina Fey impersonation of Sarah Palin this past weekend on Saturday Night Live was almost universally enjoyed – even by Sarah Palin herself, according to her spokesperson.
Oh yeah, the one person who didn't get the talking point that it was funny? McCain strategest Carly Fiorina.
"The portrait was very dismissive of the substance of Sarah Palin, and so in that sense, they were defining Hillary Clinton as very substantive, and Sarah Palin as totally superficial," Fiorina said.
Memo to Carly: It's OK to laugh.
Coffee Talk?
With Barbra Streisand holding a fundraiser tonight for Barack Obama, could a Mike Myers cameo of "Coffee Talk" be next in line?
This would give SNL back-to-back weeks of ratings success. And would undeniably be hilarious. Just let Myers ad-lib it. Whatever. Just do it.
Although the rest of the season opener appeared to have been panned (Michael Phelps - stick to swimming), the first night out scored its biggest premiere since 2001.
Back to the fundraiser
Streisand is all about Barack now. Originally a fervent supporter of Hillary Clinton, she is now a big-time Obama backer and is vocal about it. She, in fact, uses her website to talk about it. Recently, she lambasted the McCain campaign for selecting Palin.
"This calculated, cynical ploy to pull away a small percentage of Hillary's women voters from Barack Obama will not work," Streisand wrote on her Web page. "We are not that stupid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"I believe John McCain chose Gov. Palin because he truly believes that women who supported Hillary — an experienced, brilliant, lifelong public servant — would vote for him because his vice president has two X chromosomes," Streisand said. "McCain's selection of Gov. Palin is a transparent and irresponsible decision all in the name of trying to win this election."
Who's out of touch?
Responding to tonight's dinner, a Republican strategist blasted the Obama campaign bringing back the celebrity charge.
"Barack Obama continues to reinforce the negative that he is an elitist celebrity who is out of touch with everyday Americans," the GOP operative said. "Nothing says you are out of touch more than a $28 thousand dinner with celebrities in Beverly Hills in the midst of an economic meltdown. This just adds to the list of poor decisions his campaign has made over the last month."
Bring in the dough
To build on the record-breaking month of August that Obama enjoyed (to the tune of $66 million), Streisand is holding a $2,500-per-person fundraiser at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. With a capacity of 700, the event can only bring in a paltry $1.75 million.
How to increase the haul? Leave it to Barbara. How about dinner? For the low, low price of $28,500 you can dine with the Oscar-winning singer and actress. This is a far more intimate occasion, as only 250 people can have this opportunity.
All in all, the event tonight could bring in $9 million for Obama.
Buttah, pure buttah...