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| John McCain, Barack Obama Square Off In Often-Tense First Debate Posted: 27 Sep 2008 09:22 AM PDT While McCain called his opponent 'naive,' Obama tied the Arizona senator to the Bush administration.
Though the first presidential debate was supposed to cover national security and world affairs, it began with a series of questions about the ongoing financial crisis in the United States, and the responses of Democratic Senator Barack Obama and Republican Senator John McCain set the tenor for the rest of the often-tense 90-minute face-off. Both men hit upon themes they would repeat over the course of the debate — Obama's attempts to tie McCain to the failed policies of the Bush administration and McCain's repeated assertions that Obama's views on world affairs were naive at best, uninformed at worst. And though he tried repeatedly at the outset of the debate to get the men to look at each other during the five-minute open segments of the program, moderator Jim Lehrer struggled to get McCain and Obama to engage each other as they tackled the issues. "It's been your president who you said you agreed with 90 percent of the time who supported this orgy of spending," Obama said, finally looking at McCain several minutes into the program. McCain, as he would often do during the debate, declined to make eye contact with his opponent, instead looking down at his lectern or in the opposite direction. "You voted for almost all of his budgets. To stand here and say that after eight years you're going to lead on controlling spending and balancing our tax cuts for middle-class families ... it's kind of hard to swallow." Despite the turmoil of the past week — during which McCain proposed postponing the debate and put his campaign on hold to go to Washington to deal with the fiscal crisis — the tenor of the debate was relatively calm, if testy at points, with neither man appearing to strike a decisive blow or committing a serious gaffe. Asked how they stood on the $700 billion financial-recovery plan that was being hashed out in Washington, Obama said that swift action was needed to deal with it and said his hope was that any plan would contain oversight, assurances that taxpayers who are putting their money at risk would get it back if the market returned, CEOs of failed companies were not getting "golden parachutes," and homeowners were helped to avoid foreclosure. McCain said he was heartened to see Democrats and Republicans working together on the plan, adding, "We're talking about failures on Main Street and people who would lose their jobs and their credit and their homes if we don't fix the greatest fiscal crisis in our time. ... This isn't the beginning of the end of this crisis — this is the end of the beginning." McCain then repeatedly lashed Obama for requesting more than $900 million in earmarks and pork-barrel spending, saying, "That kind of thing is not the way to rein in runaway spending in Washington, D.C." Asked several times which parts of their economic priorities they would abandon given the expected cuts that would follow the passage of the expected $700 billion bailout, neither man would definitively commit to what programs they would cut, despite Lehrer's urging. The economic back-and-forth set the stage for the real red meat of the debate: the foreign-policy segment, during which McCain returned often to his long history of experience in dealing with foreign powers and conflicts overseas. Saying it is well-known that he has not been voted "Miss Congeniality in the Senate," McCain described how he was opposed to a number of Bush administration policies — from the torture of prisoners to the way the war in Iraq was initially executed, saying that he is known as a maverick in the Senate, in the same way his running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, is known as a maverick in her state. Obama, however, repeated his stump line that McCain has voted with the Bush White House more than 90 percent of the time and said the fundamental difference between him and his opponent on the question of the war in Iraq is that he would have questioned whether the United States should have gone to war at all. "We took our eye off the ball," Obama said, referring to the failure to completely root out the Taliban in Afghanistan and kill leader Osama bin Laden after the attacks of September 11. "The next president of the United States is not going to have to address the issue of whether we went into Iraq or not," McCain said. "The next president of the United States is going to have to decide when we leave and what we leave behind." As he would often do during the second half of the debate, McCain said his opponent didn't understand the underlying issue, saying Obama refused to acknowledge that the surge in Iraq was working and that the U.S. was winning in Iraq. "You said you knew where the weapons of mass destruction were," Obama said to McCain. "You were wrong." Seeking to set himself apart from his opponent, McCain also frequently referred to his travels abroad and relationships with foreign leaders, saying he better understood the situation in Afghanistan because he's been to the region. "I have a record of being involved in these national-security issues," McCain said. "Over the last eight years, this administration, along with Senator McCain, has been solely focused on Iraq," Obama said as an example of how McCain, too, had taken his eye off the ball in Afghanistan. "That has been their priority. That is where all their resources have gone. In the meantime, Osama bin Laden is still out there. He is not captured. He is not killed. Al Qaeda is resurgent." On the final question, whether it was likely that there would be another 9/11 in our time, McCain said it was "much less likely" now than it was in 2001 but that the nation has "a long way to go before we can declare America safe." Obama responded that we are "safer in some ways" but that the decline in America's perception in the rest of the world due to the war in Iraq has threatened our security. "One of the things I plan to do is restore our standing in the world," Obama said, using the example of his Kenyan father, who he said wrote a letter 60 years ago in an attempt to come to college in the U.S. because he felt it was the only place on Earth where "you could make it if you tried." Mirroring statements made by Obama's primary opponent, Democratic Senator Hillary Clinton, McCain claimed he didn't need any "on-the-job training. I'm ready to go at it right now." With 39 days left before the election, the candidates will meet up again October 7, with the vice-presidential contenders squaring off October 2.
Get informed! Head to Choose or Lose for nonstop coverage of the 2008 presidential election, including everything from the latest news on the candidates to on-the-ground multimedia reports from our 51 citizen journalists, MTV and MySpace's Presidential Dialogues, and much more. Related Videos | |
| Posted: 26 Sep 2008 05:08 AM PDT AM updated his Facebook status, calling himself 'the luckiest guy alive.'
Less than a week after the plane crash that took the lives of four people and seriously injured DJ AM and Travis Barker, DJ AM has been released from the Doctors Hospital in Georgia and is returning to Los Angeles, according to his publicist. "While he is deeply saddened by the events, he is thankful for all of the love and support he has been receiving from fans and friends worldwide," the rep said. "We ask that you continue to respect his privacy as he rests and heals and mourns the loss of his friends." AM updated his Facebook status on Friday (September 26), sharing his first public message since the crash. "Adam Goldstein is the luckiest guy alive," his status now reads. While no official news has been released about Travis Barker, who was also injured in the crash, Jermaine Dupri commented to People.com about his condition, saying that Barker will be released from the hospital in "about two weeks." On Tuesday, Barker was reportedly trying to stay optimistic after multiple surgeries related to the crash, friend Bill Nosal told The Associated Press. "If you make it out of a crash of that magnitude, somebody's looking out for you," said Nosal, who is also the spokesperson for Barker's clothing company, Famous Stars and Straps. "He's trying to stay upbeat." Nosal said that Chris Baker, Barker's personal assistant who died in the Columbia, South Carolina, crash on Friday, "was like extended family." Barker also lost his bodyguard, Charles Still, in the crash, although Nosal pointed out that the drummer didn't always travel with security. The pilot and the co-pilot, Sarah Lemmon and James Bland, also died. Lieutenant Josh Shumpert of the South Congaree, South Carolina, police department spoke to People.com about what he saw when he arrived at the scene. "[Barker and AM] told me that they slid down the wing on the right side of the plane," he said. "They said they were on fire and that they tackled each other and put each other out. "When I got there, they were on the side of the road," he continued. "They were pacing and in shock. Travis was very shaken up." Federal investigators are looking into the possibility that a blown tire could have contributed to the crash. They've found evidence that one of the jet's tires may have blown moments before takeoff at the Columbia Metropolitan Airport. Audio from the jet's cockpit voice recorder indicates that the pilot and co-pilot informed air-traffic controllers they'd heard a tire burst and tried to abort the takeoff. If you'd like more information on the memorial funds set up to benefit Chris Baker's and Charles Still's families, visit the Famous Stars and Straps Web site. [This story was originally published at 3:02 pm E.T. on 9.26.2008] Related Videos Related Artists | |
| Travis Barker Will Spend Two More Weeks In Hospital, Jermaine Dupri Says Posted: 26 Sep 2008 04:39 AM PDT Plus: The mom of Barker's late assistant, Chris Baker, talks about her 'disbelief' following plane crash.
The latest update on Travis Barker — who was critically injured in a plane crash that killed four others and left DJ AM with severe burns — comes from the former Blink-182 drummer's friend Jermaine Dupri. "He's doing good. He's gonna be alright. He's just got a lot of healing to do," the music producer told People.com. Dupri added that he thinks Barker will be in the hospital for about two more weeks. He visited the drummer, who is also his partner in the So So Def clothing line, on Sunday. Dupri said he was shocked when he heard that Barker had been in the accident. "I was at home. Somebody called me early in the morning," he said. "It was kind of crazy, and I didn't really comprehend what had happened." Barker, whose torso and lower part of his body were burned in the crash, is doing well emotionally, according to Dupri. "He's supposed to send a message out to everybody in a couple of days to let everybody know that he's feeling better," he said. "He's definitely feeling the love from everyone." Dupri said that Barker's hospital room has been outfitted to keep him in good spirits and ensure he heals in a happy environment. "He's just now getting everything in the hospital set up for him — iPods, computers, everything that he needs," Dupri told the site. "You got to make sure he is comfortable." On Sunday, a doctor from the Joseph M. Still Burn Center in Augusta, Georgia, where Barker and AM are being treated, announced that the musicians are expected to make full recoveries. And Dupri thinks that Barker is right on track in the healing process: "I think everything will be cool when I get back there [to see him]. He'll probably be up and talking crazy and all that — back to his old self." Chris Baker, Barker's personal assistant, died in the Columbia, South Carolina, crash on Friday, along with bodyguard Charles Still and the plane's pilot and co-pilot, Sarah Lemmon and James Bland. Baker's mom, Linda Warn, spoke to MomLogic.com this week, revealing that another of her sons had died just 31 days before the plane crash. "When one happens, you think, 'God, that's some really bad luck,' " Warn told the site. "It's not supposed to happen this way. We're supposed to [outlive our kids]. With the second one, there's anger and then there's disbelief. There is that question of 'What could we possibly have done so bad to be punished like this?' But the bottom line is that it's nothing we did. It's nature. Our friend says, 'It is what it is.' And that's where we're at." Warn recalled that a friend had once said her son "wasn't a person — he was an event." "In his 29 years, he crammed more in than most 80-year-olds," she said. "He traveled the world ... saw the 'Mona Lisa' and hung out in a pub with Prince William and Harry." If you'd like more information on the memorial funds set up to benefit the families of plane-crash victims Chris Baker and Charles Still, visit the Famous Stars and Straps Web site. [This story was originally published at 12:05 pm E.T. on 9.26.2008] Related Videos Related Artists | |
| Britney Spears' 'Womanizer' Makes Radio Debut Posted: 26 Sep 2008 08:22 AM PDT The first single from her upcoming album, Circus, was played Friday morning.
After Jive Records decided to push back the release of Britney Spears' new single, "Womanizer," the song made its official debut Friday morning (September 26) on New York radio station Z100. And now you can listen to it online right here. And now you can listen to it online right here. A 37-second snippet of the song, the first single off Circus (due out December 2), was leaked on a Nashville radio station last Friday before promptly being removed. According to Jive, the station obtained the clip by recording a phone call in which a radio rep played a rough mix of the song for people at the station — which seems likely, judging by the clip's poor sound quality. At press time it was unclear when the Outsyders-produced song would be available for digital download, though some sources said it would be as early as next Monday.
On Wednesday, the queen of this year's VMAs was hard at work in Los Angeles on the video for "Womanizer." In the clip, Britney sports a vampy look — a short black wig, red lipstick, black leather pants and fake tattoos — and plays a waitress, just like she did in the video for "(You Drive Me) Crazy." She's also once again working with director Joseph Khan, who previously helmed her clips for "Stronger" and "Toxic." According to People.com, the video was shot at the Elevate Lounge in the Takami Sushi & Robata restaurant, and dancers were dressed in waiters' uniforms. Unidentified sources told UsMagazine.com that the video features "erotic" choreography and that Spears makes out with a man on a kitchen counter. Related Artists | |
| Jewelry From Kanye West, Diddy, 50 Cent And More To Be Auctioned Off Posted: 26 Sep 2008 05:00 AM PDT Lil Jon's record-setting 'Crunk Ain't Dead' pendant will also be under the gavel during March event.
How much would you pay for Lil Jon's 12-pound "Crunk Ain't Dead" pendant, which holds the Guinness Book of World Records mark as the largest diamond pendant ever? You can get your shot at the signature piece during the Hip-Hop's Crown Jewels auction from the contemporary art auction house Phillips de Pury & Company, which will take place March 5 in New York. The sale, which was originally scheduled for October 1, was pushed back due to the overwhelming interest in the catalog, according to a spokesperson. While the spokesperson would not discuss what pieces will be in the auction because the catalog is still being finalized, in addition to Jon's piece, which has more than 3,700 diamonds in it, the auction will also reportedly feature Missy Elliott's signature black-diamond-and-gold mini-turntable pendant, a diamond-and-platinum bracelet that was owned by Diddy and one of Kanye West's diamond-studded black Jesus pendants. (Check out photos of some of the bling here.) Prior to the auction's move to next year, the Washington Post reported that other items expected to go under the gavel included a mix of pieces donated by the artists themselves and their jewelers, with part of the proceeds to benefit the National Museum of American History's drive to establish a permanent hip-hop exhibit and Russell Simmons' Rush Community Affairs charity. The pieces include MC Lyte's gold mushroom-shaped ring with a profile of Nefertiti, a diamond link bracelet owned by 50 Cent that the paper said "is so bloated with diamonds that wearing it would be akin to hoisting a five-pound barbell all day," Biz Markie's signature diamond-studded cassette pendant and a diamond-dusted Rolex that belonged to the late Notorious B.I.G. Related Photos Related Artists | |
| Daniel Radcliffe's Broadway Debut Proves 'He's Not Harry Potter, He's Daniel Radcliffe' Posted: 26 Sep 2008 04:35 AM PDT 'Equus' cast and crew — and a celeb-filled audience — agree it's a 'breakout' performance.
NEW YORK — He smokes, he swears, he watches porno and he's nude — and yet that's not nearly what makes playing Alan Strang in "Equus" the most adult role Daniel Radcliffe has played. Demonstrating a range beyond his years during his opening night Thursday, the celeb-filled audience called it his "breakout." "I was actually in the third row," said Christy Carlson Romano, who starred alongside Shia LaBeouf in the Disney Channel sitcom "Even Stevens." "You could smell everything. It was sexy and super-stimulating, and Daniel did an astounding job." Romano was sitting in front of Haley Joel Osment and to the left of "Inside the Actors Studio" host James Lipton. Sitting nearby were Kathleen Turner, Lili Taylor, Glenn Close, Judith Light and Dominic Cooper. Up in the balcony was "Project Runway" designer Austin Scarlett, who was dressed for the occasion in jodhpurs and riding boots. "The audience in the U.S. has so far been incredible," Radcliffe said. "There's a couple of laughs we don't get in England," he said of performing the play in London's West End versus performing on Broadway, "only because the Americans get it so much." The play is a look at the therapy a disturbed young boy receives after he inexplicably blinds six horses. To play Strang, Radcliffe has to exhibit both hostility and vulnerability. As the play progresses, he begins to open up and explain, through flashbacks, how he views horses — especially one named Nugget (played by Lorenzo Pisoni) — as his gods, slaves and lovers. At times, Radcliffe is crumpled up in the fetal position as his doctor, mother and father discuss his condition. Other times, he has nightmares and outbursts, sometimes singing commercial jingles instead of answering straightforward questions. Radcliffe said one thing that makes live theater so exciting for him ("I'm still buzzed from the adrenaline!") is the amount of chances for slip-ups — and his opening night wasn't without a few. "During the ride," he said, "the microphone inside of Lorenzo's horse head actually came loose and started hitting him in the head, which was quite funny. And at one point, the clips which I clamp him in with didn't go in right and subsequently would not come out, so I had to leave him onstage in a blackout while the technicians actually got him off at the intermission. So most of the mistake moments involved Lorenzo, but he's cool." "I don't want to be that guy who drops Harry Potter!" Pisoni laughed. "So I certainly scuff my shoes to make sure I don't slip. I don't have a lot of experience in platform shoes, so the little six-pound heels without the heel [that make up the hooves]? It certainly has taken a little getting used to. And the set is slanted, and we have to have our arms behind our backs [to resemble horses]. Add in the masks, and it gets a little treacherous. But it's working out. Everything's all right. I'm used to it now." One of the big differences between the London production and this one is how the horses interact with Radcliffe, since director Thea Sharrock and choreographer Fin Walker wanted to make this show more "visceral." "We tried to find other moments within the play where we could slowly incorporate the horses," Sharrock said, "so the notion of Equus grows into the finale." That finale includes the much-talked-about nude scene from the young star. Radcliffe is not alone in baring it all on stage, since it's an aborted love scene with his co-star Anna Camp, who plays stable girl Jill Mason. "Nobody ever mentioned the chick getting naked!" Romano said. "I was not prepared for that. I was actually kind of alarmed. She's doing the whole thing!" "He carries the show, and he's Harry Potter, so everybody's so focused on him and waiting for him to take his clothes off," Camp said. "But it's really about my character being the one in control and guiding him through the entire thing. It's so important to the story that we do take our clothes off, because it's about confronting him with complete sexuality, and that's how the last event of the play can occur, only if he's truly, truly confronted." Sharrock called the scene "beautiful" and "low-key," while other actors called Radcliffe's choice a brave one. "The material is what's crucial here," Osment said. "And it's a choice many actors have to make. 'Is it what I need to do? Is it necessary for this character?' And in this case, it was. I think he gave a wonderful performance, and I'm sure he's going to gain the respect of a lot of people with it." "By the time the nudity happened, it wasn't about the nudity at all," Romano said. "It was more about the art. I was riveted." "He's proved he's not Harry Potter, he's Daniel Radcliffe," Sharrock said. "He's not a star, he's an actor." Since "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" was delayed from its planned November release, Radcliffe no longer has to juggle being a movie star and a Broadway actor this fall — he can concentrate on the play, instead of promoting the movie at the same time. "It's a disaster for the fans, and I totally appreciate that," he said. "I am very, very sorry for them, but it was worked out very nicely for the run of 'Equus.' " Related Videos | |
| Kanye West Won't Face Felony Charges In Airport Scuffle: Report Posted: 26 Sep 2008 01:09 AM PDT Don Crowley, MC's road manager, reportedly won't be charged with felony either.
Kanye West will not face felony charges in connection with his scuffle with paparazzi at Los Angeles airport earlier this month, according to TMZ. The site reported that Don Crowley, West's road manager, will not face felony charges either, and said the case has been sent to the L.A. city attorney, where it hasn't been decided whether anyone will be charged with a misdemeanor. Earlier this month, MTV News reported that West could avoid felony charges due to a quirk in California law. At the time, Crowley could have been charged with a felony because he wrestled with two paparazzi and smashed the men's expensive cameras. West destroyed one shooter's lighting rig, which was worth just $100. Meanwhile, Crowley had his hands on the camera, which is worth more than $1,400, as well as a video camera belonging to TMZ that was reportedly valued at $7,000. California law states that someone who criminally damages property worth more than $400 can be prosecuted for felony vandalism. TMZ speculated that the charges for West could be lowered to a misdemeanor, while Crowley might still face felony counts. After posting $20,000 bail and being released from jail, West blogged about the incident, saying, "We back in the lab!!! I'm cool with the paparazzi. This guy wasn't cool. I gotta work now." West was reportedly in Hawaii the next day working on his upcoming album, 808s and Heartbreak. The rapper has since bumped up its release date to "November something." Related Artists | |
| What's At Stake For Obama And McCain In Debate Over Foreign Policy, National Security? Posted: 25 Sep 2008 11:47 PM PDT The economic crisis looms over first faceoff between the presidential candidates.
Let's get ready to ... debate the nuances of American foreign policy as the economy teeters on the brink of disaster! Republican Senator John McCain decided Friday morning (September 26) to reverse his earlier request to postpone the first presidential debate with Democratic Senator Barack Obama in order to focus on the current financial crisis. But the dark economic cloud is still looming over the faceoff and will almost surely color whatever issues the two men discuss in Friday's 90-minute debate, which airs live at 9 p.m. ET from the University of Mississippi in Oxford. Though the agreed-upon main topics will be foreign policy and national security, the debate will likely hit on the one issue on most American's minds these days — the $700 billion bailout of the financial sector. McCain's call to delay the debate appears to have fallen on deaf ears, and a number of leading Congressional Democrats have faulted the Arizona senator for possibly bogging down the intense negotiations on the bailout plan, while offering little input of substance. "The insertion of presidential politics has not been helpful. It has been harmful," Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said, pointing out that all McCain has done is, "stand in front of the cameras. We still don't know where he stands on the issue." So, after an exhausting, nearly two-year buildup, the first face-to-face meeting between these rivals for the White House promises to bring real drama, and perhaps some answers about their readiness to lead the country. According to a recent New York Times story, Obama successfully lobbied to flip the debate topics so that foreign policy and national security would come first, while economic and other domestic issues would be discussed in the final meeting. Even before the bank meltdown, Obama's team surmised that the key issue in this election would be the economy — and debating that last could give Obama the chance to hit voters with his argument that McCain would continue the failed economic policies of the Bush administration right before they go to the polls. That strategy suggests a desire by the Obama camp to quickly establish his credentials on foreign policy and appear strong on those issues against McCain, who has consistently gotten higher marks in polls as a potential commander in chief. The first debate is typically the most-watched and given the drama over whether or not it would happen, it's likely even more people than usual will check out tonight's showdown. McCain's aides were also pushing for the first debate to cover foreign policy, allowing him to benefit from his strong history on national-security issues. But with McCain suddenly behind in the polls — by some accounts between six and nine points — and even some Republicans decrying his campaign suspension, tonight's battle could be a watershed moment in this historic presidential race. Here's a look at what's at stake for each candidate in this debate. For Obama Strengths: Obama has frequently expressed a desire to rise above partisan bickering, but after concerns that he was not fighting back hard enough against some of McCain's broadsides earlier this summer, he has shown that he can give as good as he gets when pushed against the wall. If he can stand toe-to-toe with McCain on the Arizona senator's pet issue, Obama can neutralize one of McCain's strongest talking points and diffuse some of the concerns over his lack of experience on the world stage. He got a good start earlier this week, when he answered McCain's call to postpone the debate by saying that a president must often deal with more than one thing at a time. That line is sure to pop up again Friday night. If, as expected, the debate turns at points to the economy, Obama is likely to use the current crisis an example of the now-coming-to-roost failures of the Bush policies, which the Illinois senator has said would continue under a McCain administration. Obama has reportedly been doing vigorous debate prep for most of this week in Florida, so he should be well prepared for the face off. Weaknesses: He's playing ball in McCain's court, and if he appears ill-informed on important world issues — or makes a comment that is easily mocked, such as his assertion earlier this year that he would be willing to talk to the leaders of rogue states unconditionally — it could put a dent in his desire to appear presidential. McCain is likely to fault Obama for not agreeing to suspend his campaign while the financial bailout bill is being hammered out in Washington. McCain will also likely reiterate his assertion that he was right to support the surge in Iraq, which Obama opposed. What he needs to do: Obama has a well-established reputation as an excellent orator, but in the Democratic primary debates he showed that he can sometimes come across as a bit flat and unemotional. Because the debate format features a two-minute back-and-forth on each topic, followed by a five-minute open debate, Obama needs to show that he is quick on his feet and can speak in terms that the average American can understand. In the primary debates, he sometimes seemed exasperated and put-off by more hard-hitting personal questions, reactions he will need to hide if he is to counter McCain's more self-deprecating charm. He needs to show a command of foreign policy and offer a clear vision for troop withdrawals from Iraq, as well as an understanding of how he will handle rogue states and emerging nuclear powers. What you can expect to see: Obama hitting McCain on his support of President Bush's execution of the war in Iraq and refusal to set a timetable for the withdrawal of troops from the region. For McCain Strengths: Though his preferred format is the more intimate, unscripted "town hall" style meeting, McCain is most comfortable when not reading from a TelePrompTer, so the off-the-cuff debate format should suit him. Foreign policy is McCain's sweet spot, and if even half the 40 million Americans who watched Obama's and Sarah Palin's convention speeches tune in, it could put him in a positive light for a major audience that might include the undecided and independent voters he needs to win. He's likely to point to his decision to suspend his campaign as proof that he's a maverick whose duty to country comes before his party allegiances, a talking point McCain has often repeated on the stump. With his service in Vietnam, extensive overseas trips as a senator and his support of the surge in Iraq — which some have credited with reducing violence in that country — McCain can point to a long history of national-security and foreign-policy credentials during the debate. Weaknesses: The man once known as the self-deprecating captain of the "Straight Talk Express" has drawn fire as of late for appearing too scripted and rigidly "on topic," as well as for releasing misleading campaign ads. If he relies on too many carefully constructed attack lines that turn out to be based on erroneous or incomplete information, it could hurt his credibility. When faced with a topic he's not familiar with, McCain can sometimes appear wooden and confused. Obama will surely fault McCain for not being able to campaign and deal with the crisis in Washington at the same time, especially in light of word that McCain offered few comments during a White House meeting with President Bush on Thursday. He reportedly left the Capital before any headway was made on the bailout package, despite a pledge to stay until a deal was worked out. Between suspending his campaign and flying to Washington, McCain has done considerably less debate prep than Obama, though his camp said that his decades of debating colleagues in Congress have left him well prepared for Obama. What he needs to do: Although he's mostly ditched his sometimes anger-tinged responses to hard questions, McCain could definitely score points if he sticks to the issue-oriented zingers he hit former Republican rival Mitt Romney with during the primary debates. McCain has shown humor and quick-wittedness during debates, a quality he could employ to make Obama appear professorial and dry. McCain has to offer a clear vision of how he's going to extricate the U.S. from Iraq and Afghanistan and restore the bruised American image on the international front. He also needs to explain his reversal on attending the debate. What you can expect to see: Attacks on Obama's push for a drawdown of troops from Iraq; questions about Obama's lack of foreign-policy experience and infrequent trips to Iraq and Afghanistan; and, more than likely, the rehashing of the quote about Obama's openness to sitting down with leaders of rogue states. McCain frequently uses his time as a prisoner of war in Vietnam as an example of his intimate experience with the horrors of combat and his desire to avoid confrontations when possible. Check back Friday night for our scorecard of how the candidates did in the debate. Get informed! Head to Choose or Lose for nonstop coverage of the 2008 presidential election, including everything from the latest news on the candidates to on-the-ground multimedia reports from our 51 citizen journalists, MTV and MySpace's Presidential Dialogues, and much more. | |
| Ludacris Previews New LP, Says Dispute With T.I. Was Never 'Beef' Posted: 26 Sep 2008 01:09 AM PDT MC also debuts his 'Undisputed' video for New York crowd.
Ludacris welcomed his audience with popcorn and jokes on Thursday night in New York's Tribeca neighborhood, as he gave them a preview of his new LP, Theater of the Mind, and debuted the video for "Undisputed." The clip shows 'Cris in a gym going through lyrical workouts, with flamboyant boxing champ Floyd "Money" Mayweather acting as his corner man. "A lot of people heard my mutha----in' pool house just burned the f--- down today," he said, after a member of the crowd asked about the fire in Luda's Atlanta home on Wednesday. "I can honestly sit back and laugh at it, because it wasn't my actual house and nobody got hurt. "Materialistic things can be replaced and you can't replace people," he continued. "But if you could've seen the expensive tiles that was inside that mutha----in' crib — that sh-- upset the hell out of me. For real. It's gonna take a minute to rebuild that mutha----a, too." ('Cris recently boasted about his property in his freestyle "Big Ass House" on his Gangsta Grillz: The Preview mixtape, and according to reports, the pool house alone was larger than most regular homes.) On Theater of the Mind, 'Cris goes for the jugular, clearly fired up about not getting the recognition he has earned as the most versatile MC to come down the pike since his debut in 2001. "This album is set out to get the credit I deserve as an MC," Luda told Sway at the event. Along with Swizz Beatz, the record also features the likes of Chris Brown and Sean Garrett, both of whom appear on the first single, "What Girls Like." On "Wish You Would," Luda shares the mic with fellow ATL resident T.I., and Tip returned the favor by inviting Luda to appear on the King of the South's Paper Trail. "We've been talking under the radar for a really long time, which nobody would know," Luda said of the affiliation with his onetime lyrical nemesis. "We were trying to figure out when would be the right opportunity to surprise people. Atlanta is small as hell, compared to New York City. It's a lot of people in New York; artists don't see each other. [Me and T.I.] got the same circle of friends. We'd see each other. You can never go anywhere without seeing their people, them seeing our people. "It was never what you would consider 'beef,' " 'Cris explained. "Beef to me is when you talking about somebody's family and they wanna punch the sh-- out of your ass. Between me and him, it's the original root of hip-hop. Little lines on wax. He and my manager had a disagreement that led to some stuff, but that was between two grown men, of course. Even that, that sh-- lasted all of 30 seconds. It wasn't what people made it out to be. ... We would see each other all the time in Atlanta. It was really our lives, your entertainment." The album is tentatively scheduled for a November 11 release. Related Artists | |
| Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz Fumes Over Surprise Product Placement In 'I Don't Care' Clip Posted: 26 Sep 2008 01:09 AM PDT 'This is NOT the edit the band approved,' bassist wrote in now-removed blog post.
On Thursday, at precisely 10:03 p.m. ET, Fall Out Boy fans received an e-mail from Island Records trumpeting the premiere of the band's new "I Don't Care" video on the iTunes Music Store. "It's Here! It's Here! 'I Don't Care' Video Premiere on iTunes!" the subject line shouted. "It's the moment you've all been waiting for. The 'I Don't Care' video is now premiering on iTunes!" And certainly, it was the moment many FOB fans were waiting for — after all, bassist Pete Wentz and director Alan Ferguson had been working on the clip almost nonstop since wrapping production last week. On Wednesday, Wentz even wrote to MTV News that "we've been editing the ... video relentlessly for the last three days. I feel as though my eyes are going to fall out." Clearly, the "I Don't Care" video was a labor of love — and fans knew it. Combine that with the promised (threatened?) cameos by Pharrell, Mark Hoppus and, uh, Spencer Pratt, and needless to say, expectations were high. So when the clip made its world premiere on iTunes, there was much rejoicing. There was just one problem. It seems the iTunes version of "I Don't Care" wasn't the one the band wanted you — or anyone — to see. Rather than some sort of slick commentary on the state of rock and roll today (or, as Wentz put it, "dudes wearing eyeliner and hawking energy drinks"), what viewers paid $1.49 to download was a version of the video the band didn't even approve, one loaded with rather garish (and extended) shots of a brand-new Nokia cell phone. "The version of the video that we worked on night after night is not the version that aired, yet somehow a cut full of glorious camera-phone shots did," Wentz wrote in a blog post about the incident late Thursday. "It doesn't make any sense to us. ... Imagine seeing this edit only after you buy the video off of iTunes and realizing that no one even had the ba--s to call you and tell you they were changing the video and cutting parts." Wentz then ended his post by advising fans to find the video for free elsewhere on the Internet, "as this is NOT the edit the band approved." It bears mentioning that Wentz started his rant by cautioning that "this will probably end up deleted by me or someone else," and by Friday morning (September 26), well, it looks like he was right. The post is no longer visible on his blog, replaced instead with an image of Popeye and Bluto with the word "CENSORED" taped across their mouths. It's not exactly clear who approved the cut of the video that was sent to iTunes. A spokesperson for Apple declined to comment on the situation, and phone calls to Island Records were not returned. Fall Out Boy's management company, Crush, would only offer up a "no comment" when asked about the situation. And though "I Don't Care" certainly isn't the first FOB video to feature some rather obvious product-placement shots (basically every Fall Out Boy clip since 2005's "A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More 'Touch Me' " has featured at least one lingering cell-phone shot in it), that doesn't seem to be the reason Wentz is so upset. While he wouldn't offer an official comment to MTV News about the whole incident, he did mention that, since they didn't approve the video, the bandmembers feel like they don't deserve to make any money from its download, so they plan on donating all proceeds to — as Wentz put in his now-gone blog post — "a cause far more worthy." And just what might that cause be? Well, Wentz didn't say, but in a post about the incident on CFOBMania.com — a site that serves as a clearinghouse for all things related to the ongoing viral campaign surrounding FOB's Folie à Deux album — there is a screencap from the video that shows the offending cell phone. Clicking on the phone picture leads fans to NoOnProp8.com, a site dedicated to defeating California's controversial Proposition 8, an initiative on the state's general-election ballot aimed at amending the California Constitution to keep same-sex couples from marrying. Related Videos Related Artists |
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