TVSquad

File this under the category of do-it-yourself politics. In this YouTube.com era, it was only a matter of time before it happened. MoveOn.org has joined forces with Oscar-winners Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Oliver Stone, multiple Grammy-winner John Legend and author Naomi Wolf to a TV ad contest for Barack Obama. The contest is called "Obama in 30 Seconds," in which Barack supporters are being asked -- challenged -- to come up with half-minute videos that focus on what it is about the Senator from Illinois that inspires them. The winning entry will be shown on national television.

In today's Washington Post, Saturday Night Live kingpin Lorne Michaels defended his choice of Fred Armisen to play Barack Obama, starting with last week's episode. After the much-publicized search for an Obama impersonator (or Fauxbama, as some are calling it), Michaels decided on Armisen, who is of white and Asian origin. Armisen, who's talented enough to do excellent imitations of people ranging from Prince to Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, did a credible job playing Obama, a man who is somewhat hard to pin down, imitation-wise.

But some critics, including the Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan, have very bluntly wondered why an African-American didn't play Obama. "They couldn't find an African-American performer who was funny enough to play the junior senator from Illinois? They couldn't find one in New York? Not anywhere in the country? Really?" wrote Ryan on her Tribune blog.

I was pokin' around NBC's YouTube channel the other day when I came across this video of Leno interviewing celebrity lookalikes on the street.

The bit isn't all that funny, but check out the first guy Jay interviews. That's right, it's Sammy Stephens, owner of Flea Market Montgomery in Montgomery, Alabama. Stephens' commercial, which features him both rapping and dancing has made him a minor celebrity both online and on TV (Ellen DeGeneres loved his commercial and invited him on to her show).

Of all the 24 hour news channels, I'd have to say that I like CNN the best and watch it the most. FOX News is FOX News, and MSNBC blows hot and cold. But sometimes CNN just makes some really odd decisions that leave you scratching your head.

Right now they're showing the James Brown funeral. Again.

Now, James Brown was important to rock and roll, blah, blah, blah, but we already saw this funeral, the whole thing, just a few days ago on CNN and the other channels. Do we really have to see it again? I know it's New Year's Day, but isn't there any news going on in the world? Any war news we should know about? How about President Ford's body, which lies in state right now, with people walking past it giving their respects?

I know that pop culture is an important force in the world (I write about it full-time, so I'm all for it), but come on. It's 3pm on a Monday and you're repeating a singer's funeral? Not that the others are any better. FOX News is showing a special on religion and politics and MSNBC is showing more of those damn documentaries about crime. Gah.

If you've been following the Michael Richards apology tour, you know that the actor made an appearance on the Reverend Jesse Jackson's Keep Hope Alive radio program in which he claimed to be "shattered" by his own remarks. That wasn't good enough for the Rev. The day after Richards' appearance, Jackson called for a boycott of the recent seventh season Seinfeld DVD release to punish the actor where it really hurts - the pocketbook.

How boycotting the Seinfeld DVD set would actually hurt Richards is beyond me. Between syndication points and a series-run as Kramer, I think Richards is pretty set financially. As a symbolic act or even one motivated by publicity, I suppose a boycott makes a bit more sense -- but not much seeing as Richards' words were spewed without the consent of the entire cast and crew of Seinfeld. (I've linked to it in the past, but if you want a better reason to hold Seinfeld suspect, check out hip-hop artist Danny Hoch's monologue about his scheduled appearance on the show.)

One forgotten victim in this whole "Michael Richards goes nuts and screams racist remarks" controversy just might be Kenny Kramer, the real-life guy who was the inspiration for the Cosmo Kramer character on Seinfeld. While it's great to have the fake Kramer be associated with the real Kramer during good times, it can be sort of disconcerting if people start to associate the real Kramer with the fake one when things are bad.

Kramer (the real one) is upset that news outlets such as The Drudge Report and Michael Savage are saying "Kramer's a racist." Personally, I don't see how the two could possibly be confused. I mean, to be honest, do people really even think of the real Kramer that much? I don't think the news outlet's are saying "Kramer's a racist" to confuse anyone, and I don't think it's misleading. They're using the last name because it's the name of one of the most famous (and beloved) characters in TV history.

Richards went on Jesse Jackson's radio show over the weekend to explain himself, apologize, and to begin the "healing." In a related story, the character of Kramer will now be edited out of all the Seinfeld episodes he appears in.