The French, well, have a different sense of style--and sense about women.

Can you imagine an American First Lady who had posed naked (I can't imagine any of them nude except a young Jackie Kennedy, maybe), was fabulously wealthy, and a pop singing star?

Nah, I can't picture it either.

But ABC News and Barbara Walters gives it a whirl.

'The Carla Effect': France's Fascinating First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy's Unconventional Past and Why She Is 'Afraid of Making Mistakes'

By SUSAN WELSH

July 31, 2008—

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy is not your typical first lady. Born into one of the wealthiest families in Italy, she is heir to a tire company fortune, a former supermodel and a singer/songwriter who has had three chart-topping albums in France. She's had high-profile, gossip-worthy relationships with both Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton.

Last February she married French president Nicolas Sarkozy only three months after they met. What other first lady curtsies to the Queen of England on the very day a nude photograph of her -- taken 15 years ago -- is published around the world?

In America, Michelle Obama or Cindy McCain might be crucified for such a colorful history, but if anything the French seem proud of their first lady's unconventional past.

Barbara Walters traveled to Paris to get to know the real Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, whose charm, style and elegance have prompted comparisons to Jacqueline Kennedy and Princess Diana. She is fast becoming the symbol of France around the world.

Watch Barbara Walters' interview with Carla Bruni-Sarkozy Friday at 10 p.m. on "20/20."

Barbara Walters exclusive: In her first American interview, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy speaks candidly to Walters about how she reconciles life as First Lady of France with a successful career as a recording artist, the provocative lyrics in her new album, “Comme si de rien n’était” (“As If Nothing Happened”) which is No. 1 in France, and her surprising whirlwind romance and marriage to the President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy. During the interview, which took place in Paris, Bruni-Sarkozy also discusses her controversial past, including rumored high-profile affairs with such rock stars as Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton...

Technorati Tags: Nicholas Sarkozy, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, First Ladies, First Lady, U.S. President, 2008 election, Barbara Walters, 20/20, ABC News, fashion

This past week leads me to believe that we can never truly know what is in the heart of a celebrity.

Two examples emerge, one from politics, one from sports.

Last week prior to the New Hampshire Presidential Primary, Sen. Hillary Clinton gets verklempt about politics not being a game and she nearly breaks into tears.  By some accounts, Hillary is not a nice person.  She is one tough woman, prone to yelling at staff and often coming across as a lecturing librarian.

Then after yesterday’s loss to the New York Giants, badboy Dallas Cowboys WR Terrell Owens—often listed as Exhibit A of greedy, selfish pro athletes—cries about criticism leveled at “my quarterback” and “my team mate” Tony Romo.
 

.

But what’s true and what’s cold calculation when it comes to any of us, let alone celebrities?

Back In The Day when O.J. Simpson was known as perhaps the greatest running back in the history of football and Hertz rental car ads (“Go O.J.!”), I remember being shocked like a lot of people that this seemingly friendly and jovial jock could slice two people to death with a knife.

Yet, apparently, it’s true—at least a civil jury says so as does a lot of direct and circumstantial evidence, Johnny Cochran notwithstanding.

We didn’t know O.J. We thought we did but we really had no clue. Perhaps only a few people close to Simpson—including Nicole Simpson, who had divorced him—actually knew what he might be capable of.

By the same token, was Hillary sincere? Was T.O. sincere? Were their tears real, their halting voices true?

The sunny optimist, the side of me that likes to think the best rather than the worst in people, would like to think so.

Unfortunately, that optimism and good will is tempered with what I have seen politicians and TV personalities do first hand—to try and create a reality that is an unreality—to fake sincerity—to try and fool at least some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time.

Despite the now hours of cable TV news, a gazillion blogs, and every other new marvel of information technology, there is still no real way to say who is have an actual catharsis or epiphany before us, and which ones are modern day Elmer Gantries, pulling at our heartstrings with manufactured charm—and bad intent.

Frankly, I just don’t know.

Perhaps it is as replicant Ray Batty says at the end of the movie “Blade Runner.”

“All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.”

Time will tell if what we witnessed withstands the rains of history—or not.

Technorati Tags: Sen. Hillary Clinton, T.O., Terrell Owens, tears, crying, sincerity, fake, Dallas Cowboys, Tony Romo, 2008 Presidential Election, NFL, New York Giants, New Hampshire Presidential Primary

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I’m never quite sure what I think about the intersection of politics and celebrity.  Celebrities can do a lot of good with their fame and fortune. 

Look at U2’s Bono or Bob Geldof of the Boom Town Rats and all they’ve done to help others.

But then you can look at Ted Nuget and Chuck Norris and their endorsements of Mike Huckabee for President and laugh yourself silly.

But Oprah Winfrey and Denzel Washington aren’t merely A-List celebrities.  They are AAA+ celebrities in the stratosphere of entertainment—and they also just happen to be black and Barack Obama supporters.

ABC News looks into their phenomena and impact Wednesday on Good Morning America and Nightline.

Here’s more from My New Gal Bridgette at ABC News:

Exclusive: Oprah Says Vote for Obama Isn’t Vote Against Clinton

Oprah Winfrey and Denzel Washington Talk Exclusively to ABC News About New Film, Politics

Dec. 11, 2007 —

As soon as Oprah Winfrey endorsed Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., for president, the buzz began about her potential to sway an election.

In an exclusive interview with ABC News’s Diane Sawyer, the media mogul seemed to downplay the power behind her seal of approval, saying that just because she is supporting Obama doesn’t mean she is against any other candidate.

“I’ve always said this, that my being in support of Barack Obama is not my being against Hillary Clinton or anybody else,” Winfrey said. “It’s just that for this moment in time, this is what I know I am supposed to be doing. I feel compelled to do this. So my vote for is not a vote against anybody. It’s just a vote for.”

Watch the entire interview with Oprah Winfrey and Denzel Washington Wednesday on “Good Morning America” at 7 a.m. ET and more on “Nightline” at 11:35 p.m. ET.

Whether her endorsement will have any tangible affect on the race remains to be seen, but Winfrey drew enormous crowds during campaign appearances with Obama in South Carolina over the weekend… .

To read more click here: www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/Politics/story?id=3985701

(Cross-posted to SD Watch and TVChatting.)

Photo: Presidential Candidate Barack Obama is joined by special guest Oprah Winfrey and his wife Michelle Obama during a rally held at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire on December 9, 2007.

Sphere: Related Content

Technorati Tags: Oprah Winfrey, Denzel Washington, Good Morning America, Barack Obama, 2008 Presidential Election, Nightline, celebrity endorsements, Diane Sawyer, Hillary Clinton

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The following is from progressive Republican businessman Sam Kephart of Spearfish, SD, a semi-frequent contributor to this blog.

Enjoy. And Sam, thanks for the submission.

The Price of Immoderate Greatness

You can’t view any major TV network today without being bombarded with endless forensic analysis of the life, times, and untimely death of Anna Nicole Smith. Well-known media pundits, highly-placed legal experts, and shrinks offer straight-faced opinions about the intentions and life choices of someone very few, if any, have ever met. What’s the point?

Tens of millions of Americans spend hours each day engaged in following the granular details and peripatetic lives of Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Anna Nicole Smith, Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, and a few dozen other celebrities. I’d like to ask these citizens what percentage of their time do they spend reading about and/or engaged in critical thinking regarding the war in Iraq, energy policy, health care access, K-12education, immigration issues, our aging population, sending jobs overseas, terrorism, global warming, and so on. I bet the answer would depress all of us.

Personally, I’ve never been enamored with, nor have “followed” any pop icons. I’ve never understood the phenomenon, although a hugely profitable tabloid industry regularly caters to the public’s insatiable desire to know about such folks. What’s deeply disturbing to me is what this type of cultural narcissism forebodes for our future. The same public that is fascinated with all of this gets to vote on who makes the laws and who they empower to govern. Politically, we bemoan a lack of leadership and a pervasive unwillingness to tackle tough issues. Are we getting the ineffective government we deserve… rather than the visionary statesmanship we really need?

Edward Gibbon, the 17th century historian, best-known for his six volume tome The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, says “The decline of Rome was the natural and inevitable effect of immoderate greatness. Prosperity ripened the principle of decay; causes of destruction multiplied with the extent of conquest; and as soon as time or accident had removed the artificial supports, the stupendous fabric yielded to the pressure of its own weight.” I think a solid argument can be made that widespread public fascination with celebrity is a telltale sign of immoderate greatness.

Further, much of America’s current prosperity has been “ripened” through the global outsourcing of much of both our basic and high-tech manufacturing base, gutting our jobs at home, squeezing the middle-class, and temporarily exporting our inflation to China. Solid arguments can also be made that America is “overextended” as well in conquest, i.e., questionable elective military campaigns and wars overseas. When will the public, currently distracted (some might say anesthetized) by the Circus Maximus atmospherics offered up daily by the networks and tabloids, figure out that we are selling ourselves and our children down the river. 

A statesman tells the public the truth about what’s so, leads the charge,takes risks, and is willing to be held accountable for measurable results. Most politicians I know of are, quite simply, loath to do any of these. Renowned American architect and iconoclast, Frank Lloyd Wright, once said “the truth is more important than facts”. Perhaps we need to be told the truth about our social and economic conditions,rather than hear a never-ending drone of inconsequential facts from unctuous politicians and a co-opted media. Is our immoderate greatness catching up with us? Is our decline imminent?

Sam Kephart

Virtual Acumen Corp.

605-717-6100

“When patterns are broken, new worlds emerge.”

Tuli Kupferberg

technorati tags:rome, empire, america, usa, decline, smith, circus, media, politics, history, kephart, sdwatch, celebrity

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PP at S.D. War College weighs in on the death of actress Anna Nicole Smith.

Read: A momentary pause for one of our lost artists.

It ain’t pretty and I’m surprised and disappointed.

But what’s more disturbing are all the chickenhawk “pro-life” Republicans in the comments amonomously jumping on Ms Smith’s corpse in joy over her death.

Anna Nicole Smith was not a perfect person, not by a long shot. But she was a mother and a wife and a daughter who now leaves an infant child. Have a little compassion, would ya?! It’s not like she was Saddam Hussein or something.

technorati tags:anna, nicole, smith, chickenhawks, pro-life

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Just how sad, odd, tragic, and weird is this?

Anna Nicole Smith, 39, dies in Florida

from HoustonChronicle.com — Chronicle

Smith, 39, collapsed and was unresponsive while staying at the Seminole Hard Rock Cafe Hotel and Casino, said the attorney, Ron Rale. She was rushed to a hospital.

Prayers and best wishes to her family and frends.

technorati tags:Anna, Nicole, Smith, Florida, hollywood

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Gorby--Ex-Commie, Nobel Winner, BarflyInvestors Business Daily notes today that former Soviet Union big guy Mikhail Gorbachev is a big hit in Lindsborg, KS of all places:

Gorby Misremembered

Downing a couple of vodkas and schmoozing the locals (via translator) at a bar in Lindsborg, Kan., last Saturday night, you'd think former Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev was running for something. He'd be more likely to get votes there than in Russia, though, where citizens remember his efforts to preserve and perpetuate the Communist Party.

Lindsborg, KS--Colorful Swedish horses, yes. Local beer joint, hmmmm!What I find amazing is not that Gorby is loved in Kansas, but there is a bar in Lindsborg.  Small painted Swedish horses, yes.  Swedish cookies, yes.  Swedish looking, quaint small town, yes.  Local pub, no.

 

"Charles, I wonder what the little people are thinking?" "Camilla, that you are DEFINITELY not Diana."From today's Washington Post, about Prince Charles' and Camilla Parker Bowles' visit to NYC.

 They Came, They Saw, They Nodded

And the rest of us didn't give a whit.

As many of you know, I am a Scott Hudson fan.  I live vicariously through him, his exploits, and his love of music.  I still miss the fact that I can't read his stuff in The Tempest, the once and former great Sioux Falls weekly alternative newspaper.  He's a scenester, a hipster, a guy in the know.  Me?  I'm just Mr. Whitebread in comparison.

Today he launches a mother of all rants against Oprah.  I actually kind of like Oprah and appreciate how she came from nothing to achieve success.  But I also appreciate the art and beauty of a good old fashioned rant.  His Oprah rant is classic, like a '57 Chevy, a Mickey Mantel rookie card, or Elvis before he got fat.  An excerpt:

This past weekend, I got in trouble more than once by making the above proclamation (Oprah is evil). I stand by my statement. I hate everything about her - the self-importance, the fake accents depending on the ethnicity of her guests, her studio audience's near orgasms over the most minor gifts or guests. Plus she forced that phony Dr. Phil on us. And we must add in the allegations of behind-the-scenes manipulation when other shows would rise in the ratings.

Go Scotty Go!  Ladies and gentlemen, I present the Sioux Falls Area Rant of the Year!

He whose name cannot be mentioned (except on occasion) has taken some of my Lefty colleagues to task about some of their language. That is that person's right. I've blogged about it as well.

However, that DOESN'T mean what Clean City Kid, Don't Worry About the Government, et al has written about Dan Nelson/John Thune/MetaBank MetaGate/JalopyGate ISN'T true. 

That's the problem with bad language.  The message--the truth--can get lost in the presentation.

So, while the inner Church Lady in me thinks proper language is always the best policy, a few expletives doesn't mean there is no truth in what is being said.  It is a &*%&(!* red herring.  And boys, here's some soap to wash out your mouths, you big &%@!^* potty mouths.  (grin)

*I think I've seen Sargent Snorkle in "Beetle Baily" use these symbols to connote strong language.  And Beetle is on the comic pages across the country every day.  And Sarge is in the U.S. Army, at least the Comic Division.

Singer Michael Jackson has been found not guilty of child molestation and related charges by a California jury.

Source: ABC News

Click here for more info on the verdict from CNN:

Announcement expected at 3:45 p.m. CDT. (Original post corrected from 4:45 p.m.)

Lunch today at Sanaa's 8th Street Gourmet in Sioux Falls included the following foursome: Sen. Jim Abourezk, Sen. George McGovern, Mayor Dave Munson, and Argus columnist Dave Kranz.