Here is the video from Part 1 of Bill O’Reilly’s two-part interview with Jon Stewart. This is all over the media today, and most commentators and pundits are acting as if this was going to be some kind of epic showdown, like Stewart’s interview (re: beat down) with CNBC’s Jim Cramer last year. Now, it’s no secret that I think Jon Stewart is absolutely lovely. Many people even agree with me - last year, Stewart was voted “America’s Most Trusted Newsman”. During the overly-hyped Daily Show “debate” between Stewart and CNBC’s Jim Cramer, Stewart pretty much killed Cramer and lifted his leg on Cramer’s corpse. So how, perchance, would Stewart perform when he was no longer on his home turf? When Stewart left The Daily Show studio and went over to Fox News for a one-on-one with Bill O’Reilly?

In truth, this wasn’t the first time Stewart and O’Reilly have tangled. They’ve been guests on each other’s shows before, to mixed results. And while I think O’Reilly is a falafel-rubbing blowhard, next to Glen Beck, even O’Reilly looks sane and reasonable, and he played nice with Stewart. I also thing this was a factor too - Stewart and O’Reilly have never tangled when there was a Democrat in the White House. O’Reilly ended up being the most quotable of the event, claiming that Jon was used to criticizing “evil Republicans” and calling The Daily Show’s viewers “stoned slackers who love Obama”. Jon played it straight for the most part, although he did fall back on his “I’m just a comedian who talks about the news” shtick.

Here’s Part 2, when Bill and Jon really start to get into it:

So who won? Gawker has a blow-by-blow of points scored, and they declare Stewart the winner with this quote of Stewart‘s: “Here’s what Fox has done, through their cyclonic perpetual emotional machine that is 24 hours a day, 7 days a week: They have taken reasonable concerns about this president and this economy and turned it into full-fledged panic attack about the next coming of Chairman Mao.” Okay, that is a good line. Bless Stewart’s heart. I love him.

We told you earlier this week about how “American Idol” judge Simon Cowell is acting like a diva in his final year on the show, much to the irritation of new judge Ellen Degeneres. Now, new reports say that it’s gotten so bad on set, Ellen and Simon aren’t speaking.

While the singers have provided enough entertainment this season, the real show is behind the scenes where Simon Cowell and Ellen DeGeneres are no longer speaking to each other, RadarOnline.com is reporting exclusively.

“Their relationship started poorly but now the situation has escalated,” a source familiar with the situation told RadarOnline.com

Widespread reports said that Simon arrived an hour and a half later for Idol’s first taping with Ellen, which has not aired yet. Those same reports claimed that Ellen was greatly annoyed and things were off to a very bad start with Simon.

But a source who was at the taping says the reports of Simon’s late arrival are greatly exaggerated. “He showed up exactly 14 minutes late,” said one person who was there.

The show started taping without Simon, a move that immediately polarized Ellen and Simon. “People were surprised the show started without Simon,” said one observer.

The tension between Simon and Ellen escalated instantly due to the situation and quickly it became apparent that when the cameras stopped recording they were not speaking to each other.

“There’s two camps on the show this season,” said an Idol insider. “It’s a lot more tense than previous seasons. It seems as if Ellen has decided to try to take control since Simon is on his way out and that’s created problems.”

[From Radar Online]

So far, the judges’ table this season has been the least interesting thing about the show, and I hope it stays that way. Why does this show even need judges? What do they offer? In these early stages of the show, it’s all manipulated by the show’s producers anyway. I think this is a sign that the show is on life support- but of course, we’ll have to see the ratings numbers before that conversation happens, right?

Meanwhile, Neil Patrick Harris seemed to fit right in as a guest judge in last night’s episode. Harris didn’t have any problem disagreeing with Simon on a few occasions, but he also didn’t hesitate to tell any of the contestants when they sucked.

At one point Patrick Harris said, with seeming sincerity, “I’m scared to disagree with him” - “him” being Simon, of course - before the camera cut to Simon rolling his eyes.

In fact, we’d just seen NPH disagree with Simon half a dozen times.

In response to one contestant, whose audition we don’t get to see, NPH says “I thought you were just great.”

Simon’s reaction? “I get absolutely nothing out of that audition, I’m afraid.”

NPH’s vote? “Yes!”

Simon’s vote? “No.”

In one instance this devolved into what Simon called “Mutiny on the panel!” but was in fact just the other three disagreeing with him about Kimberly Carver, a strong singer who performed a jazzy number she’d written herself.

Over Simon’s objections that this was not “Jazz TV,” which he said with a derogatory sneer (sorry, Miles Davis and John Coltrane!), the other three passed Carver through.

And she wasn’t the first contestant to gush over NPH when she ran out and told her family, “Thank god for Neil Patrick Harris! I’m going to have to go back and watch ‘Doogie Howser’ again.”

The guest also was assertive about getting his say. At one point we saw Simon ask Randy for his verdict on an auditioner, apparently before Patrick Harris had weighed in. “Don’t I get to say anything?” he cut in. “Jeez Louise, you invite a guest judge on . . . .”

And he had good reason to demand his say: His critiques were spot-on.

[From NY Daily News]

Personally, I wouldn’t mind seeing him as a permanent fixture on the show!

The Daily Mail has some incredibly bitchy, rude comments that Susan Boyle’s idol, Elaine Paige, made about Susan’s rise to success and talent. Susan of course mentioned Elaine Page, known as the queen of musical theater in the UK, as the singer she emulated during her audition on Britain’s Got Talent. Paige was previously very supportive of Boyle. She made an surprise appearance on the Today Show last July to congratulate Boyle and even performed a duet with her for the British TV special “I Dreamed a Dream: The Susan Boyle Story.” The claws are out now, though, and Paige is incredibly dismissive of Boyle, her singing ability, and her massive rise to fame. Jealousy is not an attractive trait:

Miss Paige, who boasts 40 years in showbusiness and a £12million fortune, has haughtily dismissed the instant success of the Britain’s Got Talent runner-up as ‘a virus that swept the world’.

When asked if she was happy about what the 48-year-old Scottish spinster had achieved, Miss Paige replied: ‘I don’t particularly feel any pride for her - I’m sure she is proud of what she has done.’

Speaking at the South Bank Awards, she added: ‘It’s all about turning someone into an immediate celebrity at the expense of longevity and working hard and experience.

‘Susan Boyle is doing terribly well considering she literally came to the attention of the world overnight with the advent of YouTube.

‘She was like a virus really that spread across the world in a nanosecond.

‘She is a girl with no experience of anything to do with theatrics, the music business, or art in any way.

‘She has done terribly well to be a major star overnight with YouTube.’

But Miss Boyle’s popularity on the Internet has translated into three million album sales, making I Dreamed A Dream the fastest selling debut album for a female artist.

She also has a huge following in the U.S.

Asked if she thought her success would last, Miss Paige replied: ‘That’s a good question. She is a major star because of YouTube. Longevity is gained through knowledge, experience and effort so it will remain to be seen.

‘When I started, YouTube didn’t exist but even then with 15 years of experience prior to my success with Evita it was difficult, so I admire the way she handled her sudden success.

‘Britain’s Got Talent and The X Factor just take a bunch of people from real life who think they can sing and try and turn them into overnight “stars” with a couple of songs.

‘Ha ha. It’s not entertainment.’

[From The Daily Mail]

Paige has responded to these quotes, which she claims were taken out of context. The Daily Mail can really warp and twist people’s words, so that’s entirely possible. It doesn’t sound like she’s denying saying this at all, just that she’s saying it wasn’t as harsh as it seems. It sounds like backtracking to me. Here’s Paige’s response from her Facebook page. (Incidentally, her website launches her version of “I Dreamed a Dream.”)

“I was dismayed to read the remarks attributed to me today in the Daily Mail which were incomplete and misinterpreted.

I am a huge supporter of Susan Boyle and admire what she has achieved; she has handled the extraordinary situation of being catapulted to worldwide stardom with tremendous strength, charm and dignity and I thoroughly enjoyed working with her on the ITV special we recorded together only last month.

I have always said it’s very hard for someone to be fast-tracked to stardom without any prior experience – I know this as it happened to me when ‘Evita’ opened and I found it extremely difficult in the beginning; today, of course, it’s much harder with the phenomenon of the internet – Facebook, YouTube etc – it seems it only takes minutes for fame to spread around the world – and that’s why I used the word ‘virus’! I wasn’t referring to Susan herself; I was referring to the speed of her fame spreading as fast as a worldwide viral marketing campaign.”

[From Elaine Paige's Facebook]

Susan received a rumored $10 million advance for her CD, and she had the top selling music album on Amazon this entire holiday season. Her album is still number two on Amazon’s charts and has been on the charts for 150 days. She’s raking in the dough, and Paige might resent the fact that Boyle has earned more money in months than she has in years. This is a simple lady who doesn’t deserve to be trashed for her success. I understand that Boyle can sometimes be grumpy and a pain to deal with - she’s having some trouble coping with the pressure and demands of fame - but she has a beautiful singing voice and real talent. If Paige did say these things - taken out of context or not - t’s a shame that she would be so convinced of her own self worth that she can’t see the value in others.

In related news, Boyle received a shock when she returned to her modest home in Scotland and found a teenage intruder. She said she’s not going to move, though and that “I think he got more of a scare than I did because he ran off.”

Former “Cheers” star Kirstie Alley isn’t just fighting with her weight or the National Enquirer. She’s engaged in a weird, vicious Twitter war with “The View” host Joy Behar, whom she has nicknamed “Joy Bewhore.” Wow, it’s like 7th grade all over again, except the mean girls aren’t cheerleaders - they’re ugly, aging harpies with Internet access! Huffington Post explains:

In the wasteland of Kirstie Alley’s prolific Twitter activity lies a feud with Joy Behar, seemingly over the talk show host’s coverage of Tiger Woods on ‘The Joy Behar Show.’

“and WHY has Joy Behar turned into such a self righteous cooz head? OOOOooo that’s right…..FOREVER!!!,” Kirstie tweeted earlier this month. “CHEATING is between a husband and wife. Not TMZ and Joy Bewhore…God, I want to bash her in the vagina with her microphone.”

Kirstie’s followers let her know she sounded insane, to which Kirstie responded that Joy “already WENT after me several times.”

Joy managed to ignore Kirstie’s rant until Friday.

“Kirstie Alley calls me Joy Bewhore. Compliments! Compliments!” she tweeted.

This is not the first time Kirstie has gotten into it with a talk show host. She went after “Conan O’Bitch O’Brian” on Twitter in November after he poked fun at her weight.

Kirstie’s loopy tweeting has targeted others, including former Cheers costar Kelsey Grammer.

“@Kelsey_Grammer Kelsey..come over and make out with me…tell your wife it’s for old times sake..she’ll be cool with it,” she tweeted Monday night.

It comes as no surprise that Kirstie’s A&E weight loss reality show premieres this spring.

“Having fun watching my body melt away in a healthy fun way…this zone is the one I want to live in..THE GUILT FREE ZONE..ra ra aaa Roma Rom,” she tweeted Monday. “My new show starts to air in March on A&E..you can watch the fat melt away for yourself…lol…”

[From Huffington Post]

Did Kirstie attend the Tila Tequila school of self-promotion recently? You know, the “Bash another celebrity, followed with a shameless plug” tactic Tila loves so much. At this point, are there even people out there who remember who Kirstie Alley was - enough to market a show around her? Well, I guess if Danny Bonaduce and Scott Baio can have a show, Kirstie can, too. But I’m not looking forward to “watching the fat melt away.” That sounds kind of graphic for me. I mean, I can barely handle “Hoarders” as it is. I would, however, tune in to see Kirstie and Joy in a cage match. I happen to think they are both hideous, inside and out. But Joy’s from Brooklyn - I believe she’d administer quite the beatdown.

Kirstie Alley in Hollywood on January 14, 2010. Credit: Ben Dome, Matt Smith @ Pacific Coast News.

I just want to address this issue because I think it’s ridiculous that anyone even brought it up. Jennifer Aniston, who wore a gorgeous one-shoulder black dress with a thigh-high slit to the Golden Globes, has been accused of copying Angelina Jolie, who wore a pale peach-colored dress of a completely different cut, fabric and designer that also happened to have a thigh high slit this summer. US Weekly made this jaw-dropping claim in a story titled “Jennifer Aniston Steals Angelina Jolie’s Look,” as if the looks were even similar enough to make this comparison.

Then someone at The Huffington Post put together a side-by-side slideshow meant to show that Aniston’s cosy red carpet poses with Gerard Butler mirrored Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s show of togetherness at Cannes. There are similarities between the poses, but if you put together the red carpet photos of any two random starlets they would look like they were copying each other because there’s only so much you can do when you’re standing up and smiling for the cameras. With another person there, you can put your arm around them, look up at them, smile, laugh, etc.

Aniston really worked that dress and she doesn’t need to be compared to Angelina for the rest of her life. These two do have similar sense in fashion in that they both favor solid colors and classic lines. (Which in Angelina’s case sometimes means shapeless sacks.) They also have similar taste in men. Oh and Aniston and her co-star Gerard Butler are doing a “racy magazine spread” for W that will draw comparisons to Brad and Angelina’s 2005 “Domestic Bliss” portfolio. Whether Aniston and Butler will also head to a more permanent state of domesticity afterwards remains to be seen. In this case there’s no third party involved at least.

Here’s my favorite comment from the Huffington Post on this issue:

There are SO MANY many things about these pictures that are identical!
They both have dresses made of cloth.
They both have hair.
They are both alive.
They are not medical doctors.

This is truly amazing.

[From Halfwit on The Huffington Post]

Reports that long-battling mother and daughter Candy Spelling and Tori Spelling have buried the hatchet are indeed true. Tori confirmed it herself in an interview with E!Online. Candy will be spending time with Tori and husband Dean McDermott, along with their two children Liam and Stella, this Christmas. I wonder if Candy will be using one of her Christmas wrapping rooms for the occasion? I think it’s nice that Liam and Stella have access to their grandmother, but I still can’t help but wonder: how much of this is Tori truly wanting to reconcile with her mom, and how much is a quest for ratings for her reality show? And what about Candy, who has proven herself to be a verbally abusive bitch over the last year - doesn’t she stand to gain some positive PR through this?

Talk about your Christmas miracles.

Tori Spelling and her estranged mom, Candy, are talking again, and the “Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood” homemaker feels that the timing couldn’t be better.

“It’s just a blessing that it happened around the holidays,” she told E! News while perusing the holiday goodies at the eBay Mobile Boutique. “And it just makes me think, ‘Wow, it’s an amazing thing and it happened this year and it’s just the best gift we could get.’

“We’re together as a family, and that’s the most important thing. We’re very lucky.”

Not that her 18-month-old daughter, Stella, will believe it.

“Stella is talking up a storm,” Spelling said. “Her latest thing is, ‘I don’t believe this.’ She was eating her sandwich yesterday, and it came undone, and she looks at me and goes, ‘I can’t believe this.’

“I’m like, ‘Me either!’ ”

[From E!Online]

The cynic in me thinks this reconciliation is less of a “miracle” and more of a “sweeps week publicity stunt/Candy Spelling image rehabilitation exercise.” But hey, that’s just me. Time will tell if Candy turns out to be a better grandma than she was a mother. Something tells me that the second Grandma Candy suggests that little Stella needs a nosejob, it’s over - and rightfully so. But at the end of the day, families should be together at Christmas - as long as it’s in the privacy of their own home, without the glare of reality show cameras.

Michael Bay and Megan Fox just won’t shut up about their alleged feud, or how they’re not really fighting, or how they’re passive-aggressively taunting each other, or how Megan is just a little tiny woman being bullied by big bad men after she acted consistently unprofessional and disrespectful. So anyway, most people know the larger points of this story: Megan said Michael Bay was “like Hitler”, Megan got called out by a lot of people, including Transformers crew members, yadda yadda. A few months ago there was even a rumor floating around that Bay wanted to write Megan Fox out of the Transformers franchise and bring in some new hot girl. Michael has now given a new interview where he denies wanting to push Megan out of the franchise, and blames her stupidity and unprofessional behavior on her age.

As much as we love a vicious catfight, Movieline equally loves a peace accord (mainly because it opens the door for a good sucker-swat). So join us now live from the Victoria’s Secret fashion show as Michael Bay — feather-trimmed boob-for-boob the best lingerie-commercial director working on the planet today — offers an olive branch to Megan Fox, the onetime-chamois-girl-turned-superstar whose candid appraisal of the director included a comparison to Hitler. Bay’s not sweating it:

“I love her … It’s just, she’s young. Everyone’s got to give her a break, she only…23? It’s just hard. I’ve traveled around the world with her and she’s just like this world symbol now, you know?”

So he brushes her diatribes under the carpet? “Absolutely … She called me (after the Hitler comment) and goes, ‘It’s all bullsh—t, Mike.’ The press, they just like to prey, and stalk, and pounce and find a good little juicy thing. But she’s always wanted to do these crazy comments. That’s just her. She’s great.”

He also said, “She’s got a great part in Transformers 3,” and he said he’s currently working on the script. So Bay’s not planning on getting revenge by, say, killing her off? “No, no. no,” he said, dismissing it. “She gets enough of that already.”

No revenge for Fox, but rather a juicy, range-stretching part in Transformers 3 in which she’ll make her first screen appearance Turtle Waxing a Stealth Bomber with her whale tail peeking out. Congratulations, Megan!

[From Movieline]

Um… she’s 23 years old, not 13. She knows better. And if she really, truly does not know any better, than this is a teachable moment. And really, isn’t that setting the bar really low? “Oh, she’s 23 years old, she can’t be expected to know not to go around calling her director Hitler and Napoleon.” Trust me… I’ve worked since I was 16 years old. You pick up pretty fast what you should and should not say to and about your boss. That being said, CB is like Hitler. NOOOO!!!

Megan Fox appears in the New York Times outtakes, courtesy of Popoholic. Michael Bay on November 19, PicApp/Getty.

Sarah Palin’s interview on Oprah aired yesterday. Her autobiography, Going Rogue, is already number one on the Amazon sales list so it’s not like she needs the publicity. When asked about Levi Palin, the father of her daughter’s baby, Palin was sort-of gracious but she still got her digs in at Levi. It’s not like I blame her given some of the things he’s said about her to the press. Palin said that no matter what, Levi will always be the father of her grandchild. She said he’s involved in things that are “heartbreaking,” though and called his Playgirl gig “porn.” It sounds like someone has been checking out the Playgirl website. Palin also made it clear that Levi just hasn’t been there for his 10 month-old son, Tripp, lately:

For a blink and you’ll miss it moment, it seemed like Sarah Palin was going to refrain from comment when Oprah Winfrey brought up the subject of Levi Johnston during her interview that aired on Monday’s “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”

In response to Winfrey’s question “How do you feel about him today?” Palin said, “Because so much of the discussion with Levi has to do with his most beautiful baby boy Tripp, my grandson, and Tripp’s future, that I don’t think a national television show is the place to discuss some of the things that he’s doing and saying. And by the way, I don’t know if we call him Levi,” Palin said. “I hear he goes by the name Ricky Hollywood now. So if that’s the case, we don’t want to mess up his gig he’s got going.”

And the gig of which she speaks? “Kind of this aspiring — aspiring porn, some of the things that he’s doing. It’s kind of heartbreaking. … I call it porn. Yes. So, a bit heartbreaking to see the road that he is on right now.”
Interestingly, hours before the interview aired on the East Coast, Levi Johnston tweeted, “I will be showing one of the first pics … w/i a couple of HRS … B ready 4 them-I’LL only post them 4 a minute or so …” As of press time, the only additional post from Johnston was a declaration that @HeidiMontag was now following him on Twitter.

Johnston didn’t make any comment on his feed about the Palin interview. One point that would have opened the door to counterpoint if there was one to be made was Palin’s complex response to Winfrey about how often he’s seeing his son Tripp.

“He’s quite busy with his media tours, and he hasn’t seen the baby for a while, but we will let that be the discussion between Bristol and Levi as they work out their relationship, because Levi forever will be the father of this most beautiful baby, and I continue to hope for the best and to pray for Levi,” Palin said.

Note that the Twitter account quoted by MSNBC above, has been proven fake. Levi Johnston doesn’t have a Twitter account.

Playgirl spokesperson Daniel Nardicio released a statement that Levi won’t be showing the full monty in his upcoming Playgirl spread. In an interview with Star last month, Levi seemed to indicate that when it came to whether he would show wang he was leaning toward “no.” He said ” I’m going to decide that on the fly. I want to keep it classy.” Then his manager promised full frontal, and Levi agreed, saying “I just get naked. That’s what I do.” Now it seems Levi won’t be showing his goods though and we’re likely to just get some butt shots. Levi shouldn’t have been so shy. Nardicio told The Daily Beast “We wouldn’t turn away Levi if he had a small pen*s.”

Rocker Sting isn’t mincing words when it comes to his opinion of “X Factor” – the British version of “American Idol.” He says that the singers are all bland and derivative and blasts the show for promoting such empty music. I’ve only seen snippets of “X Factor,” but I would absolutely agree with Sting if he were talking about “American Idol.” To the best of my understanding there’s no significant difference between the two shows other than their judges (though Simon Cowell is on both), so Sting might as well be talking about “Idol.”

He’s usually the one meting out the criticism, but this time it’s Simon Cowell who’s on the receiving end of some particularly harsh words about his talent – from Sting. The rock star heaped criticism on Cowell’s British version of American Idol – The X Factor – describing the show as “appalling” and promoting bland, soulless music in an interview with the London Evening Standard.

“It’s a preposterous show, and you have judges who have no recognizable talent apart from self-promotion,” Sting, 58, said. “Basically I was looking at televised karaoke where they conform to stereotypes. It is a soap opera which has nothing to do with music.” One of those judges, of course, is Cowell, 50, who offered a riposte to Sting’s stings on Saturday’s live X Factor show.

“Talking about these contestants being a bunch of karaoke no-hopers … I thought it was pompous,” he said, before inviting Sting to come on the show as a mentor. On Sunday, Cowell followed up again on The Xtra Factor. “Someone has got a little bit grumpy,” he joked with his co-judges. “We’d like a Sting week.” But he later admitted: “He hasn’t called yet. We’re waiting!

Don’t hold your breath, Simon. In his interview, Sting made it clear he had no interest in setting foot on the X Factor stage. “I wouldn’t get on The X Factor because I don’t sound like anyone they’re after,” he said. “I sound like myself. I think they are basically aping pre-existing stereotypes of what singers should do and they’re not being themselves.”

[From People]

I was nodding along to all of this like a bobblehead doll. I agree with every word Sting’s said. “American Idol” has churned out some of the most generic, bland, soulless pop music ever created. They make the boy bands and bubblegum pop of the late nineties look innovative. It’s only once the singers start doing more on their own (often leaving American Idol’s management team, 19 Entertainment, behind - which has caused some controversies) that they break out and have their own sound. Carrie Underwood would be an exception, since they let her go country and she was more hands-on and in control of her music from the beginning.

It sucks for the singers because a lot of them clearly have talent. Some of the best music has come from the second, third, and fourth place choices who have gotten music contracts outside of “Idol,” and thus done well from the beginning. They’re not massively famous, but Elliott Yamin and Chris Daughtry both come to mind.

Sting’s basically just slamming “X-Factor” – which I don’t blame him for – without offering a solution. And he’s totally right, there’s no point in his going on the show because he doesn’t have a sound or style the show would aspire to. I think a decent solution would be to let the singers take more control over their music from the get-go. Sure they’re not industry veterans, but neither are a lot of singers their age – and that’s who usually dominates the chart. Give them some encouragement and guidance, but push them to form their own sound and style.

Or just be Justin Guarini.

Here’s Sting in London on November 4th, and Simon Cowell with “celebrity hugger” Tania McIntosh on November 11th. Images thanks to WENN.com .

The Associated Press was the first to get a hold of Sarah Palin’s upcoming autobiography, “Going Rogue,” and so far it seems that it’s mostly a book of complaints. There are complaints about money, complaints about the way the McCain camp treated Palin and her family, and lots of issues over who paid for what and how much between the two camps. And then of course there are the requisite complaints about the media. She goes on at length about her infamous interview with Katie Couric, claiming that Couric “badgered” her and didn’t include the parts of the interview where Palin came off well.

Palin also writes harshly of CBS anchor Katie Couric, whom she describes as “badgering” and biased. Palin’s series of interviews with Couric were widely regarded as disastrous, leaving the impression of an ill-informed candidate who was unsuited for the job.

In the months leading up to her July resignation as Alaska governor, her legal bills had mounted to more than $500,000, fueled mostly by what she called frivolous ethics complaints. What appeared to upset her most, though, was that about $50,000 of the legal bills was her share of the expenses for being vetted for the VP nod, Palin writes.

She said no one had ever informed her that she would have to personally take care of any expenses related to the selection process. Palin writes that when she asked officials at the Republican National Committee and what was left of the McCain campaign if they would help her financially, she was told the bills would have been paid if McCain had won, but since he lost, the bills were her responsibility.

Trevor Potter, general counsel for the McCain campaign, told the AP the campaign had never asked Palin to pay a legal bill. “To my knowledge, the campaign never billed Gov. Palin for any legal expenses related to her vetting and I am not aware of her ever asking the campaign to pay legal expenses that her own lawyers incurred for the vetting process.” Potter said that if Palin’s personal lawyer billed her for any work related to her vetting, “We are unaware of it. It was never raised with the campaign.”

[From the Huffington Post]

There are two especially interesting things about the book: first, there is no index whatsoever, leaving several commentators to joke that’s perhaps Sarah’s best revenge on people: if they want to see if they’re mentioned, they have to read the entire book.

Second is that she never once mentions Levi Johnston. Yet she obviously talks about daughter Bristol’s pregnancy. That must have been quite the dance, writing about all that without mentioning the baby’s father. Johnston and Palin have been involved in quite the epic feud over the last several months. Right after he broke up with Bristol, Levi said Palin - the abstinence only supporter - probably knew they were having sex. It’s no surprise she doesn’t want to talk about him. Yet in her upcoming interview with Oprah (airing on Monday) Palin says she would invite him to Thanksgiving dinner. She also says he’s a part of the family and she wants to invite him into the fold and take him under her wing and she can tell he needs that. The clip is short, but it’s safe to assume that Levi’s not interested.

“One final question about Levi,” Oprah asks in the first clip: “will he be invited to Thanksgiving dinner?”

Palin laughs. “You know, that’s a great question.” It’s also a question that Palin doesn’t seem to want to answer. “It’s lovely to think that he would ever even consider such a thing,” she says. “Because, of course, you want — he is a part of the family and you want to bring him in the fold and kind of under your wing. And he needs that, too, Oprah. I think he needs to know that he is loved and he has the most beautiful child and this can all work out for good. It really can.” She then segues into a mishmash of statements on how the Palins are “not really into the drama.”

Oprah presses on: “Does that mean yes he is coming or no he’s not?”

[From the Huffington Post]

I really doubt that’s true; it’s just the polite politician response to give. Palin goes so far as to say “Levi is love.” Johnston has made all sorts of accusations about Palin (including that she called her son Trig – who has Down’s Syndrome – “retarded”) basically calling her a bad mother and saying she has all sorts of deep, dark secrets. Which maybe she does, but I doubt Johnston is privy to them. In related news, it’s fun to watch Levi think he’s a big celebrity only to get shot down. He requested $3,000 to appear at a nightclub – they offered him a round of sodas instead.