The list of celebrities that Carrie Underwood doesn’t respect must be getting pretty long. Yesterday she told website Just Jared that she thinks celebs should keep their politics to themselves, and she doesn’t respect them if they publicly support a candidate.

Carrie Underwood has a message for Oprah, Diddy, Elisabeth Hasselbeck and even Heidi and Spencer: Don’t publicly back candidates for office.

“There is someone I do support, but I don’t support publicly,” she tells TV Guide, as excerpted by Just Jared. “I lose all respect for celebrities when they back a candidate.

“It’s saying that the American public isn’t smart enough to make their own decisions,” she goes on. “I would never want anybody to vote for anything or anybody just because I told them to.

“Music is where you go to get away from all the BS,” adds Underwood, who recently apologized for saying ex Tony Romo still calls her. “Whether it’s from politics or just the world around you, music should be an escape.”

[From Us Weekly]

I think it’s fine to keep your political opinions to yourself, but it is just as okay to shout them from the roof. Music is no one thing. It shouldn’t just be an escape. That’s one of many things it can be. It can also be about a cause, about a change, and moving people towards action. That’s pretty much the opposite of an escape.

Underwood would probably have a big problem with Beyonce, Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige, and Diddy. All of them have shown up in Philadelphia encouraging people to vote for Obama.

“Everyone is excited and it’s time,” the singer tells PopEater. “I feel like we have grown so much as a nation and we will continue to grow because of Mr. Obama.”

Beyoncé’s admiration goes beyond just the Democratic candidate himself, and extends to his entire family. “I have had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Obama, his wife and his children, and they are the American dream,” she says. “They are so elegant, so classy, so intelligent and everything that I want to be. They make me really proud of my country.”

The Grammy winner’s husband Jay-Z has already been a strong supporter of the campaign, performing at Obama benefits and rallies across the country.

[From OK! Magazine]

Jay-Z and Diddy both talked about how important Pennsylvania is to Obama, and encouraged everyone to get out and vote today.

“John McCain desperately needs Philadelphia, but you can tell him ‘You cannot have Pennsylvania,’” said Jay-Z.

But McCain does have a chance to win Pennsylvania’s 21 electoral votes, if voter turnout is low in urban centers like Philadelphia.

The star-studded cast of this block rally is determined to make sure that doesn’t happen.

They’re working hard to get new voters to the polls.

“It’s about the youth vote, it’s about the long lines and getting them prepared. The youth vote will decide the next president of the United States,” said Sean “Diddy” Combs. “They said we wouldn’t come out, they said we wouldn’t vote, but we’re going to shock the world tomorrow.”

[From ABC Local]

I remember actress Patricia Heaton complaining several years ago about how hard it is to be a conservative in Hollywood. Certainly they are in the minority, and I understand why a lot of people there would simply prefer to avoid political discussions completely. But I think Underwood’s assertion that celebs speaking about political issues that matter to them somehow makes them unworthy of respect is rather extreme. I seriously doubt many people who were going to vote for McCain will switch their vote around because Jay-Z and Beyonce like Obama.

Here’s Carrie at The American Idol Grand Finale 2008 in LA in May. Images thanks to Fame.

Paris Hilton seems like she’s pretty proud of the role she played in the election. Her Paris for President videos were pretty funny, though I think I’d prefer Bush’s Scottie dogs to Tinkerbell running around the White House lawn. E! has a story about how Paris thinks her web spoofs really helped mobilize people to get out the vote.

With record turnout expected in tomorrow’s presidential election, Paris Hilton is ready to accept a big thank-you from the winner. Speaking at the press day for her new organ-harvesting musical horror flick Repo! The Genetic Opera, Hilton told E! News that her Paris for President videos totally helped herd young folks in the booths.

“It’s exciting to be involved in the biggest election in history,” she said. “It encourages a lot of young voters to speak their voice and to vote.” Not only did she help mobilize the masses, but she managed to get, like, all kinds of important stuff and things into their heads.

“I was talking about issues and actually making sense but still playing with my image at the same time,” she explained. “Doing it in a ditzy way, but actually saying things I think can really help it along.”

Any advice, then, for tomorrow’s winner? “Whoever becomes the next president has a lot on their hands,” she said. “It’s going to be hard for anyone.” Gee, thanks a lot, Paris.

[From E! News]

I think Paris’ comments were just vague and E! framed them in a self-centered light. I would never want to accuse Paris Hilton of being anything less than totally self-absorbed, but she didn’t say anything that amounted to, “People are voting because of me.” She just said she was “involved” and that’s true. She wasn’t involved in an integral way, but she generated a little bit of buzz.

In other Paris news, she’s told the Daily Beast that she won’t ever get plastic surgery. Which explains why she hasn’t fixed her infamous wonky eye or the often mocked nose. Her reasoning is rather infantile and nonsensical. She says it makes people look older.

While Paris Hilton might play a plastic-surgery craving heiress in her new movie Repo: The Genetic Opera, the real-life celebutante says she’s never gone under the knife.

“I love being all-natural,” Paris tells The Daily Beast, adding that those who choose plastic surgery don’t necessarily improve their looks. “They make themselves look older. A lot of girls who are 21, they have a lot of work done and they look 40. It ages you. And you’re going to have to maintain it. By the time you’re 30, you’re going to look like you’re 50. By the time you’re 50, your face is going to fall off.”

[From OK! Magazine]

I guess Paris isn’t technically wrong: bad plastic surgery might make a person look older. But I’m not sure what she’s talking about in terms of plastic surgery generally aging a person. I don’t think it always makes someone look better, but I’ve never noticed it making a person look older. Sure if you go all Jocelyn Wildenstein you’re not going to look younger… or like a human being anymore… but it seems like Paris is talking about regular old cosmetic surgery – nothing exotic.

At least Paris is honest. A lot of celebs say stuff like this even though they have clearly had stuff done. Paris has a small chest (by Hollywood standards) that she manages to work really well with a good bra; she’s got the funny eye that she hasn’t fixed, and she has feet as big as snowshoes. Not that there’s any way to fix that, I just like pointing out her huge feet. Clearly she’s very enamored with both her beauty and her political influence, so it sounds like she’s happy maintaining the status quo.

Here’s Paris outside the Ed Sullivan Theatre for the ‘Late Show With David Letterman’ last night. She entered in the black dress and left in the blue one. Images thanks to WENN.

This video is almost comically long and the commentators on The Today Show tell us not to get discouraged to vote

Barack Obama cast his vote this morning before 8am at an elementary school in his Chicago neighborhood. He voted along with his wife, Michelle, and brought his two daughters, Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7. When he was done filling out his paper ballot, Obama was met with applause and said “I voted.”

Obama was in Virginia last night speaking to a crowd of 90,000 people. He will head to Indiana tonight for another rally and back to Chicago to wait for the results. Obama will play basketball as he waits, which is a little superstition he has while he’s waiting for election results.

Obama’s running mate Joe Biden voted in Delaware (link has automatic video) this morning at 9 am EST with his wife, daughter and mother. He presumably voted for himself twice – for Vice President and for the Senate.

John McCain will vote tonight at 11:00 pm Eastern time in Phoenix, Arizona. Sarah Palin will vote in Alaska and fly back to Phoenix to join McCain.

Obama maintains a comfortable lead in the polls and is largely expected to win. As they mention in the video above of Obama voting, no matter who becomes President it will be historic. Obama would be America’s first African American President and McCain would bring the first female Vice President to the White House.

There are long lines at many polling places throughout the country as people wait to get a chance to vote in this important election. It’s an exciting time in America. You don’t need a gossip blogger telling you this – but don’t forget to vote and hang in there if you have to wait. It’s worth it.

Barak Obama did some last minute campaigning this weekend. With the election on Tuesday, Obama covered some of Ohio’s most important cities including Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati. Longtime Democrat Bruce Springsteen sang at a really in Cleveland and was joined on stage with his wife Patti and the Obamas.

Sunday, with just two days left, Barack Obama woke in Missouri and flew to Ohio to canvas the state. After a rally in Columbus, Obama, along with wife Michelle and daughters Sasha and Malia, flew to Cleveland for another rally. There Obama was joined by supporter Bruce Springsteen, who also came with his wife Patti and son Sam. Then it was to Cincinnati.

[From the Huffington Post]

One of my roommates has been volunteering for the Obama campaign for the last month and I’m truly amazed to hear about all the incredibly hard work people around the country have put into his campaign. This is a man that clearly garners a great deal of respect and admiration and arouses a lot of excitement in many people. Looking at the photos below says so much about how moved his supporters are. They’re truly emotional, passionate pictures.

Tomorrow’s a future-changing day. No matter who you support, make sure you vote!

Joe the Plumber hit the jackpot. With a simple question to a Presidential candidate, Sam “Joe” Wurzelbacher became world famous after becoming the most oft mentioned subject in the last Presidential debate of 2008. While proclaiming that he doesn’t like the attention that resulted, Wurzelbacher did the natural thing and granted a few interviews and made a few public appearances with his candidates of choice.

But now, Joe the Plumber is hoping to parlay his accidental notoriety into something not at all to do with plumbing, taxes or politics. Wurzelbacher has hired a Nashville PR firm to represent him and is actively seeking a recording contract.

John McCain’s favorite talking point, Joe the Plumber, will take the next natural step in his career, evolving from contractor to … pop star. Obviously. Despite recent protestations that he doesn’t like the limelight, America’s newly minted everyman recently signed with a Nashville PR firm to “create new career opportunities, including a shift out of the plumbing trade into stage and studio performances,” reports Politico.

While any seasoned Angeleno knows that having an agent just means you have someone who’ll call in your restaurant reservations for you, it’s only a matter of time before Samuel Wurzelbacher (“Love the name, babe! Change it.”) bleaches his teeth, acquires the requisite arm candy (Kellie Pickler? Jessica Simpson?) and starts getting turned away from Foxtail.

What might “Joe the Plumber: The Album” sound like? If the past truly is prologue, as every pundit nowadays is so fond of saying, perhaps the story of another humble working man with dreams of musical greatness might shed light on Joe’s future. His name was also Joe, but he drove a taxi and lived in France.

[From Los Angeles Times]

They speak, of course, of Vanessa Paradis’ hit French song, Joe le Taxi, which I will not be able to get out of my head again all day. The song was about a normal Joe, a taxi driver who dreamed of being more, something bigger, of playing his saxaphone with Xavier Cugat. It really is a catchy tune, too.

Which is what Joe le Plumber hopes to be making. I can’t fault anyone for taking advantage of an opportunity when thrust upon them, heaven knows I certainly would. But you don’t start it out by complaining about the intrusion on your life. Wurzelbacher spent the first week after his name was pounded into the history books talking to reporters with an annoyed look on his face, relating how there was so much press around and his phone wouldn’t stop ringing. The second week he spent making the talk show circuit and Republican rallies. The third week he decided he wanted to win a Grammy. Joe, Sam, whatever your name is, enjoy it while you have it, because when you’re pushing that debut album on the American public, you’re going to be praying for the phone to be ringing off the hook and even a fraction of the press you’ve had the pleasure of this last month.

Politico is reporting that political celebrity Joe the Plumber has taken steps to pursue a recording career as a country music singer. Joe rose to fame a couple of weeks ago when he was mentioned by John McCain in the final presidential debate.

No doubt that Joe’s upcoming country album will feature songs that draw on his rich life experience and recent notoriety as a conservative spokesman. Here is a list of likely song titles:

Achy Breaky Water main

The Bald-Headed Stranger

Ring of Bathtub

Before the Next Faucet Drips

Grandpa McCain (Tell Me ‘Bout the Good Old Days)

Holding Wrench, Loving You

Kiss a Palin Good Morning

Ode to Johnny M

Cold, Cold, Faucet

Every Which Way But Loose (Stuck Pipe Blues)

Old Dogs, Children, and Water main Line

Coal Miner’s Plumber

Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Liberals

“30 Rock” star Alec Baldwin was on David Letterman last night, and he talked about meeting Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin during his guest stint on |Saturday Night Live.” Baldwin said Palin was very nice and friendly and he called her “very game and very professional” for her appearance on SNL, which he likened to a dunk tank. He also confirmed that she’s hot in person and said “she’s a very beautiful woman.” Imitating Palin’s voice, Baldwin said that one of the first things she mentioned when she met him was that she knows one of his brothers.

“I’ve been talking to your brother Stephen and we’ve been chatting, trying to figure out how to knock some sense into you.”

Alec’s brother Stephen is an ardent Christian conservative. Alec told a funny story about him, and said he would hanging out with him at a restaurant and all of a sudden Stephen would look up from his soup and say all serious “You know, most of these people are going to hell.”

Alec is an outspoken and committed Democrat. Of the upcoming election, he said he doesn’t think it’s a foregone conclusion despite the solid trend in the polls toward Obama.

“I have a person that I want to win obviously, and I don’t think that’s a mystery. On the other hand, if he doesn’t win – if the other guy wins – if the guy who’s running with Bible Spice wins. [crowd claps and Paul Shaffer repeats 'Bible Spice']

“If John McBush and Bible Spice win, we have to find a way to come together as a country, because we can’t let it be the way it’s been the last 8 years where there’s been this acrimony and this bitterness. We have to find a way somehow to do that.

“But I do think that if Obama wins we will have seen something wonderful happen in our lifetime politically, and it’s been a long time since we’ve had that happen in this country.”

The third season of “30 Rock” premieres tonight at 9:30 on NBC.

You can watch a clip of Baldwin’s appearance on the Late Show on CBS.com and on the Huffington Post. If you missed Barack Obama’s 30 minute special on television last night you can catch it on YouTube.

Alec Baldwin is shown leaving his hotel on 10/29/08. Credit: WENN

Things have obviously gotten very tense on The View in the last few weeks as we’ve gotten closer to the election. Joy Behar and Elisabeth Hasselbeck have been at each other’s throats constantly, with things coming to a head last week both on stage and off.

Hasselbeck responded to all the criticism by campaigning for Sarah Palin over the weekend. According to Whoopi Goldberg, the outspoken Republican gets more death threats than any of the other women on the show. Wonder if that bothers her or if she considers it a complement?

ELISABETH Hasselbeck gets more death threats than anyone else on “The View,” Whoopi Goldberg revealed Monday night at Cooper Union. Whoopi – part of a panel discussion on Art and Educational Justice hosted by the Stella Adler Studio with Rosie Perez, Phylicia Rashad and Anna Deavere Smith – said of her conservative co-host: “Politically we could not be more opposite, but I respect her tremendously. Truth is, we could not have a dialogue without Elizabeth. It’s not that we have to agree, the important thing is that we have the conversation.”

[From Page Six]

While I don’t think I’ve ever once agreed with Elisabeth Hasselbeck, I do appreciate Whoopi’s point. You need to hear both sides to really think about the issues. The problem is that the way The View often goes about it is clearly to get ratings, up the drama, and thus up the gossip. So no one’s really paying attention to the issues so much as they’re paying attention to how pissed off they are.

Whoopi’s probably the most fair person on the show when it comes to politics. But I think this is another case of her assuming that her way of approaching things is everyone’s way of approaching things, and that’s not necessarily the case.

Here’s Whoopi Goldberg walking through Soho in August. Elisabeth is shown at the ceremony for Barbara Walters honoring her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in June 2007. Images thanks to Bauer-Griffin.

Barack Obama is ready for his primetime special. The Democratic Presidential candidate and front runner in the US race will air a no doubt slickly produced and likely compelling half hour special to encourage people to vote for him. It will air simultaneously tonight at 8pm Eastern and Pacific time, 7pm Central and Mountain, on major networks including CBS, Fox, NBC and cable channels BET and MSNBC. Barack Obama: American Stories will focus on where Obama will help lead America, using real Americans and their stories. The show will also feature a live segment aired from a rally in Orlando, Florida where Obama is set to appear tonight. It is the first time a Presidential candidate will air a primetime special since Ross Perot in 1992.

Mr. Obama’s campaign agreed to provide The New York Times with a minute-long trailer for the 30-minute program, which is to run on four broadcast networks at 8 p.m. It will be the first time in 16 years that a presidential candidate has bought network time, in prime time, for a prolonged campaign commercial.

The trailer is heavy in strings, flags, presidential imagery and some Americana filmed by Davis Guggenheim, whose father was the campaign documentarian of Robert F. Kennedy. As the screen flashes scenes of suburban lawns, a freight train and Mr. Obama seated at a kitchen table with a group of white, apparently working-class voters, Mr. Obama says: “We’ve seen over the last eight years how decisions by a president can have a profound effect on the course of history and on American lives; much that’s wrong with our country goes back even farther than that.”

Then, while standing before a stately desk and an American flag, Mr. Obama, in a suit, says: “We’ve been talking about the same problems for decades and nothing is ever done to solve them. For the past 20 months, I’ve traveled the length of this country, and Michelle and I have met so many Americans who are looking for real and lasting change that makes a difference in their lives.”

[NY Times via Huffington Post]

Obama has an arguably comfortable lead in the polls with less than a week to go before election day, but people need to get out and vote. Early voting favors Obama and there is cautious optimism that he will secure the presidency. He certainly knows how to run a very solid campaign. The fact that he has a great team behind him and is committed to listening intently to what average Americans want bodes well for his potential presidency.

To find out how much you will potentially save under Obama’s tax plan visit Taxcut.barackobama.com for an easy-to-use calculator.

[some details from Washington Post]

Here are photos of Matt Damom campaigning for Obama in West Palm Beach on 10/26/08. Credit: WENN. Header of Obama at a rally in Illinois on 10/21/08. Credit: PRPhotos

Some trends in pop music over the last thirty years coincide with which party controls the White House. Based on these trends, let’s look at what an Obama presidency would mean for pop music. While it may seem too simplistic to assume that R&B and urban music would gain in popularity under an Obama presidency, trends show that under Democratic presidents, types of music that once had a predominantly black audience cross over for pop success.

The first example is the rise of the Motown sound, which gained mass popularity in the 60′s when President Johnson was in the White House. Before Motown, few R&B bands broke through to the mainstream. But Berry Gordy’s record label established a funky, up-tempo R&B sound that appealed to mass audiences of mixed races. While Motown’s success is rightly attributed to Gordy’s musical vision and business sense, no doubt that new attitudes about race at the time also contributed.

The Carter administration also saw the rise of an underground R&B sound that crossed over for mass appeal- Disco. The disco movement ran nearly simultaneously to Carter’s presidency. Like Motown, Disco music was a popularized version of earlier R&B sounds, repackaged for a racially mixed audience. While disco music represented the hedonistic and expressive mood of the 70′s, by the end of the decade people were tired of both disco and Carter, and a change was in the air.

After more than a decade of Republican rule, the Democrats were back on top in the 90′s, and new kinds of dance music were popularized from the R&B underground. While rap and house music started in the 80′s, they didn’t cross over for mass appeal until the Clinton administration. Rap music’s crossover is best exemplified by Will Smith, who in the 90′s became a mega star due to the hit TV show “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.” The 90′s also saw the rise of pop-rap artists like MC Hammer, Young MC, and Vanilla Ice.

Likewise, house music, relegated to underground dance clubs in the late 80′s, broke out into the mainstream under Clinton with crossover hits from house artists C&C Music Factory, Snap!, and Crystal Waters. Like the disco trend of the 70′s, which saw Rod Stewart, Kiss and the Rolling Stones making disco records, popular artists were also cutting house music tracks in the 90′s. Madonna and Cher resurrected their careers by making crossover house records during Clinton’s presidency.

In an Obama administration expect up-tempo dance tracks to re-emerge in popularity. Given the current global appeal of electronic dance music based in house and disco styles; it makes sense that dance music, which has declined in popularity in the US, would make a comeback under Obama. Recently rap music has trended towards appealing to a core audience, but it is likely that an Obama presidency would see a more pop-oriented strain of rap with lyrics that focus more on having fun and dancing. Music fashion would also follow these trends, a combination of 70′s tailored clothes (oversized collars, unbuttoned dress shirts and bellbottoms) with a 90′s rap sensibility (bright colors like early TLC, crazy hairstyles and XXXL shirts and pants).

While it might seem silly to try and predict pop music tastes based on who is president, trends over the last thirty years show a pattern of what kinds of music become popular based on which party controls the white house. Based on these trends, let’s first see how a McCain presidency might influence pop music.

Heavy rock music with a dark, emotional subtext usually does better during Republican presidencies. Going back to the Nixon years, trends have shown that heavy, theatrical rock music does well when a Republican is in the White House. Heavy metal pioneers, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and Alice Cooper first became popular during GOP administrations in the early 70′s. Critics attribute this first rise of heavy metal as a reaction to the hippy music of the 60′s, as well as a commentary on the conservative political climate.

The Reagan years saw a re-emergence of heavy metal. Bands like Motley Crue, Poison, Ratt, and Twisted Sister became hugely popular during Reagan’s time in the oval office. Big hair, makeup, flashy costumes, loud guitar solos, and wild stage shows became the mainstream at the same time Nancy Reagan was telling the youth of America to “just say no to drugs.” So oddly, metal fans and Republicans alike look back fondly to the eighties as a kind of golden age- but for entirely different reasons.

Similarly, the presidency of George W. Bush has coincided with a new-found popularity of an emerging type of theatrical heavy music. Emo bands like Aiden, Fallout Boy, Taking Back Sunday, and Hawthorne Heights combined heavy rock sounds, emotionally deep lyrics, and a new sense of fashion to create a musical trend that achieved huge popularity in the new century.

Given these trends, a McCain presidency would likely bring about a re-emergence of heavy rock rooted in both the emo and heavy metal. This new style would likely feature a dark, androgynous fashion sense, a combo of the emo-goth style and the glam rock style of the 80′s hair metal bands. The music would re-focus on the guitar mastery of earlier heavy bands like Van Halen. Lyric content would likely steer away from the emotional introspection of Emo and back to fantasy-inspired topics like the band Iron Maiden uses. So if McCain is the victor on November 5th, pull the hairspray and leather jacket out of the closet and get ready to ROCK!