Category Archives: Politics

Obama Kills Again at Correspondents Dinner

By Roger Catlin | Published: April 29, 2012
Some memo got around Hollywood regarding the White House Correspondents Dinner this year – that it was somehow more important to attend than the Oscars. Never mind it’s a largely dull group of people eating dinner in the ballroom of the hotel where Reagan was shot. The notion that a late night comic would address [...]
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Obama Slow Jams the News

By Roger Catlin | Published: April 24, 2012
It was sort of an appearance on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” but more a case of “Late Night” going to where President Obama was – talking to college students at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill – to snag him for what Fallon called the “holy crap edition” of the show Tuesday. [...]
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Etch-A-Sketch in the News

By Roger Catlin | Published: March 24, 2012
Since when do the words of a campaign aide resonate long enough to rattle a front-running political campaign? When it involves a beloved children’s toy! Nobody has talked much about the Etch-A-Sketch in recent years. I always thought it’d be a funny substitution for an iPad – you could carry it around in one of [...]
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HBO’s Eye-Opening ‘Game Change’

By Roger Catlin | Published: March 10, 2012
HBO continues its string of first-rate, recent political history with “Game Change” (HBO, 9 p.m.) an adaptation of the part of the account of the 2008 election dealing with the rise of Sarah Palin. She was an astounding choice for John McCain’s running mate who was popular right off the bat and yet a reckless [...]
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Mitt Romney Ingratiates Himself to Former Home

By Roger Catlin | Published: February 26, 2012
Hey there! Hello! It’s so great to be back in Michigan. I just love Michigan. It’s my home state you know. And I’m not just saying this because I’m lagging in the polls, ha ha. I mean look at this place. The trees are just the right height. The streets are just right. And the [...]
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Good Blues at the White House for Once

By Roger Catlin | Published: February 21, 2012
I love the fact that just down a couple miles down street from my house tonight, Mick Jagger will be jamming with B.B. King, Booker T. Jones, Jeff Beck, Keb Mo and Trombone Shorty. Gary Clark Jr., Shemekia Copeland, Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks will also be there. And with any luck, Barak Obama will [...]
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Why the Scandal Dominates ‘Clinton’

By Roger Catlin | Published: February 21, 2012
If you wrote a book about Bill Clinton and his presidency, would you spend fully a fourth of it discussing his affair with a White House intern? That’s what happens in “Clinton,” the two night presentation on “American Experince” that uses one of its four hours dealing with the fallout. Filmmaker Barak Goodman defended the [...]
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The Governor and the Talk Show

By Roger Catlin | Published: January 30, 2012
Al Gore was all excited earlier this month announcing the newest show for his Current TV schedule at the TV critics press tour. Who needs another political talk show? Well this one is hosted by former Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm. “With the launch of Jennifer’s show,” Gore says, “We will have a full primetime lineup, [...]
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Obama’s Speech Drew 37.8 Million

By Roger Catlin | Published: January 25, 2012
President Obama’s State of the Union address drew 37.8 million viewers Tuesday. It was the smallest audience of the four such speeches he has given to joint sessions of Congress. But, shown on 14 different networks, the address had far more viewers than, say the other dose of political speech that has invaded prime time [...]
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Colbert Rocks You Like a Herman Cain

By Roger Catlin | Published: January 20, 2012
One of the biggest rallies in the South Carolina primary season may be the jokey one scheduled for Friday afternoon from TV’s Stephen Colbert. The Comedy Central host, who portrays a fake conservative on his nightly “Colbert Report” will team up with a former candidate for the Republican Presidential nomination, Herman Cain, for the rally [...]
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