Muse really, really want to make it big in America. I mean, this a group whose singer/guitarist Matthew Bellamy recently told Spin magazine, "We'd like to be remembered amongst the best bands in the history of rock. It's necessary to have sustained success in this country for that to happen."

But the British band doesn't want it bad enough to cozy up to an endorsement from Fox News weeping head Glenn Beck, who was singing Muse's praises last month for what he saw as their apocalyptic, one-world order warning on their new album, The Resistance. No sooner had Beck big-upped his paranoid android buddies in the prog trio than he reported that their people called him and asked that he rescind his endorsement. Or did they? On Monday, we found out that Beck was just kidding when he claimed that Muse had put the kibosh on his kudos.

While a Beck endorsement might not put them over the top, popularity-wise, in the U.S., if their retraction request had been real, it would have put them in some impressive company in terms of bands who've asked conservative powerhouses to lay off using or praising their music. There was a flood of these no-thank-yous in last year's presidential election, most of them aimed at failed Republican nominee Senator John McCain.

The Vietnam war hero got pwned by no less than half a dozen acts during his presidential bid, from the Foo Fighters, Van Halen and Heart to John Mellencamp and Jackson Browne.

Classic rockers Boston also fired off an angry missive to Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, asking the former Baptist minister to stop using their 1975 hit "More Than a Feeling" during his rallies.

Then again, maybe if Hillary Clinton had gotten the smackdown from Celine Dion, things would have been different.

By now we've all seen the clip. Perez Hilton asks Miss California if more states should follow Vermont's lead and legalize gay marriage at Sunday night’s Miss USA Pageant, and she responds with something about "opposite marriage" and thinking that marriage should be between a man and a woman, alienating every gay person out there ... including two of the pageant judges.

And by now we've seen Perez Hilton on countless news chat shows explaining how he personally helped take Miss California down by denying her the crown for an answer he (and a lot of viewers) found offensive.

Typically, a televised beauty pageant doesn't achieve this kind of media attention, unless a contestant falls on her skinny ass, either literally or figuratively. And all the other questions posed to the pageant contestants were just as politically charged: Kelly Monaco asked about the bailout, that "Deal or No Deal" model asked about Hillary Clinton's request for a boatload of moolah for Afghanistan, Brian Graden asked about the Chris Brown/ Rihanna situation.

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By Erica Anderson, Gil Kaufman and Sarah Maslin Nir

Washington, D.C., has seen many inaugurations, but Barack Obama's is by far the biggest to date. The city is expecting 1 to 2 million people for the swearing-in ceremony for the 44th president (head here for the day's schedule), and we've got reporters on the ground, jockeying for position. (You can watch the inauguration live streaming on MTV.com, and of course Barack and Michelle Obama will be at the Youth Inaugural Ball and other events throughout the evening.) Here's what our team is seeing and hearing (wireless reception permitting, of course!) ...

Gil 9:44 a.m. There's not a single car on the streets of Washington, D.C., but the avenues are teeming with people, all flowing in the same direction, all walking with a brisk purpose in their step. Yes, it's frigid and they're trying to stay warm, but they're also in a race to secure a spot for The Moment. The Secret Service has cordoned off an area more than 20 blocks in either direction, with clusters of Marines in humvees manning every corner.

Gil 9:48 a.m. As you approach the National Mall, the energy rises, with hawkers peddling everything from Obama buttons, coins, T-shirts, scarves, plaques and stickers to a guy selling tissues for a dollar — as in a dollar for a single tissue.

Sarah 9:55 a.m. My amazing friend Jenny works for a senator and has just put her staffer ticket into my hand! We are stuffed with layers of clothing and heading into the fray! Read more...

By Garth Bardsley

Meghan McCain has always been one to speak her mind. While her dad was running for president, the 24-year-old daughter of Senator John McCain kept her own blog, McCainblogette.com, complete with personal anecdotes and behind-the-scenes photos.

On the day before her dad's major comeback victory in the New Hampshire primary, she told MTV News that she thinks Obama is "cute." She even told a GQ reporter about her affection for Marilyn Manson's ex-wife, burlesque star Dita Von Teese, and how a guy once dumped her when he found out who her father was.

But in an interview Tuesday morning on the Monday Morning Clacker, a blog written by a friend of hers, she refused to take the bait on her dad's running mate, Governor Sarah Palin.

"Sarah Palin is the only part of the campaign that I won't comment on publicly," Meghan says.
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The massive stage, with its two dozen American flags waving in the breeze, two fat slabs of bulletproof glass and the sun-splashed Chicago skyline in the distance, is impressive. The gigantic white tents full of thousands of journalists jabbering in hundreds of languages and the miles of fencing and intense security are kind of intimidating. The infectious excitement of the dozens of teens and college kids lined up since daybreak for their chance to attend the rally is inspiring.

But nothing I've seen so far today on the site of Senator Barack Obama's election-night speech compares to the traveling media spaceship known as the CNN Election Express.

Imagine, if you will, a fully tricked-out high-definition TV studio. Then put it on wheels and schlep it around the country for 18 months and 60,000 miles, including more than 2,300 miles in Ohio alone. This afternoon Sway bumped into CNN anchor Don Lemon, who graciously invited us into the bus for a tour.

Once inside, we peeped CNN political reporter Jessica Yellin getting some inside scoop on her phone and ran into Josh Rubin, the lead producer on the Express, who gave us the "Cribs" tour of his cramped, high-tech home away from home. Hitting a button to make a giant HD screen drop down from the ceiling — it was tuned to MTV, of course — Rubin pointed out the 10 other high-def screens along the left side of the bus, tuned to CNN, as well as its competitors. "Everything you can do in one of our bureaus you can do right here on our election bus," said Rubin. "I would rather be here than just about anywhere else."
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By Joseph Patel

Whether you're a Republican, Democrat or Independent, there's no denying that one of the most ubiquitous images to emerge from the 2008 presidential campaign is the red, white and blue Barack Obama "Hope" poster. Created by one-time street artist Shepard Fairey, the poster features an austere portrait of Obama, manifest in a screen print that looks like one of those funny 3-D magazine pictures, with one of the primary slogans of his campaign written boldly underneath: hope.

For supporters of the Illinois senator, the poster has become a symbol of the potential of an Obama presidency as it adorns windows, billboards and the sides of buildings all around the country. For supporters of John McCain or Hillary Clinton, the portrait has sometimes earned derision for being emblematic of Obama's "celebrity" status.

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By Dave Romanski

It's October, and if we're being perfectly honest, despite the economy collapsing, despite the mortgage crisis and the war and all the issues facing the country right now, we have to admit this is the most fun election ever. And one source is responsible for a lot of that fun: YouTube.

Remember when a candidate used to say something stupid on the campaign trail? We used to be satisfied with a healthy run on the 24-hour cable news cycle, where a few pundits would dissect said statement and either shake their heads in righteous outrage or nervously try to appease whatever constituency was offended.

Even with cable news, you started to get the impression that politicians only said stupid, self-destructive things occasionally. And then YouTube happened.
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"The Ren & Stimpy Show," "The Goddamn George Liquor Show," "The Ripping Friends" and, of course, the infamous Tenacious D video "F--- Her Gently." There is only one John Kricfalusi, and when the demented cartoon genius turns his pen on you, you better hope he's in a good mood. (See the figurines after the jump!) Read more...

By Matt Harper

As I write this, rain is pouring down on Western New Hampshire. But this torrential downpour held off for a few hours this afternoon so that a historic union could take place in the sleepy town of Unity, New Hampshire. Of course, I'm talking about of the joint appearance of Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator/presidential hopeful Barack Obama. The two Democratic candidates ran a primary battle for close to a year and half, and with Obama recently stepping up as the presumptive Democratic nominee, there's been a fair amount of speculation as to when and how the Democratic party would unify.

Well, the answer is here: June 27, 2008, in Unity, New Hampshire. You couldn't really ask for a more blatantly symbolic spot for Hillary and Barack to take the stage together. Apart from its name, the minuscule town near the Vermont border was the place where both Democratic candidates received 107 votes apiece during the state primary in January.

As expected, the event was heavily attended and obsessively orchestrated by an army of college-age Obama volunteers. While I waited in the approximately half-mile-long line to get into the event, I was offered fresh-picked strawberries by a lady moving up and down the line, was warned by another lady that Barack was a Muslim and should be avoided at all costs, and had about 10 separate petitioners warn me that MoveOn.org is funded by George Soros, who had apparently made millions from investments in Halliburton. I could tell right away that this event had brought out a diverse crop of passionate New Englanders. Read more...

(by Michelle Rabinowitz)

Ah, one glorious week off from covering the election. One week abroad. In Europe! Where Barack Obama's face was EVERYWHERE! It was on television, on the covers of newspapers and magazines, not to mention the billboards advertising those newspapers and magazines. Leave it to me to take the week off (planned months in advance, no less) when the Democratic nominee was finally decided upon. And, leave it to me to spend a lot of my time listening to people from New Zealand, England, France and Scotland tell me what THEY thought about our election. It turns out they are pretty curious about this Obama chap. They know he's running against "a war hero, which you Americans love," according to a French friend, but mostly they were just impressed by how "cool" he was.

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