As part of his continued push to sell health care reform to the American public, Barack Obama did something that no sitting president has ever done before: He accepted the guest chair on "The Late Show with David Letterman" last night. The veteran host chatted with Obama about a number of issues, including the Joe Wilson incident, the current state of the economy and the recent suggestion by Jimmy Carter that the criticism of his presidency stems from race. Obama laughed off the idea that racism fueled any sort of vitriol. "I think it's important to realize that I was actually black before the election," he told Letterman.
"How long have you been a black man?" the host joked in response.
Obama was game for the whole interview, which touched on serious issues as well as plenty of humor. He was even the subject of the evening's Top Ten list, which was "Top Ten Reasons President Obama Agreed To Be On The Late Show." The list, read by Letterman, included a handful of gems like, "Said 'Yes' without thinking, like Bush did in Iraq" and "We told him Megan Fox would be here."
The appearance on "The Late Show" last night marked the latest in a flurry of high-profile television appearances for the president, who is trying to drive the biggest health care reform bill in decades, which will certainly be the piece of legislation that will define this term of his presidency. He swept through interviews on CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC and Univision, leaving Fox News out in the cold.
The public discourse has been all about interruptions lately. Just last week, President Barack Obama was delivering a speech about health care to a joint session of Congress when a heckler called out "You lie!" while he was attempting to debunk the myths created around health care reform. It was later revealed that the shout came from South Carolina Representative Joe Wilson, who later said he was sorry but may be censured this week anyway because he refuses to formally issue an apology from the floor of the House. At last night's MTV Video Music Awards, Kanye West took a page out of Wilson's book when he bounded onto the VMA stage at Radio City Music Hall to derail Taylor Swift's acceptance speech for Best Female Video. "Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time!" West shouted, thoroughly flummoxing Swift.
An Internet genius managed to bring West and Wilson together in a single, brilliant piece of video that made its way online late last night. It casts West as the party crasher at Obama's barbecue, and it's fantastically funny.
The best moment? Obama's matter-of-fact response to the idea that Beyoncé had made one of the best videos of all time. And Nancy Pelosi's look of absolute shock is not unlike the reaction that Ms. Knowles had after Kanye shouted her out last night during his stage invasion. West, of course, issued an apology on his blog and said that there may be more statements to come. Kanye was spotted taking pulls from a bottle of Hennessey last night — if only that excuse worked for Wilson as well.
Last night, President Barack Obama delivered his much-anticipated address on health care to a joint session of Congress. The President used the speech to attempt to clear up any misunderstandings about his health care reform bill and to get into the details of what the plan would actually accomplish. The results were mixed, as the speech was hampered by tired partisan grandstanding on both sides and an unfortunate heckle care of Joe Wilson, a Representative from South Carolina.
Generally, the decorum was pretty poor for the duration of the speech, which is why it's a shame the President didn't just lift up a commuter bus and start swinging it around, knocking Senators and Representatives around the chamber. Naturally, that's impossible in real life (and almost certainly bad statesmanship), but it's possible in a video game called "Angry Barry." Released back in May and available as a download on the XBox 360 Marketplace, "Angry Barry" lets you take control of a character that looks an awful lot like the current head of state to punch, kick and throw your way through a cavalcade of shady characters. The best part of the highlight video below? It has to be using a live cow as a weapon. Take that, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee! Eat hoof, Sam Brownback of Kansas! And hey, if health care reform can't become a reality, at least we can take out our aggressions on digital enemies (provided we're not so sickly we can't pick up a controller).
Today, President Barack Obama hosts a rather unorthodox event at the White House. He will welcome embattled scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr., the Harvard professor who was arrested for disorderly conduct following an incident in his home. When Gates raised the idea that it was possible that his arresting officer, Sergeant James Crowley, may have been racially motivated (Gates is black, Crowley is white), the President commented on the case and seemed to draw the conclusion that it was indeed a case of racial profiling. He accused Crowley of "acting stupidly" when asked about the incident.
However, Obama later walked back his statements when he realized they were slightly more inflammatory than he initially intended. As a way of diffusing the situation, Crowley and Gates will meet with Obama today for a beer at the White House. The President will quaff a Bud Light, Gates will sip a Red Stripe and Crowley has opted for a bottle of Blue Moon. The informal meeting will act as a mediation between all three parties, and Obama hopes that this will become a "teachable moment" about race, status and law enforcement. The President has seen his poll numbers dip a bit because of this snafu, though as Jimmy Fallon and Diddy explained to the world two nights ago, those numbers can be deceiving.
The so-called "Beer Summit" is getting a little bit of heat in the media, but it's an excellent idea. After all, as G. Love and Special Sauce have always told us, there's nothing that a "Cold Beverage" can't cure.
Somehow, while nobody was paying attention, Jimmy Fallon became something of a hip-hop lightning rod in the hip-hop community, and his show "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" has become a haven for rappers who just want to have fun. Of course, Fallon recruited the Roots as his house band, which has been a deft move, as not only is the music on the show largely great but they've also reached out to their friends for some after-hours jams (last week, Wale sat in with the group and freestyled his way through an excellent show). Last night during Fallon's monologue, the host busted out a recurring segment called "Slow Jam the News." Normally, it involved Fallon whispering news segments while the Roots' Tariq "Black Thought" Thompson sings the jokes. But last night, Fallon got an assist from Diddy on a remixed version of the news.
Fallon, Thompson and Diddy combined to deliver a hilarious take on Barack Obama's sluggish polling numbers. Later in the show, Diddy sat down to talk about his new MTV show "Making His Band," his vodka (he shared his recipe for the "OG Diddy," which combines Ciroc with lemonade and Welch's grape juice), his production history, his fragrance ("Men gotta smell good, too") and his upcoming album Last Train to Paris, which he promised "will make you dance, make you groove and make you love your woman better." When you look at Jimmy Fallon, you don't necessarily think, "Yep, there's a guy who knows the vibe of the streets," but so far his taste in hip-hop and his willingness to embrace it in late night (not something often seen) has made his show a must-watch for any rap enthusiast.
British comedian Russell Brand is back for a second consecutive year as the host of the MTV Video Music Awards. This year's show takes him to New York, where he will no doubt bring his signature style and taste for controversy. Just in case you can't recall the finer points of Brand's performance, here the top five moments delivered by the host during the 2008 version of the show.
Russell Versus Virginity: Last year's biggest performance belonged to the Jonas Brothers, but before they stole the show with their faux-brownstone set, Brand took their purity rings to task. "I'd take it a little more seriously if they wore it on their genitals," he said, creating the first of many awkward moments on stage. He even sparked a bit of a war between purity ring wearers and himself. He smoothed it over with an apology, though. Read more...
Foo Fighters had a pretty sweet view of the Washington, D.C. fireworks on Independence Day, as they were on stage on the lawn of the White House while they were happening. The band played a private show for the Obama family and White House staff to celebrate the Fourth of July. "It's an honor to be playing here for you people. I'm glad that we're here and I'm glad that we're spending this Fourth of July together," Grohl said as he opened the show, which featured the unveiling of a new song called "Wheels." Grohl described the song as about "the feeling when the wheels touch the ground and you're like 'I'm glad that's over with.'" In the chorus, Grohl sings, "When you feel like it's all over, there's another round for you."
It's a very appropriate sentiment for Foo Fighters, who are currently in a state of flux. The group has been on an official hiatus since the end of their tour last year, and bassist Nate Mendel is hitting the road with his old band Sunny Day Real Estate. Grohl himself has a new project too: He's teaming up with former collaborators Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age) and John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin). The still-unnamed band's existence isn't new (Grohl has been discussing the project since 2005), but they are currently recording an album in Los Angeles.
What would you name the band? We're bummed that Probot has already been taken, but we're sure those guys will come up with something.
Foo Fighters have been on hiatus since their last tour wrapped, but they'll play one show this weekend out of civic duty. Rolling Stone reports that the band will play a short set this Saturday, July 4, on the South Lawn of the White House. Foos frontman Dave Grohl, who grew up in the Washington D.C. area and got his start playing in local hardcore band Scream, is no stranger to the political realm: He and his band played voting drives for the Obama campaign and expressed his ire over John McCain's use of "My Hero" during tour stops.
There are plenty of Foo Fighters songs that can act as inspiration tunes for President Obama ("My Hero" and "Best of You" among them), but there are a handful of tunes in the Foos catalog that they should probably avoid.
It's officially summertime (cue in DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince in the background). It's the time of year when your days are filled with sunburns, BBQs and free outdoor events. But when you tire of all the above, what will you do?
If we know you at all, we think you'll want to add something meaningful to the mix — something like getting active locally, for example. We all heard President Obama's call for service during the campaign (and even on Inauguration night), and MTV is here to make it as easy as possible for you to make your community a better place to live.
Every graduating class has a handful of cultural milestones that will forever be etched into their high school memories (ours included the Monica Lewinsky scandal and Sisqo's "Thong Song"). For the Class of '09, those milestones include the rise of Twitter, the debate over same-sex marriage and the hardcore buzz surrounding "Twilight."
As a part of MTV News' Class of '09 Week, we'll be celebrating high school graduation season with stories and memories of graduation from your favorite celebrities, but we're also looking for input from you! This is your chance to represent for your peers in the class of '09. We're looking for the best video of you explaining what you think the defining factors of your generation are. What are your goals, dreams and aspirations? What issues and roadblocks do you plan on overcoming? We'll pick out the best answer and fly the winner to New York for lunch with Sway and a taping of the brand new MTV series "It's On with Alexa Chung." The winning video will also appear on MTVNews.com and may even air on MTV!
Want to enter? Just go to your.mtv.com to create a user account and upload your video (which should be no longer than three minutes). We're looking for the clearest, most original answer to the question, "What are the defining factors of your generation, and how are these factors reflected in the hopes, dreams and aspirations of the class of '09?"
