Celebrity

Apparently it's a possibility. At the very least such a run would help Dobbs sell a few more books. Whether a Perot-like third party anti-immigration, anti-globalisation, anti-Wall Street crusade will be as appealing in 2012 as it seems right now must be a matter that's open for discussion. Perot wouldn't have been nearly so effective in happier economic times and 2012, one trusts, will bring cheerier economic news than 2009. Nonetheless, there's no point denying that Dobbs represents a set of sentiments that, generally speaking and most of the time, don't get much of a hearing or great respect in Washington. Still, if one of the most important things in politics is being lucky in your politics, thn Barack Obama must be licking his lips at the thought of Candidate Dobbs.

The Washington Post's Lisa de Moraes has the right attitude to today's media-overload as at least 16 networks compete to see who can provide the most gruesome coverage of the Michael Jackson memorial today. Odds are that ABC will be the winners, if only because they have Martin Bashir on their books... We're guessing Jackson fans probably won't be watching ABC's coverage, Bashir being the guy who profited most by taking down Michael Jackson. In case you just came out from under a flat rock, Bashir's the guy who did that 2003 documentary, bought by ABC, that led to Jackson getting slapped with those child-abuse charges and Bashir getting offered a job at ABC News. In Jackson-fanatic circles, Bashir is That Backstabber Who Has Michael Jackson's Blood on His Hands.

As Time's Michael Scherer writes, McCain's decision to portray Obama as nothing more than a flashy celebrity better known for being famous than for any great achievement is, well, strange. Here's McCain strategist Steve Schmidt: "It's beyond dispute that he has become the biggest celebrity in the world," [McCain Campaign head Steve] Schmidt said of Obama. "The question we are posing to the American people is this: Is he ready to lead? . . . Do the American people want to elect the world's biggest celebrity or do they want to elect an American hero, somebody who is a leader, somebody who has the right ideas to deal in a serious way with the problems we face? . . .

At last! A new TV "reality" show worth watching:                                                                                       Move over American Idol and make room for Rockstar Curling, a reality television show that may indeed have a rock-star connection. NBC confirmed yesterday it has an exclusive option to air a 10-episode sports reality show that will give the winners a shot at competing in the U.S. championships and even going to the 2010 Olympics.

Definitely from the Department of Too Good to Check: CORRECTIVE: Paris Hilton Story                                                                   Tuesday, November 13, 2007 sfgate_get_fprefs(); (11-13) 15:44 PST    GAUHATI, India (AP) -- In a Nov. 13 story, The Associated Press incorrectly reported that Paris Hilton was praised by conservationists for highlighting the problem of binge-drinking elephants in northeastern India. Lori Berk, a publicist for Hilton, said she never made any comments about helping drunken elephants in India.

Stephen Fry has a blog? Ye gods, whatever next? That said, he may not have quite mastered either the brevity or the frequency elements of the gig. Still, absorbing stuff. Or something.  Certainly it ain't your average celeb-blog. What may be the world's longest post on Smartphones ever written by a Cambridge Footlight, concludes: As the General Confession in the Book of Common Prayer has it, “I have followed too much the devices and desires of my own heart.” Amen. Then there's a lengthy - but very warm and very wise -  rumination on fame which, well, you'll just have to read for yourself. But here's a fun story: I’ll start with a story that illustrates exactly one aspect of that point.

John F Kennedy, Nikita Kruschev, Fidel Castro, Lord Beaverbrook, Oswald Moseley, Claus von Bulow, Norman Mailer, J Paul Getty, Randolph Churchill, Henry Luce, Gore Vidal, the Beatles and Napoleon Bonaparte... Just some of the names appearing in this Daily Telegraph obituary of a remarkable and entertaining (yet oddly melancholy) life: Lady Jeanne Campbell , who has died aged 78, was a journalist who reported for the Evening Standard from New York for many years; she was also the former wife of Norman Mailer, the daughter of the reprobate 11th Duke of Argyll and the favourite granddaughter of Lord Beaverbrook.

The anti-land mines brigade are claiming victory (of a sort). The NYT's The Lede is too charitable by far: No one gets into arms control for the glamor and the primetime awards shows, but the International Campaign to Ban Landmines just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to celebrate their 10th anniversary punctuated with a pragmatic rejoinder: “Success in progress.” Emphasis added of course. Equally obviously, that's exactly why many people "get into arms control". Ditto tree-hugging and fretting about global warming and lord knows how many other causes.