Democrats rallied ’round Vice President Al Gore in 2000 even if Captain Global Warming was as dull as a power point presentation.

Now, looks like comedians are prepping the Dull Card to play against potential presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

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Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon both played the card – hard – Tuesday during a skit on Fallon’s NBC “Late Night” program.

The bit involved a game show segment where the participants had to imitate famous people. For Michelle Obama, Fey started flexing her arms – Fey’s partner thought she was doing the Hulk. Ha ha.

When Fey drew Romney’s name, she said, “This is a really boring Republican guy who might be president.” Later, when the game required only visual clues, Fallon started moving stiffly, like a robot politician motioning to an unseen crowd.

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Irish actor Liam Neeson is taking movie promotion to a new level, and he’s doing it with one eye on a worthy cause.

Neeson, the 50-something action hero behind “Taken” and the upcoming thriller “The Grey,” will be appearing on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” Jan. 16 to talk up his newest film.

He’ll also use his time in New York City to meet with two lucky fans, or at least folks lucky enough to win the eBay auction surrounding his “Late Night” appearance.

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Insulting a sitting congresswoman with a profane song is apparently the tipping point to being named America’s Band.

Grantland, a pop culture site created by affable sports guru Bill Simmons, has declared Jimmy Fallon’s house band America’s reigning musical champs.

Does that mean The Roots sell the most records, or are part of the biggest musical tour in recent memory?

Nope.

Grantland.com Writer Patrice Evans is clearly a fan, and that’s fine. But who doesn’t suspect this isn’t just more fallout from the ban’s crass insult of GOP presidential contender Michele Bachmann last month?

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Who’s the lying’ ass bitch now?

When the Fallon/Bachmann controversy first exploded, Questlove issued a statement claiming that his decision to introduce the Congresswoman to the show with the Fishbone song “Lyin’ Ass Bitch” was “tongue-in-cheek” and a “spur-of-moment decision.”

And yet…

In a Nov. 21  interview with “Rolling Stone,” Questlove told the interviewer of his plans to do exactly what he did:

“I’m gunning for Bachmann,” Questlove, a vocal Obama fan, told Rolling Stone. To put a time stamp on the comment, the magazine wrote that during the interview, he was “looking up walk-on songs for next week’s shows.”

Continued Questlove, “I want to try and do Fishbone’s ‘Lyin’ Ass Bitch.’ I just don’t know if I’m gonna tell Jimmy.”

Is this acceptable to NBC and to Jimmy Fallon?

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Jimmy Fallon is very, very sorry for insulting Rep. Michele Bachmann on his “Late Night” talk fest.

Except Fallon never apologized on-air for the incident, and his house band’s punishment remains unknown. We know how Hank Williams, Jr. was punished for making a crude analogy involving Adolf Hitler and President Barack Obama, right?

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Fallon’s reputation on the right took a hit with the incident, and frankly that won’t likely change in the months to come. If Fallon’s monologue starts slamming GOP contenders in the runup to the 2012 presidential elections he’ll face the wrath of conservatives understandably wary of comedians who prefer to give President Obama a pass when it comes to stinging political humor.

It all didn’t have to go down this way.

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The Red/Blue state divide doesn’t just involve politics. Turns out television watching habits are sharply influenced by how people pull the voting levers on Election Day.

A new survey conducted by Entertainment Weekly shows that Democrats prefer sarcastic comedies and morally entangled heroes, while Republicans gravitate toward workplace scenarios.

Yet both the Left and the Right adore “Modern Family,” a pro-gay comedy with plenty of Emmy appeal. Sounds like a media meme takes a hit with that news.

There’s some unintentional comedy packed into the intriguing report, too. Consider this description of why “The View” fares better with liberals:

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Want your band to get a rave review in a nationally respected newspaper? You can make a killer record, or you can grossly insult a Republican on TV.

The Roots, the house band for “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” may not have had glowing reviews in mind when it played the Fishbone song “Lyin’ Ass Bitch” as show guest Michele Bachmann sat down with Fallon.

Now, Washington Post music critic Chris Richards is singing the Roots’ praises for both its new album and its Bachmann song selection. In the middle of Richards’ review of the band’s new disk, “undun,” Richards laments that the band may best be remembered this year for the Bachmann affair, and not the new material.

The band considered it a joke. Certain corners of the media considered it an outrage. NBC apologized to Bachmann and “severely reprimanded” the Roots. Last week, with the smoke just starting to clear, bandleader Questlove said the stunt was “absolutely not” worth it.

But regardless of whether the decision was in poor taste, it underscored a bigger point about the Roots: The band members might spend their work week taking Jimmy in and out of commercial, but they’ve never stopped thinking of themselves as artists.

It’s the circle of Mainstream Media life, but let’s break it down all the same.

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The leftist Hollywood machine is in full force this season, as we’ve seen with both the Bachmann/Fallon incident and more recently, Miley Cyrus’ new foray into political commentary. The fact is that when it comes to the entertainment industry, liberals need to stick together (and attack conservatives) … especially if you can’t sing or act, or in Cyrus’ case, if you can do neither … and sound like Selma and Patty Simpson.

Note: No Miley Cyrus songs were actually listened to during the making of this video. Earmuffs!

The Roots’ Questlove is still feeling the heat over grossly insulting Congresswoman Michele Bachmann on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” last month.

The band played the Fishbone song “Lyin’ Ass Bitch” when Bachmann took a seat next to Fallon for their Nov. 21 chat. Fallon apologized via Twitter, an NBC executive apologized to Bachmann and Questlove offered a lame mea culpa shortly thereafter.

Now, The Huffington Post is reporting that Questlove received a barrage of racist comments on Twitter after the incident. Naturally, he’s blaming the response on … wait for it … the Tea Party.

Never let a false media meme go to waste, right?

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Groups like the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and the National Organization for Women exist to protect the rights of those too often attacked in the press or in the culture at large.

But their noble missions seem to hit a speed bump when it comes time to defend conservatives who happen to fall into their protective sphere.

Earlier this month, a gay reality show star claimed he was assaulted for being conservative. The incident didn’t draw massive press and outrage, so Big Hollywood reached out to GLAAD for a response. Their reaction was muted and brief:

“GLAAD’s mission is to fight for people, Republican or Democrat, who are targeted for being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.  No one should be targeted for their political beliefs either, but advocacy around those issues is outside of our mission.  That’s what you guys do.”

At least GLAAD’s reaction to the alleged assault didn’t actively attack the right. That’s precisely the tactic chosen by NOW after it took several days to drum up outrage over a sitting Congresswoman being grossly insulted on a late night talk show:
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ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – GOP Presidential candidate Michele Bachmann received an apology from an NBC executive after an off-color song was played during her appearance on Jimmy Fallon’s “Late Night,” her spokeswoman said late Wednesday.

The Minnesota congresswoman received a personal letter from NBC’s vice president for late night programming, Doug Vaughan, a day after she appeared on the show. As Bachmann walked onstage, the show’s band had played a snippet of a 1985 Fishbone song entitled “Lyin’ Ass B—-.”

Vaughan wrote that the incident was “not only unfortunate but also unacceptable,” Bachmann spokeswoman Alice Stewart told The Associated Press. She said Vaughn offered his sincerest apologies and said the band had been “severely reprimanded.”

Fallon also apologized to Bachmann when they spoke earlier Wednesday, she said. He’d tweeted earlier, saying he was “so sorry about the intro mess.”

“He was extremely nice and friendly and offered his apology, and she accepted it,” Stewart said, adding that the comedian said he was unaware the band planned to play the song. “It’s just unfortunate that someone had to do something so disrespectful.” (more…)

When a sitting United States Congresswoman, current Presidential candidate, mother of five, and foster mother of 23 is humiliated on your television show, a snark-free apology is probably the best way to deal with the situation.  It will be interesting to see if Fallon addresses the incident on his show tonight.

Brett Ratner offered up a quick, sincere apology earlier this month after using a gay slur in a public venue. The result? Ratner was forced to resign from his duties as Oscar show producer.

Questlove, a member of The Roots, played “Lyin’ Ass Bitch” when Congresswoman Michele Bachmann appeared on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” Monday night.

Now, hours after celebrating his own nastiness via a series of Tweets, Questlove is apologizing for his actions. Sort of. Not really.

“The performance was a tongue-in-cheek and spur of the moment decision. The show was not aware of it and I feel bad if her feelings were hurt. That was not my intention,” Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson said in a statement.

Really? What was your intention, Mr. Questlove?

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Seems like The Roots’ Questlove isn’t having any second thoughts about trashing a U.S. Congresswoman on national TV. In fact, he’s busy congratulating himself on Twitter for treating a “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” guest like pond scum.

The Roots, the show’s house band, greeted Monday’s guest Rep. Michele Bachmann with a rendition of the Fishbone song “Lyin’ Ass Bitch.”

Questlove, whose Twitter feed picture features him alongside President Barack Obama, not only hinted at the stunt via Twitter but later retweeted comments praising his song selection:

@questlove huge ups to the fishbone tune for Bachman on jimmy tonight. perfect entry song for her!

@questlove wow. hats off. #snarkhalloffamemember

I already loved them, but The Roots are now my favorite band ever! #WalkOnSnark @questlove @FrankKnuckles

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Stay classy, NBC.

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The video above confirms that the National Broadcasting Company’s house band for the “Jimmy Fallon Show” serenaded a sitting Congresswoman and presidential candidate with more than a few notes from Fishbone’s “Lyin’ Ass Bitch.”

What a cruel thing to do, and it’s the last thing you’d expect from someone like Jimmy Fallon, who does come off (or used to) as a pretty decent guy. Michele Bachmann was a “guest” on Fallon’s show and yet he and his house band sucker punch her with “Lyin’ Ass Bitch”?

Unbelievable.

Actually, it’s not.

The game is rigged and has been since the beginning. Candidates today are expected to go on Late Night as part of the presidential ritual, but the outcome more often than not is something like this. Democrats receive respect, Republicans get grilled, gotcha’d and humiliated, and Obama gets his boots licked.

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The Mainstream Media did what it likes to do best over the weekend – turn a poorly sourced quasi-scandal regarding a Republican into a news feeding frenzy.

Now, late night talk show hosts have taken the bait.

Last night, the majority of the comedy elite had fun at the expense of Herman Cain, the popular GOP presidential candidate accused of sexually harassing two women during the 1990s. The wobbly reportage was condemned by not only conservatives but the left-leaning Pro Publica media outfit. But it proved too irresistible for the usual comic suspects (source: The daily Hotline roundup):

David Letterman: Now (businessman) Herman Cain when he was the chairman of the National Restaurant Association back in the ’90’s is saying there was a claim of sexual harassment. I looked it up. … Here’s what happened: he was just listing the specials. (‘The Late Show with David Letterman,’ CBS, 10/31).

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This is remarkable video where Brian Williams’ knee-jerk reaction is defend President Obama — “might be a bit unfair” “got all of his people with him” “appearance” “perception” “gets very little time off” — from the growing narrative that the President is disconnected and distant from the ongoing economic, energy, and international emergencies staring down on every American right now. The golfing, the NCAA brackets, the vacations, the date nights… From an isolated point of view, you might be able to defend Williams here, but when you look at the left-wing media as a whole, you don’t see them doing to Obama what they did to Bush. When a Republican is in office, the MSM is always looking for a narrative to fixate on that will define and diminish. When an Obama is in office and that same narrative opportunity presents itself, they do what Williams does here with Jimmy Fallon: they fight that narrative from gaining a foothold and try to snuff it out.

Another example: Sarah Palin has a successful overseas trip and what does the MSM do? They ignore it until they can make a little hay out of which travel agency she used. But Obama’s addiction to golf, the NCAA, and his dance lessons in Rio while launching  a war of choice with no Congressional approval against a Middle Eastern, oil-producing country that’s not a threat to us gets no play whatsoever. And don’t get me started on the teleprompter.

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This Sunday, the 62^nd Primetime Emmy Awards will be handed out to some of the best shows and actors from the past year. Although some shows and performances were snubbed, there are numerous nominees that are worth rooting for during the award show which will be hosted by Jimmy Fallon. In the midst of a lot of previously-nominated shows and performers, there are also some newcomers and previously-overlooked nominees that are worth getting excited about.

In the best drama category, the highly-acclaimed and perennial winner “Mad Men” will be facing some mildly tough competition. It will be up against HBO’s “True Blood,” Showtime’s “Dexter,” AMC’s “Breaking Bad,” ABC’s “Lost,” and CBS’ “The Good Wife.” Even though “Lost” just aired its final season, many expect that “Mad Men” will walk away with its third consecutive best drama award. Several of last year’s nominees for this category were snubbed this year (“House,” “Big Love,” and “Damages”) along with at least one departing show that had previously won this competition (“24”).    (more…)

Press reports and even jokes on last night’s Jay Leno Show point to the likelihood that NBC’s experiment with moving Leno from late night to prime time is over, and that the instigator of the changes, Conan O’Brien, will have to accept a diminished role as a consequence of his successful campaign to force Leno out of his 11:30 slot.

The reports are that the Jay Leno Show will stop producing new episodes on February 1 or possibly February 12 when NBC begins broadcasting the Olympics, and will not return thereafter. Leno will go back to 11:35, and O’Brien-well, nobody is quite sure what’s happening with him yet. NBC execs are reportedly considering having a half-hour Leno show at 11:35, the Tonight Show with O’Brien at 12:05, and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 1:05. Carson Daly will presumably remain the only thing in the world that’s not funny at 2 in the morning (hat tip to my number 2 son for that joke).

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Emmy nominations were announced last week, and David Letterman, Bill Maher, Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart, and Saturday Night Live all got one. I believe Conan O’Brien and Jimmy Fallon are too new to be considered this year, making Craig Ferguson the wallflower. He suggested that the reason he was skipped over was because the Academy hates Americans. (I think he’s on to something). Letterman bragged he got one for “Best Apology.”

I have no proof, but it appears if there is a new sponsor for Letterman’s daily Ruth Madoff joke. For the past several weeks he’s been doing the same exact joke about Bernie Madoff’s wife claiming her $92 million wasn’t from swindling, that it was money she saved by switching to Geico®. His repetition makes me think the insurance giant’s paying Worldwide Pants to do the joke every night. This week, he added a joke every night about Ruth’s favorite item at California Pizza Kitchen® that suggested they were a new sponsor. On successive nights it was chicken ponzi, chicken al-fraudo, and veal scaloponzi. (more…)