Ocean's 79

I can’t let the Oscars pass without comment, so I'll say that I thought that they were well done until about 11:30. I don’t think that they got worse after that; I just decided to go to sleep. Here’s a quick summary of most of the Oscar coverage out there

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- They were long

- There were some surprises

- There were no surprises

- There were plenty of international winners

- Ellen DeGeneres was good but safe

- Norbit?!

- Whitaker, Mirren, Scorsese, The Departed

The joke about Al Gore preparing to announce his candidacy but then being played off by music was predictable, but I still found myself wondering if he would actually do it. It just seemed too perfect an opportunity to pass up. Not because it would have been a good political move to announce his intentions at the Oscars, but because it would have been the beginning of a disastrous Hollywood candidacy. That seems more like a typical Democratic move.

Gore couldn’t have looked more comfortable surrounded by Hollywood. The Oscars were like Ocean’s 12. Instead of watching Pitt, Clooney, Damon, etc. traipsing around Europe on my dime, I got to see Gore, DiCaprio, Ethridge discussing environmental policy on my dime. The back and forth between Al and Leo culminated in a cacophony of backslapping in which they were literally stepping on each other’s lines trying to express just how proud of each other they both were, and thanking each other for their work on the environment.

Recently Jimmy Carter has encouraged Gore to run and to be honest I think the last thing the Dems need is another big name in the heap. I would be interested, though, to see what would happen if Hilary or Obama asked him to be VP. On one hand you’ve got your southern white male to balance the ticket, on the other you have the Hollywood elite lined up behind Gore which will certainly undermine his popularity in the South and the Midwest.