Bristol Palin’s Baby Due In Two Days

Apparently Sarah Palin’s dad is a big blabbermouth, as he revealed to some site called Grandparents.com that his granddaughter, Bristol, is having a baby boy. Cuteness! We kinda miss the Palins for all their family drama - we hope the Governor threw some baby clothes for her grandson into that pile of crap she bought for thousands at Saks this summer!

Bristol is due on December 20th, which is just two days away! We can’t wait for the Alaska’s Baby of the Year to be born. Will Bristol follow in her parents’ footsteps and name it something weird, or will she define herself as a more traditional Palin? We’d guess her tot’s name will put Bronx Mowgli Wentz to shame. Fingers crossed, of course.  [NYP. Getty Images]

An Iraqi journalist, Muntadhar al-Zaidi, launched his shoes like heat-seeking missiles at President Bush’s noggin while shouting: “This is a goodbye kiss, you dog!” But Bush, wily as ever, ducked the onslaught, which has already blown up into a viral video for the ages.

The incident took place at a press conference in Baghdad over the weekend. Zaidi was quickly wrestled to the ground and taken into custody, and is now facing testing for drugs and alcohol. Gee, could it be that he’s just on some serious anger? After-all, Reuters says the botched war has killed more than a million Iraqis since 2003. Regardless, Bush joked: “I don’t know what the guy said, but I saw his sole.”

Apparently, no death toll is big enough to hinder our president’s stellar sense of humor. [Source: Huffington Post, CNN]

U.S. President George W. Bush (L) ducks as an Iraqi journalist, Muntadhar al-Zaidi, throws his shoes at the President during a joint press conference with Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on December 14, 2008 in Baghdad, Iraq. [Photo: Getty Images]

U.S. President George W. Bush (L) ducks as an Iraqi journalist, Muntadhar al-Zaidi, throws his shoes at the President during a joint press conference with Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on December 14, 2008 in Baghdad, Iraq. [Photo: Getty Images]

Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi is taken to the ground after throwing his shoes at US President George W. Bush. [Photo: Getty Images]

US President George W. Bush winks after Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi threw his shoes at him during a joint press conference. [Photo: Getty Images]

Iraqis protest against yesterday's visit by US President George W. Bush and the arrest of an Iraqi journalist in the eastern Baghdad district of Sadr City on December 15, 2008. [Photo: Getty Images]

Iraqis protest against yesterday's visit by US President George W. Bush and the arrest of an Iraqi journalist in the eastern Baghdad district of Sadr City on December 15, 2008. [Photo: Getty Images]

Iraqis protest against yesterday's visit by US President George W. Bush and the arrest of an Iraqi journalist in the eastern Baghdad district of Sadr City on December 15, 2008. [Photo: Getty Images]

US President George W. Bush shakes hands with Sergeant Major Vincent Camacho (L) prior to speaking to US troops during an unannounced visit to Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, on December 15, 2008. [Photo: Getty Images]

Iraqis protest against yesterday's visit by US President George W. Bush and the arrest of an Iraqi journalist in the eastern Baghdad district of Sadr City on December 15, 2008. [Photo: Getty Images]

Iraqis protest against yesterday's visit by US President George W. Bush and the arrest of an Iraqi journalist in the eastern Baghdad district of Sadr City on December 15, 2008. [Photo: Getty Images]

Sarah Palin, just take that “White Oprah gig” already—in national politics, you’re already losing your biggest fan. John McCain, while still grateful for her executive experience, campaign re-invigoration, and all the other neato stuff the most unpopular vice-presidential candidate ever brought to his ticket last fall, he couldn’t promise he’d vote for her in 2012 on Sunday’s episode of This Week.

I can’t say something like that. We’ve got some great other young governors. I think you’re going to see the governors assume a greater leadership role in our Republican Party.

Well, yes, because Republicans are greatly outnumbered by Democrats in the House and Senate. But there you have it. McCain, the man who refused to hear a negative word about Palin during the election, would rather nod at potential nominees Tim Pawlenty and Bobby Jindal than suggest he’s in her pocket for the 2012 Republican primary. Where’s the team spirit, guys?

Joe “The Plumber” Wurzelbacher is alive, well and hawking his book Fighting For The American Dream on conservative radio. Zzz, right? But just in case liberals are thinking about turning away from the hero of all average Americans who don’t like the idea of rich people paying higher taxes, he shared a promising tidbit with Glenn Beck on his radio show this morning:

I honestly felt even more dirty after I had been on the campaign trail and seen some things that take place. It was scary, man…I spoke to John McCain pretty in-depth and, you know, I’ll tease you here. A lot of liberals are going to love that passage.

While the passage probably describes a tense conversation he had with McCain about why the Presidential nominee voted for the bailout, we can’t help but hope for a juicier story. Here are some “dirty” ideas for how Joe could make sure everyone reads his book.

• McCain puts on a movie about gladiators and asks Joe if he’s ever seen a grown politician naked.
• Cindy McCain plasters on her make-up like a trollop.
• When asked why he chose Sarah Palin as VP, McCain sighs “well, I obviously read a whole lot more into her winking that I should have. Christ, I could have gotten more tail from Tim Pawlenty. Daddy horny, Joe. Daddy horny…”
• McCain’s chief of staff misreads Joe’s Mr. Clean look. “Am I a bear? Uhh…dude, I root for the Bengals.”

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Jon Favreau (no, not the actor) is best known as the young, bright and ambitious speech writer for Barack Obama. But now the 27-year-old whiz kid has a whole new reputation to embrace - juvenile, dumb, and tacky - after a photo of him groping a Hillary Clinton cut-out (while a friend kisses her lips and holds a beer at her face) leaked onto Facebook for a couple of hours. All photos from Favreau’s Facebook page have now been removed, but that did not stop the image from spreading across the web. The man of many words has currently gone silent, aside for a rumored apology issued to Hillary’s camp.

The future Secretary of State downplayed the drama, and her spokesman jokingly told the Washington Post that “Senator Clinton is pleased to learn of Jon’s obvious interest in the State Department, and is currently reviewing his application.” However others have not been so kind. Former Clinton Press Secretary DeeDee Myers wrote in Vanity Fair of the photo: “It’s an act of deliberate humiliation. Of disempowerment. Of denigration.”

What do you think - is the pic a stupid joke gone wrong, or a serious, sexist slam?

Illinois, say goodbye to Rod Blagojevich. The state’s governor has been arrested on federal charges of mail and wire fraud and solicitation of bribery, after he allegedly tried to sell the U.S. Senate seat he’ll appoint after Barack Obama becomes President on January 20th, 2009.  “The breadth of corruption laid out in these charges is staggering,” said U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald. “They allege that Blagojevich put a ‘for sale’ sign on the naming of a United States Senator; involved himself personally in pay-to-play schemes with the urgency of a salesman meeting his annual sales target; and corruptly used his office in an effort to trample editorial voices of criticism.”

A statement from the U.S. Attorney’s office claims that Blagojevich was looking for everything from “campaign” funds to a corporate job for his wife to a cabinet position—the latter of which would seem to imply he let Obama’s people in on his planned swindle. The President-elect’s transition team currently has no comment, and the U.S. Attorney’s office plans a press conference for later today.

Coincidentally, Blagojevich, governor of the state since 2003, turns 52 on Wednesday. Make a wish, Rod!

[Photo: AFP]

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and Illinois Senator Barack Obama at a 2007 rally to bring the Olympics to Chicago.
[Photo: Getty Images]

Blagojevich and Obama at the Illinois State Fair in 2005.
[Photo: Getty Images]

Obama, Rev. Jess Jackson and Blagojevich in 2007. Jackson was a rumored potential replacement for Obama in the Senate.
[Photo: Getty Images]

Blagojevich and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2007.
[Photo: Getty Images]

Blagojevich speaking to striking Republic Windows and Doors factory workers in Chicago on Monday, the day before his arrest.
[Photo: Getty Images]

Ok, that’s not totally fair. Animal activists like Bob Barker and Halle Berry may be fighting the planned six-acre “Pachyderm Forest” expansion at the Los Angeles Zoo, but it’s not because they want the beasts to stay in a cage—they want them out of the zoo entirely.

Seems elephants have a tendency to die young when they’re locked up, and despite the accolades the LA Zoo is getting from zoological institutions, some feel that all the artificial waterfalls and mudholes in the world won’t keep Billy, the zoo’s last remaining elephant, from feeling cramped. “It’s a lot of elephants’ deaths, and it points to something really wrong going on there,” Melya Kaplan of Voice Of The Animals told the Chicago Sun-Times. “We can’t ignore that.”

Even without taking angry celebs like Goldie Hawn into consideration, the $42 million bill may be too much for the local budget. If the planned City Council vote today brings the project to a close, debates over whether Billy bobs his head because he’s stressed or because he wants food will be entirely irrelephant (yes, we went there).

[Photos: WireImage/Getty]

Joe “The Plumber” Wurzelbacher has big plans! A political watchdog website! A book! A country album! Maybe even running for office! So why the hell is he reading blankly from a teleprompter in a low-budget video, hawking DTV converters for Velocity Store? (Yeah, we never heard of it either.)

In the first video, Joe claims he’s “partnering” with the company because they’re the only retailer providing information in English, Spanish, Chinese and “other languages to be added later.” “This isn’t about politics,” says Joe. “It’s about doing the right thing.” Wait a second, are we supposed to believe he contacted them? “Hey, y’all, Joe The Plumber callin’. I heard you’re helping people of all languages convert their TVs to digital. How can I do my part?”

Along with a description of how to set up your box, the site promises that Joe will soon “explain the public safety benefits the transition provides to all Americans.” We can’t wait, but Joe better watch out—big endorsement contracts like this and he’ll move up to Barack Obama’s upper tax bracket in no time.

Ashley Alexandra Dupre, the escort who brought down former New York Governor Elliot Spitzer, sat down with Diane Sawyer on 20/20 for her first interview. Ashley, whose voice was surprisingly child-like and who teared up during much of the interview, expressed sympathy for Spitzer’s shamed wife Silda and revealed that she found out about the scandal probably the way you did.

Ashley had left the escort business months before and returned only for four weeks when she got assigned to “Client Number 9″ aka shamed Lov Gov Elliot Spitzer. Although she reportedly recognized him at their last of several trysts, Ashley tells Diane she only found out he was the Governor of New York when she flipped on the TV and saw the all-too-familiar face. “He looked familiar,” she says, but didn’t recognize him at their meeting because, “I was 22-years-old, I wasn’t reading the papers,” she explains.

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Worried about an awkward thanksgiving? Three days full of dry turkey leftovers and family bickering? Just be glad you’re not giving a TV interview while birds are slaughtered behind you, like Sarah Palin did.

The Alaskan governor must have been embarrassed enough at the actual photo-op, where she “pardoned” a Wasilla turkey and read a speech about how Ben Franklin loved turkeys or something. But when she stepped out of the coop to give an interview, no one bothered to halt the execution of the other prisoners. Watch in the above clip as a reporter asks about “programs on the chopping block”—as a farmer shoves a turkey into a throat-slitting cylinder (at 1:16). Palin goes on to explain why she’s there (at 2:05):

You need a little levity in the job, especially with so much that has gone on that has been so…political, obviously, it’s nice to go out and do something to promote a local business. To just participate in something that isn’t so heavy-handed politics that invites criticism! Certainly we’ll probably invite criticism by doing this too, but at least this was fun.

Check out Palin pardoning the lucky bird after the jump. Warning: listening to her talk for several minutes while surrounded by turkeys may make you envious of those that were already dead.

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