Emanuel Pokes Fun at Stephen Colbert

Celebuprez surprised to see Palin 'palling around with this crew'

(NEWSER) - Washington's elite came out for one of its swankiest events last night, but even political royalty got slightly starstruck by new crown prince Barack Obama, reports Politico. The new prez regaled some 200 DC bigwigs at the Alfalfa Club with a speech that roasted friends and rivals, including Sarah Palin, who Obama was surprised to see “palling around with this crew.” But in a room full of VIPs, Obama drew an unusual amount of awe from the crowd. More»

(NEWSER) - Fans of Stephen Colbert know he’s taking his show on the road next month, though the Comedy Central star hasn’t gotten more specific than “the Persian Gulf.” Enter Sarah Palin, who blew his cover today on her Twitter feed, Videogum reports, with the Alaska governor spilling that she was taping a spot to be shown next month when Colbert’s in Iraq. More»

Pol suspecting a prank hangs up on president-elect

(NEWSER) - Blame radio's drive-time zoo disc jockeys for a new skepticism among politicians. GOP Florida Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen received a phone call from someone identifying himself as Barack Obama. She hung up on him, thinking it was a radio show prank—and even complimented him on his Obama impression. The only snag? It actually was the president-elect. Then she hung up on Obama's chief of staff Rahm Emanuel. More»

If Barack can do it, anyone can—except Muslims, gays, atheists ...

(NEWSER) - A self-described “black man with a funny name” is now the most powerful person on the planet. So which minority group will next see one of its own in the Oval Office? Mark Oppenheimer considers the contenders in Slate:

• Women: Not technically a minority, which means that if “they choose to unite behind one of their own—as many of them were inclined to do in 2008—they'll be the not-so-little voting bloc that could.” Candidates: Hillary Clinton, Kathleen Sebelius, Claire McCaskill. Not a chance: Sarah Palin.

'Colbert Report' host is reportedly with mom Lorna, 91

(NEWSER) - The Colbert Report was shut down Wednesday night, with reports stating that a family emergency was to blame , and now sources tell the New York Post that Stephen Colbert is with his mother Lorna, 91, who is sick. Colbert is the youngest of 11 children, and his family is "very private," one source says, adding that it's not surprising that Colbert, who is very close to his mom, "did not want anyone to know what was going on." More»