We Need an Institute to Study Sarah Palin

He 'thinks less' of McCain for choosing her, says confidant

(NEWSER) - Former President George Bush doesn't believe Sarah Palin is qualified to be president and thinks less of John McCain for choosing her as his running mate, a confidant tell the New York Daily News. "Naming Palin makes Bush think less of McCain as a man," said a GOP official close to Bush. "He thinks McCain ran a lousy campaign with an unqualified running mate, and destroyed any chance of winning by picking Palin." More»

Letterman veers from apolitical-leaning-right to full-on liberal

(NEWSER) - The most telling thing David Letterman has said in a while may have been a brief comment he made last Monday, as he wrapped up an hour with President Obama: "I can't tell you how satisfying it is to watch you work," the famously crotchety Late Night host said matter-of-factly. George W. Bush lies behind the transformation of Letterman from a Clinton-bashing admirer of Bob Dole and John McCain to an unabashed Obama fan, Brian Lowry writes for Variety. More»

Obama 'has no clue,' while Palin isn't 'remotely prepared'

(NEWSER) - George Bush apparently didn't think much of Barack Obama as a candidate. “This is a dangerous world, and this cat isn’t remotely qualified to handle it," he's quoted in a new book as saying. "This guy has no clue, I promise you.” GQ has excerpts of Speech-Less: Tales of a White House Survivor, by speechwriter Matt Latimer, in which Bush also dismisses Sarah Palin as a candidate and John McCain's campaign in general. More»

Weird doings with Hillary, Huck and a chucked shoe

(NEWSER) - Oh-eight was a banner year for politics, and half the time it was a really strange banner. Politico looks back on the weirdest moments in a topsy-turvy year.

• Mike Huckabee holds a news conference to announce he won’t run a negative ad, then plays the ad for everyone.
• Desperate for blue collar cred, Hillary Clinton awkwardly downs a whiskey shot in an Indiana bar.
• San Francisco tries to rename a sewage plant after George W. Bush.

Ferrell's Bush praises 'heavily patriotized' ticket

(NEWSER) - Will Ferrell reprised his role as a bumbling George Bush for last night's special edition of Saturday Night Live to force his endorsement on an extremely unreceptive GOP "ticket." Ferrell first explained to Tina Fey's Sarah Palin that the vice president tells a president what to do and that it's the most important job in the land. Then Darrell Hammond's reluctant "John McCain" arrived for a clearly unwelcome endorsement. More»