Sparrowhawk
07-09-04, 09:21 PM
NEW YORK (AFP) - The Democratic presidential ticket netted a cool 7.5 million dollars at a star-studded concert here but had to squirm through a wickedly irreverent monologue from comic Whoopi Goldberg to do it.
Actor Chevy Chase described politicians and their hobbies: "Clinton plays the sax, John plays the guitar, and the president's a liar." "This guy's as bright as an egg timer," said Chase, who ridiculed the president for his tendency to flub the English language.
John Mellencamp (news) sang "Let me tell you a story about the Texas Bandito," a tune that referred to Bush as a "cheap thug."
"If John Kerry is going to praise last night's star-studded hate fest and characterize it as the 'heart and soul' of America, he should share these values with voters everywhere,"
Bush-Cheney campaign manager Ken Mehlman said Friday in a statement. "We call on Kerry to release the video of this event so that all Americans can see what John Kerry has called America's 'heart and soul.'"
John Leguizamo, a comedian and actor who is Puerto Rican, quipped: "Latins for Republicans. It's like roaches for Raid."
Actor Paul Newman assailed Bush's tax cuts as "borderline criminal," saying, "There is serious and dangerous stuff out there and something's gotta change."
Actress Jessica Lange asked the crowd, "Are we going to continue to follow a self-serving regime of deceit, hypocrisy and belligerence?"
Topping it off, comedian Whoopi Goldberg (news) used Bush's surname as a sexual reference. Goldberg, a devout Democrat, did not spare Bush in her monologue: "Anybody who could wave to (blind singer) Stevie Wonder isn't fully there," she said to howls from the audience. But she also produced a few embarrassed grimaces with an unsubtle anatomical double-entendre enjoining voters to "keep Bush where it belongs and not in the White House."
Goldberg was more playful when she greeted Kerry and his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, and then peered into the crowd looking for Edwards and his wife, Elizabeth. "And where's the kid? Where's young Mr. Edwards? And, where's my girl, where's my girl? Stand up, miss girl." Teasing Kerry, Goldberg said: "Not that you're not youthful. You're very youthful, John. But he's youthful. He looks like he's 18!"
The comic said concert organizers had asked to see her material beforehand but she sent them a photocopied image of her behind with a kissmark on it. "I wasn't sure I was going to get the phone call," she said.
Kerry campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill told reporters Kerry and Edwards did not agree with everything the performers said during the concert. "The views expressed last night by the performers are their own views," Cahill said. "The performers have a perfect right to say what they said, but it is not what Senator Kerry and Senator Edwards would say, and they do not approve of some of the remarks made."
The performance, which overshadowed appearances by stars ranging from hip-hop idol Wyclef Jean to actor Paul Newman, highlighted the awkward mix of strait-laced politicians and the volatile artists they routinely court.
Paul Newman took off on his fiscal policies, saying, "I think that tax cuts for worried, wealthy thugs like me are borderline criminal," and the notion they produce trickle-down benefits for the poor is "rubbish."
Actress Jessica Lange branded the Bush administration "a self-serving regime of deceit, hypocrisy and belligerence," while comic Chevy Chase heaped scorn on Bush's intellect: "This guy is as bright as an egg-timer."
Also on the bill were rockers Jon Bon Jovi, the Dave Matthews Band and John Fogerty, singer John Mellencamp, hip hop artist Mary J. Blige, comic John Leguizamo, and actresses Meryl Streep and Sarah Jessica Parker.
Kerry spokeswoman Allison Dobson said the concert brought in 7.5 million dollars, surpassing the 6.8 million dollars raked in with a similar event in Los Angeles two weeks ago.
The candidates and their wives addressed the gathering Thursday with their standard stump speech before closing with a sing-a-long version of "This Land is My Land," Kerry strumming along somewhat awkwardly on a guitar.
Actor Chevy Chase described politicians and their hobbies: "Clinton plays the sax, John plays the guitar, and the president's a liar." "This guy's as bright as an egg timer," said Chase, who ridiculed the president for his tendency to flub the English language.
John Mellencamp (news) sang "Let me tell you a story about the Texas Bandito," a tune that referred to Bush as a "cheap thug."
"If John Kerry is going to praise last night's star-studded hate fest and characterize it as the 'heart and soul' of America, he should share these values with voters everywhere,"
Bush-Cheney campaign manager Ken Mehlman said Friday in a statement. "We call on Kerry to release the video of this event so that all Americans can see what John Kerry has called America's 'heart and soul.'"
John Leguizamo, a comedian and actor who is Puerto Rican, quipped: "Latins for Republicans. It's like roaches for Raid."
Actor Paul Newman assailed Bush's tax cuts as "borderline criminal," saying, "There is serious and dangerous stuff out there and something's gotta change."
Actress Jessica Lange asked the crowd, "Are we going to continue to follow a self-serving regime of deceit, hypocrisy and belligerence?"
Topping it off, comedian Whoopi Goldberg (news) used Bush's surname as a sexual reference. Goldberg, a devout Democrat, did not spare Bush in her monologue: "Anybody who could wave to (blind singer) Stevie Wonder isn't fully there," she said to howls from the audience. But she also produced a few embarrassed grimaces with an unsubtle anatomical double-entendre enjoining voters to "keep Bush where it belongs and not in the White House."
Goldberg was more playful when she greeted Kerry and his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, and then peered into the crowd looking for Edwards and his wife, Elizabeth. "And where's the kid? Where's young Mr. Edwards? And, where's my girl, where's my girl? Stand up, miss girl." Teasing Kerry, Goldberg said: "Not that you're not youthful. You're very youthful, John. But he's youthful. He looks like he's 18!"
The comic said concert organizers had asked to see her material beforehand but she sent them a photocopied image of her behind with a kissmark on it. "I wasn't sure I was going to get the phone call," she said.
Kerry campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill told reporters Kerry and Edwards did not agree with everything the performers said during the concert. "The views expressed last night by the performers are their own views," Cahill said. "The performers have a perfect right to say what they said, but it is not what Senator Kerry and Senator Edwards would say, and they do not approve of some of the remarks made."
The performance, which overshadowed appearances by stars ranging from hip-hop idol Wyclef Jean to actor Paul Newman, highlighted the awkward mix of strait-laced politicians and the volatile artists they routinely court.
Paul Newman took off on his fiscal policies, saying, "I think that tax cuts for worried, wealthy thugs like me are borderline criminal," and the notion they produce trickle-down benefits for the poor is "rubbish."
Actress Jessica Lange branded the Bush administration "a self-serving regime of deceit, hypocrisy and belligerence," while comic Chevy Chase heaped scorn on Bush's intellect: "This guy is as bright as an egg-timer."
Also on the bill were rockers Jon Bon Jovi, the Dave Matthews Band and John Fogerty, singer John Mellencamp, hip hop artist Mary J. Blige, comic John Leguizamo, and actresses Meryl Streep and Sarah Jessica Parker.
Kerry spokeswoman Allison Dobson said the concert brought in 7.5 million dollars, surpassing the 6.8 million dollars raked in with a similar event in Los Angeles two weeks ago.
The candidates and their wives addressed the gathering Thursday with their standard stump speech before closing with a sing-a-long version of "This Land is My Land," Kerry strumming along somewhat awkwardly on a guitar.