It’s “awkward public outbursts by public figures” week! Woo-hoo! We can start with Michael Moore, who always has had a penchant for public stunts and the embarrassment of his foes, and his new movie, Capitalism: A Love Story, is no exception. (Watch the trailer here.) Ted gives us a quick review (more on his blog), pondering the unchecked dangers of a free market system and wondering if Moore gives us a compelling argument for socialism. Maegan and Teresa, well, they’re less on board; they’re sick of Moore’s tactics and believe this new movie will only help fuel the “Obama is a muslim socialist terrorist” meme on the Right. But there’s no stopping that anyway, right? Because it’s the truth, and we all know how fast that travels…

Next up in our hall of fame of rudeness is South Carolina Congressman Joe Wilson, whose outburst during President Obama’s health care speech – “You lie!” – has been roundly criticized. With Wilson’s half-hearted apology and his Democratic challenger raising hundreds of thousands of dollars in its aftermath, this is just another distraction from the real debate. But who cares? It’s a me-centric world, and Joe Wilson’s got a right to get his part of the Reality TV pie!

Oh, and Kanye? Mr. West’s public outburst on stage at MTV’s VMAs this week made for great TV and for an embarrassing moment for everyone involved. Was it staged? Are there no rules of civility in pop culture? (See: MTV’s The Hills.) No matter. What’s more important is that Obama called Kanye a “jackass” (why is this in quotes, MSM? You know what it means, right?) during an off-the-record interview. Well, crap. Can’t Obama speak his mind with a live-mic on? (That did doom a certain California State Senator last week…) Is there even an off-the-record anymore? Can public figures trust anyone these days, or are they doomed to paralyzing total restraint in the fear that someone, somewhere is recording?

Finally, Obama’s doing the full Ginsberg this Sunday, hitting each of the morning talk shows, all except one – Fox News. Boo. Wouldn’t it be better if Obama took questions from a hostile host for once? I’d buy popcorn and watch. But this does seem like a big ol’ case of overexposure; do we need to see Obama so much on TV? What about online? What about through social media? Youtube videos? What’s with the social media snub, Mr. President?

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Wilshire & Washington, the weekly Blog Talk Radio program that explores the intersection of politics, entertainment, and new media, features co-hosts Ted Johnson, Managing Editor of Variety; conservative blogger Teresa Valdez Klein (www.teresacentric.com), and liberal blogger Maegan Carberry (www.maegancarberry.com). The show airs every Wednesday at 7:30am PST on BlogTalkRadio.com.

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“No one wants to play Dr. Mario’s Paperwork Party.” – McSweeney’s wry take on the terrible health care fiasco facing the Mushroom Kingdom.

Why Couldn’t This Have Happened Over A Week Ago? – A sweet remade restaurant in the middle of Hollywood pulls a Luxury Hobo-Night on Mondays. It’s the troublesomely named Cafe Wa s (yes, there’s a space between the “Wa” and the “s”), which features an awesomely bizarre interior and decent French food (I’m still making my mind up on this one).

At this point, to be shocked and appalled by this administration is a rare thing, one we should cherish, or at least allow ourselves to be shocked and appalled in good order.

Today, they did it to me, not because what they did was so clearly wrong, but because of the sheer elegance of their response to the revelations involved. The simple story is that the previous Surgeon General, Dr. Richard Carmona, testified under oath today, saying that the administration had placed pressure on him to weaken or suppress certain public health reports because of political considerations. While it is important to note that previous administrations, namely Reagan and Clinton, did similar things, Carmona claims the actions taken by the current White House are far beyond what was done in the past.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/11/washington/11surgeon.html?hp

The article is one more in a long series of articles we have all seen and gawked at, indicating (as any good journalist will do, without bias, without forethought, just a little bit of steering in the right direction) that this administration cares more about staying in power than it does about the American people. Those are stupid words I just wrote, because they don’t mean anything. They are exactly the same thing as the White House response to this story:

Emily Lawrimore, a White House spokeswoman, said the surgeon general “is the leading voice for the health of all Americans.”

“It’s disappointing to us,” Ms. Lawrimore said, “if he failed to use this position to the fullest extent in advocating for policies he thought were in the best interests of the nation.”

This response is stunning in its beauty, simplicity, and demeanor – even if it is their standard response to this sort of story. It means nothing, carries no weight, bypasses all accusations, assassinates the character of the man involved – a two-time purple heart recipient – and shows us the Bush administration cares deeply about the best interests of the nation. It is rhetoric, and I love it. Words have no loyalty; they serve their master as well as he or she knows how to use them.

The question on my mind: is it possible to be a leader in this country without resorting to this? Does anyone know a political leader out there who understands the power of words? I’m still looking.