A moment occurred in the nation today as Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States. That moment reaffirmed the promise of the greatest nation on Earth : that anyone can achieve their dreams if they are willing to work for it. And Jesse Watters and I were fortunate enough among the throngs of the estimated 2 million Americans who turned out to brave the cold.

We were positioned in the crowd that surrounded the Washington Monument and we stood elbow-to-elbow with people of all ages, colors, backgrounds and religious persuasions. For a little perspective, it’s exactly one mile from the Monument to the Capitol – and the crowds flowed well beyond there and all the way to the Lincoln Memorial.

It is my observation, from the bleacher seats if you will, (although no one actually sat at any point), that the real story today wasn’t as much about our new President Barack Obama, but more so the crowd that turned out. They were unprecedented in numbers, jubilant in spirit and as diverse as any political crowd the country has ever seen. The came peaceably and they left immediately at the conclusion of President Obama’s Address.

It wasn’t an overly emotional moment – only a few people were moved to tears around us. But it was a powerful moment as the racial, political and generational shift in America occurred and history was made.

Click here for more EXCLUSIVE FOX Fan features on Inauguration 2009!

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Want to know what it’s really like here in Washington during this year’s historical 56th Annual Inauguration? It’s a PARTY!

Seriously, I’m not joking – the traffic is horrendous, Starbucks is overcrowded and it’s as frigid as the Antarctic… but everyone is deleriously HAPPY!

Jesse Watters and I were dispatched on the streets of Washington this week to cover all of the balls, parties and cultural events and one common thread is constant: the nation’s capital is electrified as Barack Obama assumes the Presidency. We have yet to meet anyone who has a negative thing to say, or express parting shots at President Bush as he leaves office. We’ve been to star-studded events and talked to folks like Jessica Alba, Jamie Foxx, Wyclef Jean, Hayden Panettiere and George Clinton of the P Funk All Stars. And perhaps, the King of Funk, put is best last night at the Aloha Ball when he told me, “Everybody’s in a groove, man. Gotta keep the funk flowing!”

I guess you could say, it’s about as close as you can come to bringing Rio to Washington!

Click here for more EXCLUSIVE FOX Fan features on Inauguration 2009!

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It’s coming…  Are YOU ready?!

Some two million plus folks are coming from all over the country to descend on the Nation’s Capital. Bridges are closing and authorities are telling people to plan to walk, wait and endure general hair-pulling lines at security check points.

But will it be worth the hassles?

You BETCHA! After all, this is not only one of the most historical inaugurations in history, but also a moment in time that I will enjoy telling my children and grandchildren about some day.

So how does one prepare to survive the headaches and chaos and truly enjoy this magnificent opportunity?

You have to get into… your ALOHA mode!

I’ll secretly confess that of all the balls that I am invited to attend as a reporter for FOX News, the Aloha Ball may be the winner!

For starters, it’s 11 degrees outside today, so wearing my best Hawaiian shirt with my tuxedo and a lei may be a mental boost alone! But more than that, it’s a first-ever Aloha Ball that seeks to celebrate the music, food and culture that shaped President Elect Obama’s youth. (And the legendary George Clinton and the P Funk All Stars will be there!)

Event organizer Skip Kelly told me a few days ago, “Barack may have learned his sharp political elbows in Chicago… but you know that calm and cool demeanor that he possesses? That’s his ALOHA spirit.”

If you want to read more — or even attempt a last minute effort at attending this one, go to www.alohaball.org. So bring on the snarling traffic, lost and confused masses, and general chaos…  I’m ready — I’m in my Aloha State of Mind!

Mahalo!

Keep checking back for more Inauguration 2009 features!

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Resolution Time, people! With the New Year upon us, it’s time to kick that bad habit, trim those love handles, get into great shape or start saving some money for the economic storm clouds that continue to haunt us!

Let’s go to the numbers: Truth is that most of us DO make New Year Resolutions… only to ultimately break them! In fact, more than 30% of us break our personal improvement vows within SEVEN DAYS. More than 80% of us have fallen off the horse by Jan 31st. And by year’s end… well, only 3% of us kept their resolutions.

So that means that 97% us prefer:  a)  pizza, nachos and Twinkies over broccoli and rice cakes; b) sleeping late and playing video games over physical exertion and sweating; and c) nice clothes, cars and houses over a life at Walden Pond.

But that didn’t stop me from heading down to Times Square to ask folks what their resolutions are for 2009. It was so entertaining… we made a second clip for you too! Check ‘em out!

Good Luck. Go Forth. And remember the wisdom of Rudyard Kipling (as not quoted by IL Gov Blagojevich) – “Today is the opening verse on the opening page of the chapter of endless possibilites!”

Happy New Year — and BE SURE TO TUNE INTO FOX NEWS CHANNEL’S UPARTY 2009. I’ll be there — with some NEVER BEFORE SEEN Hot Pants!

Also – text us YOUR New Year’s Message to scroll on the FNC Ticker to: “36288″ and type “Utext (space) Your Msg” in the message area!

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In his quite funny latest HBO special, Chris Rock had this one-liner:

“John McCain is 72… When was the last time you hired a 72-year old for ANYTHING?!!”

Now, to be fair, John McCain has proven his toughness and even poked a little self-deprecating fun at himself on SNL several months ago claiming on the show that he had the “oldness” neccessary to be President…

Yet the question continues to be posed to me in private by people… Some as recent as yesterday, asking about the senator’s age as a factor in this election…

Well today, I saw this video!

Ken Mink is a 73 year-old retiree, full-time college student and member of the Roane State Community College who’s still got game!

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Before Oliver Stone’s new film “W.” opened, I had an opportunity to spend “An evening with Oliver Stone” at the New Yorker Festival discussing his new movie.  It was moderated by New Yorker film critic David Denby ala James Lipton-style.  A few questions were taken from the audience after 3 clips of the new film were shown.  A clip from his film Nixon was shown first.

Here were some highlights that struck me as interesting…
1. Stone said that this film was “too risky for any American companies” and that “over 55% of the financing came from Chinese investors who “wanted this film out before the election.”

2. Stone acknowledged in his remarks that there was no basis for many of the scenes or notes of any kind… so this is just the way he imagined it went down.

3. Stone compared George W. Bush to John Wayne; called him a “cowboy” and said “maybe his wife knows who he is, but we don’t…” (an apparent no-so-veiled slight, although personally, I kind of liked John Wayne!)

4. Stone made the case (and the reason we saw a Nixon clip first) that while Nixon knew what he was doing in Vietnam was for political reasons, but still went forward with a heavy conscience, President Bush on the other hand, is in denial about everything and feels no guilt about his actions.

So from what I saw in the three scenes (particularly the last one which is a depiction of the decision being made to go to war with Powell, Rumsfeld, Cheney, Rove, etc,) Stone seems to lampoon President Bush so far beyond an even plausible level of belief that not only is this likely to bomb in the theaters, but he may also be at risk of no longer being a legitimate filmmaker.  He does little more than prove that he is among the most severely affected Americans suffering from Bush Derangement Syndrome.

So I went up to him after the program and simply asked him if he really “hates Bush?” (he said in an interview with the Times of London that he ‘had to step above his hate’ to make the film) and Stone refuses to answer my “pointed” question.

Take a look…

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Welcome to FOX News’ FIRST ANNUAL Liveblogging of the Emmys!

I’m joined by FOX News’ Entertainent Correspondent Jill Dobson who’s keeping me honest on the fashion and bling and stars… and helping me understand the whole affair!

And I have my “secret spy” INSIDE the Emmys — her codename henceforth will be: Peg-Leg. (She has a broken leg) She’ll be texting me with on the scene color… and giving us the real scoop.

We also have my keen observer and critical eye friend who we shall call: Anonymous, or to be hip, Anon for short! You can expect Anon to be a bit forthright in their analysis. Anon has already dubbed the Red Carpet walkway “the deadzone” because it’s full of these people who act like stars, but no one knows who the heck they are… and the Red Carpet watchers out there don’t know what to do with them!

Here’s my first observation…

6:55p: Ryan Seacrest on E just said he was told NOT to mention the name “Palin” tonight. Wow… really?!!

7:12p I just tuned into the Emmy’s pre-game show on ABC which is Jimmy Kimmel’s special… And I see Olympic Swimmer Michael Phelps talking about being on some popular show “Grey’s Anatomy.” So that’s interesting… Going back to monitor the Red Carpet… I’ve only been doing this 12 mins and I already understand the big picture: it’s ALL about the Red Carpet, baby!

7:18p JILL DOBSON says: “Turns out Michael Phelps is joking about being on Grey’s Anatomy. Whew!”

7:23p I’m slipping into my own RED CARPET TUX for a live hit on Fox Report in 20 Mins — tune in and check out my Emmys Tie!!

7:24p JILL DOBSON writes: “Why is the Jimmy Kimmel special using the patented Barbara Walters hazy shot? I can’t even see the celebrities!”

7:41p JILL DOBSON writes: “Lisa Rinna from TV Guide Channel looks great in her Reem Acra gown. Aside from Lisa, I’ve made my list of the best and worst dressed already, but it won’t be posted until photos are available. Hold your breath, FOX (fashion) fans!”

7:52p JILL DOBSON says: “Just watched a Griff Jenkins liveshot on Fox News Channel. Now that is the clear picture I was looking for! And, of course, another great — and funny — report from Griff!” (Thanks, Jill)

7:57p JILL DOBSON writes: “I just looked at some FOX audience comments in response to my earlier Emmy blog — looks like the FOX fans have some very interesting opinions on the awards and the stars. I think Griff will be keeping an eye on the very issues that concern you. I, in the meantime, will bore you with my fashion drivel — haha!!

8:00p It’s ON and Oprah’s taking the stage… Here we go!

8:02p JILL DOBSON writes: “Oprah’s intro wasn’t too exciting. What was the point? I know she’s a superstar, but she gave an extremely average opening, at the best. Anyone have any insight as to why she was even there?”

8:03p WOW!! Oprah did NOT mention Barack Obama. Kudos to her for not going political in the opening… I stand corrected in thinking she would. Now we have the Reality Quintuplet Hosts up on stage… they aren’t Oprah!

8:05p Howie Mandel says “we are on Sarah Palin’s bridge to nowhere.” Hmmm… that wasn’t very fair!

8:08p Tina Fey and Amy Poehler presenting Outstanding Supporting Actor in a comedy series… Goes to Jeremy Piven of “Entourage.” No Palin jokes… shocker!

8:09p JILL DOBSON writes: “The first striptease of the night comes from Heidi Klum, whom I recently interviewed for this very blog! Check it out! >>

8:11p JILL DOBSON writes: “The first Emmy of the night goes to Jeremy Piven, whom I recently interviewed for this very blog — check it out! >>

I’m starting to feel pretty good about my research right about now — let’s see how many of the nominees/winners/hosts I’ve personally interviewed. I’m going to start counting right now! Do I sound like a hard-worker or a name-dropper? I’m aiming for hard-worker!”

8:16p Julia Louis Dreyfus looks gorgeous presenting something… but (and don’t get mad at me here) what the HECK is that triangle cut out section in her dress?? Does she have kids? Was she cutting out paper snowmen and didn’t realize it was cutting her dress?! Um… someone shoulda told her!

8:21p Some woman (Jean Smart?) I’ve never heard of (although she’s won Emmy’s before apparently) just took the Emmy’s world record for thanking the most number of people she could rattle off before they wrapped her… only thing she left out was the neighbor’s dog… and me and Jill!

8:22p JILL DOBSON writes: “Jean Smart looks AMAZING in her black dress — and actually succeeded in making a funny joke (referencing Klum’s striptease) during her acceptance speech for Supporting Actress in a Comedy.”

8:29p Some dude named Zelko just won Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for some show I’ve never heard of (“damages”)… Zelko! What a kool name!

*** NOTE: If you are frustrated with the spacing issues on running blog — that’s yours truly! Bear with me while I figure it out!!

8:32p JILL DOBSON writes: “Zeljko Ivanek, the man who played Ray Fiske on ‘Damages,’ was AMAZING and he just won a much-deserved Emmy for his role. For those of you who haven’t seen this show, you MUST get the DVD and check out Season 1 asap, before Season 2 airs — it’s a great, great, great show. Spoiler alert: Greta Van Susteren actually appeared on a couple of episodes. I was soooo jealous of her!!”

8:36p JILL DOBSON writes: “My best/worst dressed list just got posted. Scroll down to see — it’s right below this blog! Thanks to Amanda Manno on the web team for finding the perfect photo of my Best Dressed winner!”

8:42p Okay… update: I can’t win against the “space stealers!” There is apparently a very evil spaces troll living in this blog and eats spaces… and seems VERY hungry at the moment! Sorry!!

8:47p Steven Colbert wins for comedy writing… very sweet and gracious acceptance, thanks cute wife and daughter… NO politics from him?! Wow… what’s going on?

8:55p WHAM!!! Now the Bush bashing comes from… Tommy Smothers of the Smothers Brothers?! What an unlikely zinger… The guy’s lucky anyone in the Nokia Theatre even remembers him and gives him an award for 1968 and he shows his gratitude by referring to President Bush and the war in Iraq as “ignorance in action.:” No thanks, Tommy. Give me Hee Haw!

9:04p JILL DOBSON writes:”I love Josh Groban — so talented — it’s cool that he’s singing all my favorite TV theme songs! He can do it all!”

9:06p Man, that Josh Groban rocked the house singing all those teevee themes!! Best moment of the night so far… ALMOST as kool as Greta Van Susteren’s guest appearances on “Damages!!” If you haven’t seen those, you gotta look them up!! Greta should be up there accepting an award for BEST Guest Star Appearance…

9:15p I was such a fan of HBO’s Mini-Series “John Adams” (and still am!) but Laura Linney gets up there and knocks Palin at the end of a nice speech referring to the country being founded on “community organizers.” All in all, hasnt been too political so far…

9:18p JILL DOBSON writes: “I would like to thank the Academy… for making me feel young. I have absolutely no idea what that ‘Laugh In’ sketch was. Was that a real show? Did people find it funny?”

9:22p SOCK THAT FOXNEWS.COM ALERT TO ME: The Emmys producers watch Bret Baier’s “Strategy Room!!” How do I know that you ask?

I did a pkg featuring Nixon saying “sock it to me” (then I did it too) at the end of my tag in which I had glitter thrown from a bucket in my face on the air… clearly they’re stealing my thunder doing a montage of Sock it Me bits with stars!!

9:29p There’s that star from Laguna Beach – Lauren Conrad – or “LC” if you’re in the know! I feel so bad for that young male actor who’s standing next to her — ain’t a single eyeball in America on you, pal. You might as well just let her take over, stand there and smile!

9:32p Shocker: Martin Sheen is making a political statement on an awards show… how predictable.

Did Josh Groban leave the Nokia Theatre? Can he come back and take over?? Oprah, you still backstage?! And where have the 5 Reality TV hosts gone?! Did one get voted off the Nokia island? I say give Klum immunity and BOOT Mandel!

9:44p And the Emmy goes to… Hannity and Colmes for most ridiculous insult given by 2 of the Emmy’s Reality TV Hosts. Tom Bergeron says to Ryan Seacrest something about the “2 funniest men in show business” and Seacrest answers, “Hannity and Colmes?” To which Bergeron says, “no I meant intentionally being funny” and Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart came out on stage… the sound of crickets filled the theatre!

9:55p Okay, so after almost two hours of this stuff I begin to wonder if my source INSIDE the Nokia, Peg Leg, has abandoned me. Apparently, there is a cell phone/blackberry issue and she may not be able to keep me up to date… (which translates to: I am having an awesome time partying with Hollywood Stars and lost interest in being your girl at the Emmys!) Thanks, Peg Leg. We’re not even IN L.A. and we’re getting the Hollywood treatment!

9:57p Kathy Griffin makes a crack at McCain-Palin standing next to Don Rickles… boring! Griffin then gets a case of the giggles and can’t stop… kinda awkward.

10:00p JILL DOBSON writes: “I loved watching Kathy Griffin try to follow the script while Don Rickles insists on improvising. So awkward and uncomfortable and therefore amusing.”

10:01p JILL DOBSON writes: “The Amazing Race beats American Idol again??? How does this keep happening? I don’t know one person who watches Amazing Race. And EVERYONE I know watches Idol!”

10:08p Doogie Howser is giving an award now… He looks very good and all growed up. What does he do now… (Hand reaching for remote control. Hands on remote control, fingers playing with numbers button… FOCUS, Jenkins! My mind is wandering because the boring dullness factor is setting in…)

10:13p My wife just pinged me and said she’s going to bed. That’s HUGE, people. She LIVES for awards shows… Maybe it’s the confusing 5 Hosts thing?

10:17p The writer from that show “Mad Men” just won an Emmy for writing. That’s a pretty kool show… it’s a bunch of Ad firm guys in the 60s who do business over Martinis at lunch.

10:18p Dobson, where’d you go? Did you fall asleep too?? OH NO!! IF I am the sole remaining survivor ( Peg Leg left me fast, my wife went to bed and Dobson’s gone awol) blogging this awards show for you folks…

10:20p JILL DOBSON writes: “Mad Men writer Matthew Weiner pretends to forget the name of one of his children. Funny! PS — I’m getting exhausted sprinting from my desktop computer and back to my TV again and again tonight. Who knew blogging could provide a form of exercise?”

10:34p THERE you are!! Whew!!

10:24p Paul Giamatti was AWESOME in “John Adams.” So glad he won… and decided to wear a pair of my glasses up on stage to accept the award. Okay, Paul. Now you got the Emmy. Please send my extra pair of glasses back to me. Thanks!

10:26p JILL DOBSON writes: “Alec Baldwin finally wins an Emmy — and accepts without causing a scandal! Emmy history!”

10:27p JILL DOBSON writes: “Glenn Close — yay! I predicted her in a blog I posted this afternoon. So I’m a winner, too! Double yay!”

10:28p HAHAHAHAHA!!! Jill is absolutely right — the Emmy’s MOMENT of the night WAS Baldwin not making an embarrassment of himself!!

10:34p In Memoriam shows Tim Russert among many others who have saldy left us this year… but leaves my buddy Tony Snow out… How Sad!!!

10:39p JILL DOBSON writes: “Bryan Cranston’s win for Best Actor in a Drama is a huge surprise! Wow. His previous nominations were all in the comedy category – for ‘Malcom in the Middle.’ Just about everyone was expecting Jon Hamm from ‘Mad Men’ to win, or our old favorite, Hugh Laurie.”

10:40p JILL DOBSON writes: “Another win for Tina Fey. She is on fire lately!”

10:46p JILL DOBSON writes: Quote of the night goes to Tina Fey for saying, “I want to thank my parents for somehow raising me to have confidence that is disproportionate to my looks and abilities. Well done.”

10:47p Agreed. I thought Tina might be snarkier…

10:49p Jeff Probst wins for best Reality Host – guess he’s the last survivor standing… Wonder who’d win if you put McCain, Palin, Obama and Biden in the South Pacific on a special presidential “Survivor?”

10:54p 30 Rock wins best comedy award — and yet another tonight for the show. I’m going to have to tune in and check this show out!

10:54p JILL DOBSON writes: “Why didn’t Ryan win? Jeff Probst got best host instead. Ryan Seacrest hosts a LIVE show with 30+ million viewers and NEVER MAKES A MISTAKE. As someone who works in LIVE television, I realize that it isn’t easy to be that smooth. All the host nominees are talented, but I really expected Ryan to win this one.”

10:56p Mad Men won the LAST and FINAL award — what a big honor for the smaller network AMC who airs the show. Gotta love it when the little guy wins big!

10:59p As they say in show biz, “that’s a wrap, folks!” Many thanks for tuning in here and hanging with us during the Emmys liveblog. Thanks to FNC Entertainment Correspondent Jill Dobson who did a great job giving us some tinsel-town insight on the awards.

And I leave with you with the famous words of Neil Young… Keep on Rockin’ in the Free World, folks!

11:01p JILL DOBSON writes: I warned you earlier that in the interest of illustrating my hard work as Fox Entertainment Correspondent, I’d count all the presenters, performers and nominees of the 2008 Emmy awards that I have personally interviewed for FOX News.

Here they are:

Ryan Seacrest, Heidi Klum, Jeremy Piven, Steve Carell, Josh Groban, Laura Linney, Phylicia Rashad, Lauren Conrad (Griff’s favorite star!), Tina Fey, Tom Wilkinson, Steven Colbert, Neil Patrick Harris, Cynthia Nixon, and Hugh Laurie… quite a list, right? And I’m not trying to name-drop, I swear, this is just so my bosses know how hard I’ve been working!

Have a good night! Thanks for visiting the first annual Emmy blog! Nice working with you, Griff!

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AP

Got no plans Sunday evening?

Are you one of those people who dread SUNDAY night because the weekend fun has come and gone?!

FEAR NOT… I will be LIVEBLOGGING the 60th Annual Emmys THIS SUNDAY NIGHT AT 8P ET RIGHT HERE ON THIS BLOG!!!!

WHY would you want to do such a thing, you ask?

(Besides the obvious reasons: 1. Nothing beats Hollywood stars making ill-informed political statements at live award shows with snarky correspondents responding in kind; 2. My liveblogging prose reads like a modern day Shakespeare)

I give you THREE Reasons to join me:

1. The EMMY Statuette. What the heck is that thing?

I mean, I get the Oscars statue. It’s a knight-looking dude named Oscar holding a sword standing on a film reel. But WHAT is that EMMY thing supposed to be? And what is it holding?!

It looks like Flash Gordon’s wife holding up a ball of golden twine that it stole from some cat… but what does THAT have to do with television?!

We need answers!

2. Diddy.

He starred in a made-for-television movie adaptation of A Raisin in the Sun… BUT he wasn’t even nominated for it. So I am [HOPING FOR] [EXPECTING] guessing that there might be some sort of revolution over this egregious oversight… And I will be there LIVEBLOGGING THE MAYHEM through it all!!

3. The Hosts…

ALL FIVE OF THEM!! I was trying to figure out who was hosting this year and learned its a motley quintuple of REALITY TV hosts! Maybe they can vote each other off the Island… I know I’ll be voting them off one by one!

TUNE IN PEOPLE!!

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