Politex

Bush relives his 9/11 experience tonight in cable interview

Prepare to be inundated with television specials recounting the horrors of Sept. 11, 2001 and how the terrorist attacks that day and the wars they spawned have changed America and the world.

One of the biggest figures in 9/11 history -- former President George W. Bush -- hasn't had a lot to say publicly about the anniversary, and turned down interview requests with the Star-Telegram and countless other media organizations. His most extensive remarks come in an exclusive documentary interview that will air at 9 p.m. CDT tonight on the National Geographic Channel.

One memorable quote from the former Texas governor and current resident of Dallas: "It became apparent we were facing a new kind of enemy. This is what war was like in the 21st century."

Declares Bush: "Sept. 11 is a monumental day in our nation's history, a significant day, and it obviously changed my presidency. I went from being a president that was primarily focused on domestic issues to a wartime president. It's something I never anticipated nor something I ever wanted to be."

-- John Gravois

Perry's answer on "evolution" draws fact checks

Gov. Rick Perry's answer to a child's question about evolution has drawn another round of national parsing of the presidential candidate's statement.

At the urging of his mother, a young boy asked Perry's views on evolution.

"Here your mom was asking about evolution, and you know it's a theory that's out there, and it's got some gaps in it," Perry said, according to ABC News. "In Texas, we teach both creationism and evolution in our public schools — because I figure you're smart enough to figure out which one is right."

Perry's response drew swift reaction from education officials and legal analysts in Texas, who were quick to point out that Texas public schools do not teach creationism.

The researchers over at PolitiFact Texas looked into the issue and rated Perry's statement as "False."

A Perry spokesperson told Politifact Texas that creationism likely comes up when students analyze the theory of evolution in the classroom.

Fellow presidential candidate Jon Huntsman decided to ding Perry a bit for the remark along with Perry's suggestion earlier in the week that global warming was based on manipulated data.

Tweeted Huntsman: "To be clear. I believe in evolution and trust scientists on global warming. Call me crazy."

Here's the video of Perry's exchange with the child:

 

-Aman Batheja

 

Watch Jon Stewart's interview with Rick Perry

The Daily Show has posted the complete, unedited interview Jon Stewart conducted last night with Gov. Rick Perry.

Watch Perry and Stewart engage in a lively debate about the culture of Washington, the New Deal and the Articles of Confederation.

 

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Exclusive - Rick Perry Extended Interview
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Rally to Restore Sanity

Politex playlist: 2010 Texas primary edition

 In today's Star-Telegram, we took a look at the music Texas candidates have incorporated into campaign videos posted on YouTube.

We've compiled some of the songs used by the campaigns (and one supporter) to create a Texas primary playlist.

Candidates would usually pay high licensing fees to use these songs in television commercials. Yet for videos posted only online, Texas campaigns rarely solicited the permission of the artists or copyright holders before posting the videos.

Campaigns we spoke to cited “fair use” laws in some cases. In other cases (Tracks 1, 2, and 6), the copyright owner appears to have given tacit permission by taking advantage of a YouTube program that allows them to sell an ad for the song via the candidate's video.

The full track listing is after the jump:

Speculation has Bush home on high-end Dallas cul-de-sac

D Magazine's "DallasDirt" real estate blog offers a compelling case for the location of the post-White House home of President and Mrs. Bush.

From the blog: "On October 1, Robert A. McCleskey bought a home at 10141 Daria Place. McCleskey is the Bushes’ Midland accountant and good friend of the First Couple.

"Daria Place is a sweet, leafy cul de sac off Daria Drive, which is off Meaders, in Preston Hollow, and across from Pershing Elementary School. (Read: uber safe.)"

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Celebrities getting out the vote on YouTube

Don't vote ... actually do.

That's what Leonardo DiCaprio to Sarah Silverman to will.i.am are saying in a public service announcement posted on the Internet on Wednesday.

"I mean, seriously, ... after this whole video — if you're not gonna vote, I don't even know what to say. ... You know you have to vote," Dicaprio says in the video.

The stars encourage viewers to find voting information online using Google Maps' voting information feature and then send the video to five friends.

The 4:45-long video posted on YouTube and other video-sharing Web sites has received just short of 1,000,000 hits if you combine the view count for the official censored and uncensored versions.

The video was produced by DiCaprio's production company and includes 27 celebrities

It's almost as star studded as will.i.am and Jesse Dylan's "Yes We Can" video posted earlier this year. The official version of that video on YouTube has received more than 10,000,000 hits since it was posted in February.

Check it out below. They've also posted an uncensored version here.



-- Andrew Chavez

That Palin Wink

I love You Tube, and among the takeaways from last night was Gov. Palin's wink. Apparently there's a country-western song about winking that fits the bill.

- Kristin Sullivan