Wow—that woman can wail!

By Jennifer J. Foster

You’ve probably heard about it, so why not see it for yourself—the 47-year-old, supposedly-never-been-kissed, Elaine Paige-wannabe who delivered one of the biggest vocal surprises in the history of television talent shows.

It will put a smile on your face—and, perhaps, tears in your eyes.

See also:

Paige singing the same famous song her No. 1 fan knocked out of the park. Compare the two. Whose voice do you favor?

Worst idea ever?

By Jennifer J. Foster

From the Associated Press, something for the This-Might-Be-The-Worst-Idea-Ever file:

NBC says it wants (former Illinois Gov. Rod) Blagojevich, who pleaded not guilty to federal racketeering and fraud charges Tuesday, to appear on its upcoming show “I’m a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here!“

A network statement says 10 celebrities will be dropped into the Costa Rican jungle “to face challenges designed to test their skills in adapting to the wilderness.“

... An attorney close to his legal defense says Blagojevich is seeking permission from a judge to leave the country to appear on the show.

The lawyer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the plan was confidential, says Blagojevich could tape the show in June if given permission.

Oh. My. Gosh.

Rod Blagojevich, reality star?

What a slap in the face to the people of Illinois.

NBC must be reeling more than we thought since the loss of “ER.“

Well, on the bright side, if the judge denies Blago permission to leave the country for the show, NBC might still have an opportunity to use him in a domestic version of “Get Me Out of Here!“

They’ll just have to wait a while for him to settle in to his new digs in a federal penitentiary.

Rematch

By Jennifer J. Foster

Josh Segall made it official yesterday: He’s going to make another run at unseating U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers in Alabama’s Third Congressional District next year.

Segall’s web site hasn’t been updated yet, so his news release isn’t on it, but you can read it over at the Parlor.

There are two schools of thought on Segall, Part Deux: One group believes he’ll get over the top this time since he came within single digits last year, even though he raised nearly $1 million and organized his campaign on an abbreviated schedule. Getting in the race in April 2009 assures that he won’t have any shortage of time this time around, and you have to believe that with more time to campaign, he’ll hold more events ... which will lead to more funds ... which will lead to more ads ...

The other camp believes that Segall had everything going for him in 2008—A popular Democratic presidential nominee that was mobilizing voters, especially black voters, in a way never before seen in American politics, a backlash against the Republican Party and a foundering economy, among others—and that if he couldn’t convert then, 2010 won’t get him any closer.

There is a measure of truth in both camps, but this race will be impacted in large part by Obama’s leadership over the next 18 months. As I’ve mentioned here before, midterm elections aren’t traditionally good for the party in the White House. The unprecedented nature of the economic crisis has the potential to either turn that trend on its head or exacerbate it, and it all depends on how the country views the president’s approach to the problem and the results he’s getting from his efforts.

And Segall will have to figure out how to run with Obama in office. It was easy enough last year to hammer away at the unpopular Republican president in the midst of the gathering economic storm clouds, the precipitous decline of the stock market and the massive federal bailout package that was passed in September. But with his party’s political leader in the White House, the tightrope-walking that Segall did last year in distancing himself from some of the policies of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi may turn out to have been good practice for 2010.

Segall says he’ll be staffing up over the next few weeks, but the major issues of this campaign are already shaping up to echo that of the 2008 showdown: Jobs, economic development and the economy. The district’s latest plant closure is in our backyard: Opelika learned Monday that its BF Goodrich facility, which employs 1,035 people, will close by Oct. 31.

I sat in on the editorial interview Segall did with the Opelika-Auburn News last fall. He was at his very best when talking about his ideas for economic development and how infrastructure literally paves the way (no pun intended) for jobs. His passion for this issue is evident, and he’s going to come at Rogers full force on it again.

It will be interesting to watch what Rogers does over the next 12 months and what he’s able to secure for his district in terms of infrastructure funding. Given his frosty relationship with Pelosi, he has more than an uphill battle ahead.

See also:

Last fall, I blogged a three-part series about the editorial endorsement process involving Rogers and Segall:

Mike Rogers unplugged, from Oct. 26

Josh Segall unplugged, from Oct. 26

Musings on Rogers-Segall, from Oct. 30