In his first interview since conceding the presidential election, John McCain said Tuesday that Sarah Palin did not damage his presidential bid and he dismissed anonymous criticism aimed at her following their crushing defeat.
“I’m so proud of her and I’m very grateful she agreed to run with me. She inspired people, she still does, I couldn’t be happier with Sarah Palin.”
In an interview that mingled flashes of humor with political analysis, McCain did little to deflect responsibility from himself. He alluded to the difficult political environment for Republicans nationwide and conceded, “I could tell you a lot of things that we may have made mistakes on.” He never listed them.
“So, that’s the way it is,” he added.
Asked by Leno to address griping about Palin from unidentified McCain operatives in the days following the election, the Arizona senator said, “These things happen in campaigns.
“I think I have at least a thousand, quote, top advisers,” he scoffed. “A top adviser said? … I’ve never even heard of … a top adviser or a high-ranking Republican official.”
Unlike Sarah Palin, there will be no $150 000 shopping sprees for Michelle Obama.
During last night’s installment of the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, the wife of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama revealed,
“Actually, this is a J. Crew ensemble. You can get some good stuff online!”
Probed by Leno about Wardrobegate, Michelle said that she and her hubby have a policy of spending their own money on their clothes. Nonetheless, she was rather empathetic towards Sarah Palin.
“A V.P. pick, it’s like being shot out of a cannon. All of a sudden you’re at the center of attention, and you want to look good. You’re living in your home, minding your business, and all of a sudden you’re on the national stage and everyone’s watching.”
When given an opportunity to slam Palin, Michelle effortlessly took the high road.
Rumer Willis used to hate her name. The daughter of Demi Moore and Bruce Willis said that when she was 12, she realized she “got screwed.”
“My sisters, Scout and Talullah, had cute nicknames.
When I was 12 and had crushes on guys, I’d put my first name with their last name, but it never sounded right.
Rumer Depp? Nope.
In school, kids would sing, ‘Rumer, Rumer with a big hairy tumor.’”
She also says she was shocked to be named one of People’s 100 Most Beautiful People this year:
“After being compared to Jay Leno for so long, you don’t think of yourself in that way.”
Rumer is happy to let gossips spread false rumors she is gay, because it gives her something to laugh about. The single actress insists she is most definitely not a lesbian, but isn’t threatened by the suggestions she prefers girls to boys.
“If people call me a lesbian because I have short hair and I wear jeans instead of dresses, then by all means run with it. I think it’s hilarious. I like guys.”
Poor potato head. A lesbian with Jay Leno’s chin — not a good combo.
Fame and fortune doesn’t necessarily always turn celebrities into financial fools. While frugality may not be the biggest Hollywood trend, there are a few celebrities who can pinch a penny with the best of us — and we’re not just talking about getting snapped by the paparazzi stocking up on party munchies at Costco every once in a while.
Eva Longoria
The Frugal Facts: Her wedding in 2007 reportedly cost $1.5 million, but this ‘Desperate Housewives’ star still scored a lot of freebies to give to her 200 guests: Van Cleef & Arpel 18K yellow gold charm bracelets, and L’Oreal, Cole Haan, and Bebe products were a few. She says the frugal gene runs in her family, explaining that her dad would take her and her three siblings camping with no food. “He would tell us that we could live off the land. I can skin a deer, a pig, a snake … ”
Tyra Banks
The Frugal Facts: Despite a fortune estimated at $75 million, this 34-year-old is an avowed penny pincher. “I am frugal,” she said in a June 1 ‘New York Times Magazine’ profile. “I’ve always been this way. When I was young, my mom would give me my allowance, and I’d peel off a little each week and have some to spare. ” Banks’s culinary tastes runs toward Cheesecake Factory, and is known to stock up on hotel soap.
Sarah Jessica Parker
The Frugal Facts: Contrary to Parker’s character in ‘Sex and the City,’ the 43-year-old isn’t such a slave to fashion. In fact, she used to get sick from buyer’s remorse and return items the next day. Explaining that her family went through a time when they were on welfare, Parker says of her son, “Just because mommy and daddy are rich and famous, that doesn’t mean he should ride the gravy train through life … I want [James] to be normal.”
Mick Jagger
The Frugal Facts: Jagger reportedly pulled out of buying a painting by bandmate Ron Wood because the $140,000 price tag “scared him off.” His ex-wife, model Jerry Hall, complained, “He always wanted me to pay for everything to do with the house and the children. He’s generous with gifts and presents, but yeah, he’s pretty tight with the day-to-day stuff.” He explains that he was taught as a child to be frugal: “We don’t like to throw computers away as soon as they don’t work — apart from out of the window in frustration. We like cars to be repaired instead of junked.”
Paul McCartney
The Frugal Facts: Paul McCartney is worth more than $1 billion, but he’s not likely to advertise it. At a birthday party for his ex-wife, he made the guests pay for their drinks. Even his fashion designer daughter, Stella, reportedly called him “a tight bastard” for sending her and her three siblings to local state schools rather than posh private ones. Nor is he resting on his investments.
Tobey Maguire
The Frugal Facts: Even after his price jumped up to $26 million a picture thanks to three ‘Spider Man’ mega-hits, Maguire is usually snapped wearing lived-in t-shirts and jeans. “You know those Lotto winners, who win big and blow through all that money? That would never happen to me,” says Maguire, who credits his poverty-stricken childhood as the impetus for his quest for financial security. “I just never wanted to put myself in the position where my spending was so huge that I had to keep making movie after movie.”
Halle Berry
The Frugal Facts: Halle Berry can make a fashion designer millions simply by wearing a gown on a red carpet. After all, she’s one of the world’s most photographed women. Still, this fashion icon would sooner hit the sales racks than fly to Paris for a couture fitting. Berry, whose mom struggled to raise her and her older sister after their father walked out when she was four, is an unabashed saver. “I am pretty frugal,” say the twice-divorced Oscar winner and new mom. “I save a lot because I’m always worried about when this trip is going to stop. So I’m saving for that day so I can have a life that is secure and comfortable.”
Jay Leno
The Frugal Facts: Despite his huge fortune, the only flashy thing about Leno is his collection of cars and motorcycles. “When I was a kid … I had one job which the money went in the bank and the other job that I lived off of,” he said in 2004. “I still do that to this day. I have yet to touch a dime of my Tonight Show salary. I live off the money I make as a comedian … Maybe it comes from having parents who grew up during the Depression.” Yet, While Conan O’Brien offered to cover the salaries of pink-slipped staffers during the writers’ strike, Leno only did so after being shamed by all the bad press.
Sarah Michelle Gellar
The Frugal Facts: Growing up, money was tight at Sarah Michelle Gellar’s house, especially when her dad walked out she was just six. Now after soap opera and movie fame, the New York native remains careful about her money. “I take my reusable bag to Whole Foods so I get a discount,” Sarah told Self magazine in 2007. “I go to Bloomingdale’s on double reward days. And I always print my dry cleaning coupons before I go. The main thing I want to do is make sure that I can take care of myself and my mother,” she said in 2000.
Leonardo DiCaprio
The Frugal Facts: Other than shelling out $2.5 million for an island near Belize in 2005, the environmental activist tends to live on the cheap. “I don’t pay lavish expenses,” he has said. “I don’t fly private jets. I still have only one car, and that’s a Toyota Prius. I don’t spend money on a lot. Money is very important to me because it allows me the freedom to choose what I want to do as an actor and most importantly because I want to accumulate enough so that one day I can do something really great and beneficial for other people, for the environment or for children.”
“My sisters, Scout and Talullah, had cute nicknames. 
