After visiting the Darfur region to once again draw some attention to the humanitarian crisis there, George Clooney paid a visit to the White House last night to meet separately with Vice-President Biden and President Obama. His goal, as he told Ann Curry last week, was to seek the appointment of a high-level ambassador from the United States to work out a peace treaty for the region. Guess who walked away from those meetings happy last night? From ABC News,

“They assured me and wanted to assure the rest, whoever else is listening, this is high on their agenda,” the Academy Award-winning actor told reporters following the meetings. “This is a huge policy step for us.” Clooney said that Obama and Biden told him that before the White House can send an envoy, there needs to be a full policy in place on Darfur.

“The vice president informed Mr. Clooney about the Administration’s ongoing review of Sudan policy and welcomed his observations from his trip. The vice president thanked Mr. Clooney for his work on this issue, which he believes is an important contribution to the public’s understanding of the conflict in Darfur,” Biden spokeswoman Elizabeth Alexander said.

Clooney was not scheduled to meet with Obama, but after running into him, the president invited him to sit down and talk in the Oval Office. Clooney said Obama and Biden both said Darfur is one of several key foreign policies issues on the administration’s agenda. “That’s good to hear because there was some concern this could fall off the radar. As you know there are quite a few other things going on in the world,” Clooney said.

As Clooney mentioned, this is a huge step forward for addressing the situation in Darfur. The 46-year-old also appeared on Larry King Live last night. Check out the video after the jump.

This time, he’ll get one from a shelter.

“We’re gonna get a pound dog that my wife wants,” Biden said. He told ABC the new puppy will likely be a golden retriever — and that he’s not just adopting from a pound just to silence critics. “We’ve always had two dogs,” he says. “We’ve always had two big dogs so they can have companionship. I’ve had German shepherds from the time I was a kid. I’ve trained them and shown them.”

Biden also told Stephanopoulos that his family is no stranger to pound pets. “We already have a pound cat — we’ve had pound animals in our house,” he says.

It’s great that Biden is taking this route — and I sincerely hope his visit to the shelter and subsequent selection gets some good press. Interested in adopting your own pet? Check out PetFinder.com to search for animals looking for homes in your area!

Well now it looks like Biden’s breeders might be in some serious trouble! According to our sources at PETA,

“The Philadelphia Department of Agriculture has handed Wolf Den kennel—the Chester County kennel where Biden purchased his puppy—citations for various violations. The violations included failure to produce complete rabies vaccinations records, which are required for dogs who are more than 3 months old.

Authorities also detected a strong ammonia smell in the building where the dogs are housed and found structural dangers such as broken wires and piping, which could potentially start a fire or fatally injure the animals.”

If you’re thinking about adding a four-legged friend to your family, visit PetFinder.com or your local shelter and adopt an animal in need!

The vice president-elect picked out a month-old male German shepherd from a breeder in Chester County, Pa., according to the Daily Local News. The breeder told the paper Biden wanted a family dog that was social and obedient and said Biden’s granddaughters will name him. The puppy will be delivered to the Bidens at the vice presidential residence after the Inauguration and after the breeder trains him, the paper reports.

It’s worth noting that Biden is a staunch supporter of animal rights — being one of the few politicans to receive 100+% on the Humane Scorecard for supporting every major animal protection initiative. So, we’ve still got nothing but love for Joe — and hope he continues to use his power to help others. Good luck with the new pup!

Barack Obama and Joe Biden sat down with former Vice President Al Gore yesterday to discuss energy and climate change and “how policies in this area can stimulate the economy and create jobs.”

Obama has yet to name his Environmental Team — including energy secretary, interior secretary and Environmental Protection Agency administrator. While rumors have been circulating that Al Gore might be offered a position, Gore’s made it clear that he has no interest.

But even if Al Gore doesn’t have an official position, President-elect Barack Obama has been clear that he will look to the Nobel Peace Prize winner and former Vice President for advice. In April, Barack said: “Al Gore will be at the table and play a central part in us figuring out how we solve this problem.”

Besides the previously announced jobs available, the cabinet also will create a brand new “climate czar” position. Sexy!

Sounds to me like Obama’s on the right track to get this planet fixed! I’m excited! Are you?

via: washingtonpost.com

As reported earlier, the Obama family is planning on adopting a “first dog” from a shelter and foregoing the traditional AKC route. Of course, this was back in early October when Michelle Obama first announced that they would be rescuing a pooch — but hopefully such plans are still on the table. The one issue surrounding the adoption is that any pet must be hypoallergenic because of Malia’s allergies.

For their part, the AKC says its members want Obama to purchase a purebred poodle. Um, right. PAWS Chicago Adoption Center, the city’s largest no-kill shelter, says they’ll have no problem locating a hypoallergenic pup for the Obama’s to rescue. If they want a puppy, however, it’s going to take a bit longer. Thankfully, as one commenter on PETA’s blog pointed out, Obama is well-read on the subject of Puppy Mills — even being recently snapped carrying a copy of “A Rare Breed of Love”.

On the flip, Vice-President elect Joe Biden may be walking a similar path. Ever since he was on the original campaign trail for President, Biden had been taping pictures of large breed dogs to the back of his campaign bus seat as a personal incentive to win. “Jill had said the only way you are getting a dog is if you are president … we didn’t think about vice president,” said Biden.

The Humane Society Legislative Fund recently released a preview of its annual Humane Scorecard, giving Joe Biden a rare 100+ (the plus, the HSLF says, denotes that a lawmaker has “Scored 100% and also led as a prime sponsor of pro-animal legislation”). Obama came in close to 70 — while John McCain scored a 17.

Feels good to have two people so concerned about animal welfare in the White House, no? Let’s hope both leaders choose to honor their beliefs with rescued companions.

[UPDATE: PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk has written a letter to Biden urging him to rescue a dog. Check out the letter here.]

Four one-of-a-kind Cabbage Patch Kids dolls crafted in the likeness of presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain and vice presidential candidates Joe Biden and Palin will be auctioned on eBay until election day, November 4th.

“These four folks in particular seemed like the perfect candidates, if you will, to become one-of-a-kind Cabbage Patch Kids,” said Jakks Pacific Inc. spokeswoman Genna Rosenberg. “We’ve had a great history with making celebrity look-alikes with these Kids. We’ve done everyone from Elvis to Donald Trump to Ellen (DeGeneres) and Oprah (Winfrey).”

All of the proceeds from the auction will benefit the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation — which collects new, unwrapped toys and distributes them to needy kids during the holiday season. Check eBay for the start of the auction this coming Thursday, October 30th.

With so many celebrities stepping up to say no to Proposition 8

During an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network, Palin said that she supported a Constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex unions. “I have voted along with the vast majority of Alaskans who had the opportunity to vote to amend our Constitution defining marriage as between one man and one woman,” she said.”I wish on a federal level that’s where we would go. I don’t support gay marriage.”

This view is contrary to the positions of her running mate, Senator John McCain — who believes states should be left to decide such matters.

It should be noted that Democratic Vice-Presidential nominee Joe Biden appeared on Ellen yesterday and publicly decried the Prop 8 amendment; calling it “regressive” and “unfair” and added that he and running mate Barack Obama opposed a similar initiative nationally.

Let’s hope America puts intolerance behind it this coming November and makes the right choice. It won’t put this matter to rest completely, but having two progressive, compassionate leaders in office would certainly be a step in the right direction.

However, now it appears that she was just playing her hand, waiting for the optimal time to get her message across. Various sites are saying that she has purchased $100,000 of television air time for the No On Prop 8 campaign to run the heartfelt PSA she recently taped. Way to go! With only a couple weeks until the time to vote, this is very good news for those against the initiative.

Also — apparently Democratic Vice-Presidential nominee Joe Biden came out against the measure in a recent guest appearance on Ellen! Just one more reason to vote for Obama this coming November 4th.

The talented Tina Fey once more reprised her role as Governor Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live last night. Queen Latifah played moderator Gwen Ifill. A cast member, Jason Sudeikis spoofed Joe Biden. Everyone was spot on — check it out below!