This week in politics: Madonna and (f--kin') Samuel L. Jackson endorsed Barack Obama while Mitt Romney got some love from Saturday Night Live.
But nothing is as simple as it seems (some things are "ironic," right Madge?!) so we're rounding up those points where pop culture and our presidential hopefuls meet that may not get covered on the 24-hour news cycle.
And, of course, deciding who's winning...well, for now at least.
Mitt Romney: SNL Spoofs, New Normal Support and Seriously Dirty Jobs
Ryan Murphy knows what the people want. So an endorsement by the man behind Glee and American Horror Story is kind of the ideal scenario, is it not? That's TBD when the thumbs up of approval comes via Ellen Barkin's radical Republican Jane, who threw her full support behind the candidate on The New Normal this week.
And that's not the only primetime support Romney got this week, as his wife came to his defense against those GOP haters on Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update. Well, almost: Kate McKinnon channeled Ann Romney's love for two things: waving and her husband (a fact she made crystal clear when the real Ann appeared on The Tonight Show).
And if all that seems too hoity-toity for you, Romney got an endorsement from blue collar TV in the form of Mike Rowe, star of the Discovery channel's Dirty Jobs. Rowe stepped out at a mini-summit to discuss (in little detail) why Mitt was the man for the job. And unlike other talk of the POTUS-hopeful, it had nothing to do with how orange tan he may be.
Barack Obama: The Material Girl, Morning TV and One Mighty Lion
Obama got some love for big names this week too, including a shout out from the Material Girl herself: Madonna. Though we have a feeling Madge's Washington, D.C.-plea that her concert-goers vote for a "black Muslim" (she was being ironic!) won't be appearing on any official White House press releases anytime soon.
And while Romney and Ann made a visit to Live with Kelly and Michael last week, Obama and his wife, the lovely Michelle Obama, took their campaign to The View this week where they appeared to be the picture perfect presidential family, talking first dates and first daughters. Everyone together now: Awww!
Oh and did we mention Obama was immortalized in a painting entitled "Obama Riding a Lion" (by artist Jason Heuser) that features—what else?—Obama riding a lion. With a crossbow. And a lightsaber. If that isn't the awesomest presidential portrait ever, then we don't know what is.
The Verdict: While Ann's SNL impersonator will have us second guessing how to pronounce Beyoncé for the rest of our lives, we're giving this one to Obama. And not for anything listed above (though, where can we commission one of those paintings?) but for Samuel L. Jackson's expletive-laden PSA in support of Obama. Now wake the f--k up!