President Barack Obama discusses the situation in Sudan with actor George Clooney during a meeting outside the Oval Office, Oct. 12, 2010. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Yesterday, President Barack Obama flew to Los Angeles to attend a fundraising dinner hosted by actor George Clooney.  The $40,000-a-plate soiree is expected to bring in $15 million for the president’s reelection campaign.

While that’s a nice chunk of change, it really is a drop in the bucket to anyone either running for president or trying to get reelected.  The media buzz, however, can be worth a lot more—or not.

The Oval Office has had a long love affair with Hollywood, starting back before the famed 1938 meeting between First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and 10-year-old actress Shirley Temple.  Celebrities and presidents always got along nicely, as long as they shared the same politics.

Media coverage continues to focus on GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith, which according to the Pew Research Center represented half of all religion-based stories in 2011.

Looking back a few years ago during the 2008 presidential race, candidate Barrack Obama’s faith made national headlines when bogus reports surfaced saying he was a Muslim.  This undoubtedly had to be addressed not only because President Obama is a Christian, but any links to the Qur’an can have a negative connotation, especially given the Country’s fight against terrorism and Islamic fundamentalism.

How important to voters is a president’s belief system?  A simple Internet search will reveal thousands of opinions on the subject.   While separation of church and state is rooted in America’s DNA, a president’s moral belief system can play an important role in America’s future.  This includes picking a Supreme Court Justice for nomination, which can impact landmark decisions like Roe V. Wade granting a women’s right to choose on abortion.

Former MSNBC Talk Show Host Keith Olberman. Courtesy of WSJ.com.

It would be hard to miss the headlines these days about Keith Olberman, the former controversial MSNBC talk show host of “Countdown,” who was fired from his recent gig at Current TV just months after his new contract began because he did not respect the network’s values.

The former NBC anchor is suing Current TV for breach of contract, speaking publicly about the start-up network’s shoddy production, even appearing on “The Late Show with Dave Letterman,” jokingly referring to himself as a $10 million chandelier without the appropriate house to put it in.

Current TV’s founders Al Gore and legal entrepreneur Joel Hyatt now have filed a countersuit against Olberman, saying the network had every right to fire Olberman from his $50-million deal because of “utter disregard” of his contract.

Sanford, FL Police Chief Bill Lee at a press conference.

Two news stories still making national headlines are rooted in murder.  Whether it’s the civil courts or a U.S. military tribunal that will decide the fate of each of the gun shooting suspects, the press and general public continue to be fascinated with these narratives.

While both incidents occurred 7,500 miles from each other, the two have all of the elements that attract national media attention.  The first happened here in the U.S. last month in Sanford, FL. when Trayvon Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old, was fatally shot by community patrol volunteer George Zimmerman who claims self-defense.  The other involves U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales who went on a shooting rampage in Afghanistan that killed 16 and wounded six Afghans.

Rush Limbaugh Depicted in the Toronto Star.

More than two dozen sponsors of The Rush Limbaugh Show have now bagged the conservative talk show host because of his recent raucous remarks against a 30-year-old law student, who testified before the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committeein favor of requiring all private insurance plans to cover contraception coverage, even religious institutions.

Sandra Fluke  testified that the lack of contraception coverage in the university insurance plans would induce many low income students to go without contraceptives. Needless to say this gave Limbaugh the ammunition to launch an attack on the Georgetown University student, referring her to a “slut” and “prostitute.”

The hubbub started last month when Fluke was deemed unworthy to testify before a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee panel entitled “Lines Crossed: Separation of Church and State,”  which invited heads of religions or religious institutions to bear witness on a federal mandate to provide free preventive care for women, which includes contraceptive services as well as mammograms and regular check-ups.

The hoopla started a few weeks ago after Lin began subbing for injured Knick’s forward Anthony Carmelo.  Lin’s exceptional play helped propel the Knick’s to a winning streak, exciting crowds and igniting a press firestorm prompting slogans like “Linsanity” and “Linning.”

Asian-American basketball stars are rare in the NBA.  That’s what makes Lin an anomaly and viable publicity opportunity for major sporting brands.  The question marketers are asking themselves is if Jeremy Lin has the right stuff to become a national spokesperson.

The 2012 presidential election slipped into second gear this week when the Obama Administration pushed up a decision to provide free preventive care for women, which includes contraceptive services as well as mammograms and regular check-ups.

The initial rule, proposed last month by The Department of Health and Human Services, was supposed to serve as some sort of multi-month trial balloon before a final ruling was made.  Rather, it ignited a firestorm of pushback from the GOP and some Catholic-based organizations including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. 

President Obama’s new requirement still offers preventive care to women at no charge, but puts faith-based organizations that provide health insurance off the hook, and places the onus on insurance companies.   

Carnival's Costa Concordia shipwrecked off the coast of Italy.

Carnival Cruise Lines has been mysteriously quiet from the sinking of one of its ships off the Italian coast on January 13, resulting in 13 dead passengers and 19 still missing.

The doomed vessel was operated by Costa Crociere SpA, a division of Carnival Corporation based in Genoa, Italy.  Pier Luigi Foschi, who heads up the company’s Italian division, has been the primary spokesperson managing communications surrounding the Costa Concordia cruise ship disaster.

Aside from being quoted in a few press releases and sending a couple of tweets, Carnival’s CEO Micky Arison has been pretty much mum about the incident.  While this strategy intended or not, may temporarily distance Carnival’s other brands and 101 ships from the current tragedy, it’s all too reminiscent of the BP oil spill in 2010 that led to the ouster of CEO Tony Hayward for his aloofness and mishandling of the Deepwater Horizon explosion, killing 11 workers and dumped close to five million gallons of crude in the Gulf of Mexico.

Consumer outrage at large banks has never been greater. “Bank fatigue” is causing customers at large financial institutions to move their business to smaller, community banks and credit unions.  

The frustration came to a head last October when Bank of America (BofA) said it would charge customers five bucks to use its debit card.  The bank’s action prompted a sequence of media charged consumer protests, ranging from Bank Transfer Day to ‘Occupy’ demonstrations across the country. 

More than $4B was pulled out of big banks last October alone, although some of the spin from banking executives said this massive withdrawal actually helped larger financial institutions “trim” less profitable accounts.

No business likes to lose customers and big banks have a larger problem on their hands.  Customers will likely continue to move away from bigger financial institutions in search of more customer friendly service usually found at smaller community banks.   

Iowa Republicans tomorrow will cast ballots to elect their party’s presidential candidate in the state’s caucuses.  While Iowa’s Electoral College is miniscule to the  general election, the state’s primary has become a launching pad for presidential candidates to build momentum to help win their party’s nomination.

Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) finished third in Iowa’s GOP primary in 2008 but ultimately won the party’s presidential bid.  The rest is history with McCain losing to President Barrack Obama in the general election.

For Republicans, the choosing of a nominee this year may be a difficult task given the depth of candidates seeking the nation’s highest office.  While the GOP rank and file want to elect a more conservative candidate, the party needs a more “centered” nominee to face the president on November 6.