Ill-Informed Nation?

The latest from the Political Grapevine:

Media Matters

Veteran CBS correspondent Morley Safer — who watched some of this year's presidential campaign from Europe — is accusing President Bush and John Kerry of alienating the rest of the world with "awful bravado" during the campaign.

Speaking in Stonington, Connecticut, and quoted by The Day Newspaper, he specifically denounced the candidates' use of the phrase, "God Bless America," which he said seemed like code for "God Bless Us and [forget about] you."

But he said the candidates are only partially to blame, insisting U.S. media are alienating the world by short-changing international news. He said, "It's why we're the most ill-informed nation about the rest of the world," adding, "This country looks arrogant, foolish and scary from overseas."

No Moore Blame?

Liberal filmmaker Michael Moore says he's not to blame for the Democrats' woes or John Kerry's defeat this year. In fact, Moore says, he and other Hollywood types helped keep Democrats from a worse defeat, turning out millions of new voters who backed the Democrats. He adds, "America loves Hollywood ... And I think we need to turn to Hollywood because who wouldn't vote for Tom Hanks or Paul Newman or Robert Redford or Oprah?"

So if Hollywood helped, then what is to blame for Kerry's defeat? Well, Moore says Kerry was "not the best candidate."

Half-baked Hubbub?

A Democratic city councilman in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, says he's going to try to outlaw a photo of President Bush at a baked-goods stand if the stand's owner doesn't take the picture down.

Councilman Nelson Polite insists the presidential photo is inappropriate, offensive and is "like rubbing salt on a wound." He says no political photos should be posted because the market is in a public place.

But the stand's owner, David Stoltzfus, tells the Lancaster New Era newspaper he's just paying respects to the president of the United States, and had John Kerry won the election, he would soon be putting Kerry's picture up.

Election Reflection

The pollster John Zogby said the election was swinging to Kerry in the final days, but it swung the other way. Now he's got a new poll that suggests people really don't like Republicans after all.

It shows that more Americans think Santa Claus is a Democrat than a member of any other party. But his poll, does suggests that people think there are a couple of Republican Christmas characters: Ebenezer Scrooge and The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.

— FOX News' Michael Levine contributed to this report