Iran Talks About Targeting a Major European City

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

London Calling

An Iranian Foreign Ministry official says his government should target one of the United States' closest allies to ensure that President Bush does not attack Iran during his final weeks in office.

The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) reports Wahid Karimi was quoted as saying, "The last two months of Bush's presidency... will be the worst days of his presidency for Iran and during them he can exploit his power to carry out political adventurism and an ill-conceived operation. If so, how can we restrain him?"

He adds, "The most appropriate means of deterrence that Iran has, in addition to a retaliatory operation in the [Gulf] region, is to take action against London."

Show-Stopper

The executive producer of a show that has lately made a living lampooning Sarah Palin has glowing praise for the governor now that they have met.

"Saturday Night Live"'s Lorne Michaels tells Entertainment Weekly Online, "You can see that she's a very powerful, very disciplined, incredibly gracious woman. This was her first time out and she's had a huge impact. People connect to her."

Actor Alec Baldwin — who appeared on "SNL" alongside Palin — expressed a similar sentiment. Baldwin writes on Huffingtonpost.com, "Palin came on to be a good sport. And she was. She was polite, gracious. More so than some of the famous actors who come through here. Believe me."

What's the Objective?

For the second time in just over a week, a journalist for a major publication has dismissed the concept of media objectivity.

Former Newsweek reporter Michael Hastings writing for GQ magazine says that while covering the election, "I quickly realized Rudy [Giuliani] was a maniac. I had a recurring fantasy in which I took him out during a press conference — it was non-lethal, just something that put him out of commission for a year or so... if that sounds like I had some trouble being 'objective,' I did. Objectivity is a fallacy."

He also said John McCain's view on war troubles him, adding, "He seemed to have gone just a little crazy, Captain Ahab style."

Last week, New Orleans Times-Picayune reporter Chris Rose said this about his paper in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina: "There's no pretending to be objective... we've got way too much at stake to be dispassionate observers."

Tough Cell

The headquarters for one of the candidates running for Congress in Southwestern Michigan is a jail cell.

The Reverend Edward Pinkney of the Green Party is running against incumbent Republican Senator Fred Upton for Michigan's 6th Congressional District. Pinkney was sent to prison in June for violating his probation.

He was convicted last year of felony and misdemeanor fraud. A judge ruled Pinkney threatened another judge when he wrote an article about his opposition to an area residential and commercial development.

Pinkney says the ruling is unjust and that he was only paraphrasing some Bible verses. So to bring attention to his situation Pinkney decided to "stand up for what is right. The only way that we can get the word out and bring these people to justice is if I ran for office."

— FOX News Channel's Zachary Kenworthy contributed to this report.