A big payoff for playing politics

Forget Limbaugh, O'Reilly and Franken. Who ya' going to call to make politics entertaining? George Clooney, the latest incarnation of the heartthrob-provocateur, now nominated for three Golden Globes, for writing and directing "Good Night, and Good Luck," and for costarring in "Syriana."



On the award he missed: "The one for best dance number, musical.... That's the one I was hoping for."



On why the media fascinates him: "I'm the son of a journalist. We're proud of it, even when it falters a little bit. The idea behind [Edward R.] Murrow's speech in 1958 [is] what everybody's dealing with today, trying to keep the news alive while not letting entertainment push it off the air."



On political movies: "Hollywood is very good at asking questions when we want to. We're not so good at providing the answers because it seems like we're on a soap box when we do that."



On celebrating: "I will be. It's a little early for heavy drinking. I'm Irish, but it's still early."