You heard me. Aside from being an object of reverence for millions and having a rather shayna punim, these two have something very specific in common, tied to recent events. Yes, Megan Fox may give boys the kind of heart palpitations requiring proper health care, and yes President Barack Obama may be accused of feeding on the taxpayer like a bloodsucking socialist vampire, but actually it's far more mundane than that: They're both pretty expert at packaging — and using — their soundbites.
Earlier this weekend, I noticed how similar Obama's answers were to John King and George Stephanopoulos for his interviews for today's El-Completo-Ginsburg-Sunday-show-blitz.
Here's what Obama told Stephanopoulos: "Are there some people who don't like me because of my race? I'm sure there are."
Here's what Obama told King: "Are there people out there who don't like me because of race? I'm sure there are."
Elsewhere in the media world, a quiet kerfuffle was brewing over Megan Fox, the star of the just-opened Diablo Cody-penned teen horror flick Jennifer's Body, on the cover of Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone published the photos from the cover shoot online — but not the text of the interview, instead opting for a little online teaser.
But then, quite separately, I noticed that, for all the hoopla about the Rolling Stone Fox story, she's also on the cover of Cosmopolitan — with a coverline advertising "Juicy stuff she could only say in Cosmo!"
Well...not quite.
Here's Megan Fox in Rolling Stone, talking about her "powerful, confident vagina": "Men are scared of vaginas...[a woman is most powerful when she is] completely in charge of her sexuality."
Here's Megan Fox in Cosmopolitan, talking about the power of — yep — vaginas: "Women hold the power because we have the vaginas. If you're in a heterosexual relationship and you're a female, you win."
Fox also talks in both magazines about using that power to mess with men's heads, saying in RS something to the effect of, she has harnessed her sexuality and knows how to use it to mess with men's heads. (Paraphrased from a quick scan in a Duane Reade yesterday.) This, however, is backed up by what she told Cosmo: "It's fun when someone intends to put you in his back pocket, but instead, he walks away wounded. I make it a mind game so they don't know if I'm hitting on them or mocking them."
Things that were exclusive: Rolling Stone's Erik Hedegaard also asked her, twice, if she's ever drawn blood during sex. She responded by being "stonily silent." Cosmo asked her about her ideal date. She responded with a Rosh Hashanah gift to Jewish men for the ages: "A sexy sandwich with Andy Samberg and Jonah Hill." Verdict: Cosmo FTW!
So: What does Megan Fox have in common with Barack Obama? We're assuming not the Andy Samberg-Jonah Hill sandwich. And other stuff. But they clearly share an ease with the soundbite, and a propensity to re-use the ones that work — sometimes to the detriment of a so-called "exclusive."
Now obviously CNN, ABC and the other Full-Ginsburg news orgs knew that Obama would be on-message with specific, similar words for all of them — it's their job to ask original questions that will elicit original answers (or just to ask questions that will differentiate them — see, for example, David Gregory's question this morning about baseball, which has little news value but of course has been picked up widely; see "Obama Defends White Sox and Healthcare Reform"). Ditto Cosmo and Rolling Stone — it's not their fault that Megan Fox came prepped with the same answers. (Gee, it's almost as though she knows that talking about her vagina will get attention!).
But hey, it'll sell magazines. And movies. And, maybe, health care. That's just how the game is played.
But don't worry — this is the only place on the Internet that you'll find this headline. Sort of.
See Megan Fox's Cosmo cover here, and her Rolling Stone cover here. Go here for the trailer to Jennifer's Body (scroll down), here for pics of Fox in a Vampires & Zombies slideshow, and here for probably the biggest Megan Fox photogallery on the internet. Oh, and here for Obama on the Sunday shows. You're welcome.
This post was adapted from one originally published at Mediaite, which you may have already figured out.