Obama at Washington Square: Where Did They Put all of the Dealers?
Oh, he put them over there.Photo: Getty Images
At least Xanadu lead Kerry Butler, that virtuosic Olivia Newton-John impersonator, was there to white-soulfully deliver the national anthem beforehand, her insanely adorable (non-white!) two-year-old daughter, Segi, in tow. It was far from her first public recitation of the star-spangled ditty. "I've been doing a lot of softball games," she said. "I didn't go to public school, so we actually didn't have to sing it, so the first few times I had it in my pocket. But now I've memorized it." And, yes, she was there not as a hired set of lungs but as a true-blue Obama Girl. "I love the work that he's doing for Darfur," she said. So would she invite him to Xanadu? "I would love to do it right now, but there's too much security" — and even though a friend from Hairspray had offered to intro her to the Barackster after the rally, she had to go hustle into hair and makeup. Speaking of which, was she staying bang- and bump-free in her notoriously injury-inducing show? "I am," she said. "Knock on" — she rapped on the metal gate that cordoned off press from the VIP ramp up the rally stage — "whatever." —Tim Murphy
