So Barack Obama has been nominated as the Democratic candidate for president, which inevitably raises the question -- is he the Antichrist? The McCain people have been sort of suggesting that with their “The One” commercial though they didn’t come right out and admit it when David Whittenberg, a blogger for the “Washington Post,” confronted McCain spokesperson Brian Rogers about it.

Never one to pass up a chance both to kiss a celebrity’s ass and show off my feigned erudition, I wasted no time in discussing Coogan’s role in Michael Winterbottom’s “A Cock and Bull Story,” an adaptation of Laurence Sterne’s bizarro18th century novel “Tristram Shandy” in which Coogan played himself as an actor in a film within the film that also is adapting “Tristram Shandy.

Before we get back to Mr. Coogan, I think I should follow up on a posting a few days ago about the “2008 Brandcameos Product Placement Award,” which this year, for the first time, are being selected in part by popular vote. Well, the results are in. And though the motion picture industry pretty much pales in promotional and advertising significance before, say, the Olympics, I think it’s important to keep up with the latest developments.

Steve Coogan has starred in two of the best movies of the century (“24 Hour Party People” and “Tristram Shandy,” both by Michael Winterbottom), he's one of the most popular TV personalities in Britain (Alan Partridge? Tommy Saxondale? No? I didn’t think so.) and is one of the funniest and most inventive comic minds from over there since Monty Python.

“Stupid is,” a great though imaginary person once said, “as stupid does.”

However it does for “Tropic Thunder” (and its opening weekend numbers, $26 million to beat out “The Dark Knight” for top spot, suggest it is playing pretty well), going the “full retard” doesn’t seem a liability when it comes to running for President.

Long conceded by conservatives to being an inveterate nest of Liberals, Hollywood may be taking a rightward turn. Such is the hope expressed by “The National Review” in their story about the production of David Zucker’s (late of the team that turned out such funny movies as “HotShots, Part Deux” and the Naked Gun series) political satire, “An American Carol.

For six months, long after the film crept into box office oblivion, a Hindu group has been sending me and I guess everyone else who writes about movies a manifesto condemning Mike Myers's "The Love Guru," demanding it be banned or censored, asking for an apology, or all of the above. I don’t know whether they saw the film, but I didn’t, so I’ll say no more except I think that kind of action serves only to get publicity, if not for the film itself than for the group making the complaints.

Though his favorable ratings are down for the count, President Bush and those who still support him have faith that history will ultimately vindicate his administration. Since these days History is written by Hollywood movies, that process may have already begun.

Hence the brouhaha over “The Dark Knight,” which not only may be the most commercially successful film of all time but is the one taken most seriously by political pundits.

Once again the Brandchannel people are about to present their annual awards for product polacement achievements in film, but this year they are including the poor schmucks who pay $10 to be unwittingly subjected to this insidious advertising in the award process. But you have to act fast! Voting ends today!