Two times in a row...wow! Stewart has (to keep this G-rated) a lot of nerve handling hosting duty back-to-back years. Stewart started the night off by referencing the writers strike and welcoming the world to what he called 'make-up sex.' Stewart focused a lot of his opening remarks on the strike and was met with polite but not overwhelming applause. The star-studded audience didn't really get into it until Stewart moved on to the nominated movies. His first political jab came as he mentioned Julie Christie's performance as a woman who forgets her husband. Stewart said, "Hillary Clinton called it the feel-good movie of the year."

Stewart's next big laugh came when he pointed out Norbit's nomination. He was pleased the Academy recognized the Eddie Murphy film because "too often the Academy ignores movies that aren't good." Stewart also acknowledged Diablo Cody, the Oscar nominated screenwriter of Juno, saying she used to be an exotic dancer. He looked at Cody and told her he hopes she enjoyed the pay cut. Modest applause, and Cody seemed to like it.

Stewart returned to politics, asking his audience if they've had a chance to study the candidates' positions and pick the Democrat they'll vote for. "Democrats do have an historic race going," said Stewart. "Normally, when you see a black man or a woman president, an asteroid is about to hit the Statue of Liberty." Nice...

Oh Regis...
During his last minute or two wrapping up the Oscar pre-show, Regis Philbin pointed out Oscar nominee Javier Bardem and called him Xavier Bardem... The man's nominated and a likely winner and he's Xavier to Regis. I don't know. That just struck me as something that needed to be pointed out.