In Other Ratings-Gambit News, a Former Bush Aide Will Make an Endorsement

CNN's D.L. Hughley-hosted comedic news show will debut this weekend with former Bush press secretary Scott McClellan announcing he's backing Barack Obama for president.

McClellan made the endorsement during a taping of "D.L. Hughley Breaks the News," which premieres Saturday at 10 p.m.

McClellan's announcement isn't earth-shattering. Since leaving his gig at the White House, he penned a critical tell-all book and he's not even the first former member of the Bush administration to endorse Obama. Former secretary of state Colin Powell beat McClellan by several days, announcing Sunday that he supports the Democrat. Still, the McClellan announcement falls under the category of "news," so it will get picked up on the news circuit, which, in turn, helps the launch of Hughley's show.

During the taping yesterday, Hughley chided McClellan: "You haven't endorsed anybody. . . . I'm a new show, and your endorsement probably would mean a lot.

"Don't look at the fact that I'm black . . . no pressure. Endorse somebody, damn it!"

McClellan told him that "from the very beginning, I've said I'm going to support the candidate who has the best chance of changing the way Washington works and getting things done. I will be voting for Barack Obama."

Hughley previously hosted the current-events talker "Weekends at the DL," which lasted just 28 episodes on Comedy Central, back in 2005.

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It's official: Sarah Palin is the darling of TV.

The Republican vice presidential candidate's "Saturday Night Live" appearance exceeded all expectations, with 15 million viewers tuned in last weekend, according to final stats finally out. That's the NBC late-night show's biggest audience in 14 years.

This means Palin's appearance was last week's fifth-most-watched program, behind only prime time's "CSI," "NCIS," "Dancing With the Stars" and "Desperate Housewives." It outranked CBS's new "The Mentalist," ABC's "Grey's Anatomy," CBS's "Two and a Half Men" and even the matador-goring edition of "60 Minutes," as well as about 190 other shows that populate the prime-time landscape. Given how many fewer homes watch TV in late night than in prime time, this is quite an accomplishment for "SNL" -- and for Palin.