Halle Berry, at age 42, has been named Esquire's Sexiest Woman Alive," joining past honorees Charlize Theron, Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Biel, and Angelina Jolie, all of whom remain alive and sexy, so how does this work again? Socialite Life points out that Berry earlier this year was named Sexiest Black Woman Alive so "her title has expanded." Esquire's glossy photo shoot of Berry "sort of makes me regret pummeling print journalism with an iron fist," says The Superficial. There is room for debate:"Personally I don't consider Halle the sexiest woman alive, but she's definitely in my top fifteen," says Popoholic. "This chick hasn't done a damn thing this year but have a baby," is the awestruck woman's take over at The Young, Black & Fabulous.

Beyond the sexiness, is something extra going on--like an endorsement? Berry's cover pose recreates Bill Clinton's December 2000 Esquire cover, and this does happen to be the November issue, coming out just before the presidential election, and "inside the actress dons a fitted vest emblazoned with previous Esquire covers featuring [Barack] Obama and another with Clinton," observes My Fashion Life, "Fashion and politics never looked so good, right?" OK, we get it. And here's an endorsement Berry isn't being sly about: her new fragrance, says StyleList.

Nikki Finke's Deadline Hollywood Daily unravels the mystery behind a scorching Saturday Night Live sketch about the financial bailout that NBC took offline early this week, prompting conspiracy theories. "Why pull a skit on the bailout? Because it was semi-critical of Democrats?," suggested The Unfocused. Finke points out that the skit was "a lawsuit waiting to happen, Because SNL labeled Herb Sandler and his wife Marion, the real-life former owners of Oakland's Golden West Financial, as 'people who should be shot.'" The video is back online with that part removed.