New York, May 8, 2008 – There was some controversy at the Time 100 gala, the party celebrating the magazine’s annual list of the most influential people in the world.  Senator John McCain made the list, and bystanders booed as he entered Jazz at Lincoln Center for the gala.  Presidential candidates are resilient, and McCain was all smiles inside, and even congratulated his Democratic rivals.  “I’m very honored to be here, and I know my two colleagues are also recognized.  Senator Obama and Senator Clinton wish they could be here tonight, and they are equally honored", McCain told reporters.

Organizers asked honoree Madeeha Hasan Odhaib to put away the Iraqi flag she held on the red carpet - a strange request since she was honored for starting a business sewing flags that now employs 100 women in war torn Baghdad. 

Performers at the gala included newly-married Mariah Carey, newly pregnant Amy Poehler and her “Weekend Update” partner Seth Meyers, who told us he prepared for the evening by “writing jokes about all these influential people.”

When Time editors included Robert Downey, Jr. on the influential list, could they have known that his movie Iron Man would have one of the biggest openings in history on the same week that the Time 100 issue hit newsstands? 

Other notables at the gala included Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels, comedy king Judd Apatow, Herbie Hancock, Ethan Hawke, Anjelica Huston, Lance Armstrong and Hollywood giant Tyler Perry.