Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and their half-dozen children descended upon New York City on Oct. 2.

The family is in town for the premiere of Jolie’s new film, “Changeling,” and while there’s plenty of Oscar buzz surrounding Jolie’s performance, locals were buzzing about the traffic jam the family caused outside their midtown Manhattan hotel.

“I guess the size of their family and the amount of traffic they cause is directly proportional,” said one observer. “You’d think (Jolie) was part of the U.N. General Assembly.”

In previous years Jolie actually has been on hand for General Assembly; this year, she was in Berlin with the rest of her family. That doesn’t mean she’s stepped out of the spotlight.

One person who’s worked with Jolie in some of her international philanthropic work confirms that the actress is still involved, but unable to make appearances right now, which is just as well considering the blurred line between celebrity and politics at the moment.

“It’s a strange place for celebrities, philanthropy and politics right now,” says the source. “Angelina undoubtedly has more foreign-policy knowledge than Sarah Palin. She’s not looking to upstage anyone, though. On the other hand, by choosing an Alaskan ‘celebrity’ as his running mate and putting Paris (Hilton) and Britney (Spears) in his commercial, John McCain has done his best to obscure the line between politics and entertainment. No wonder people don’t know where to direct their attention.”

source