Star Power
The presidential primaries are upon us, and at last citizens all across the land will get to actually vote instead of just hearing endless media blather about front-runners and war chests and electability. Yet, despite all the issues at hand, from the war to the economy to health care, the last-minute topic du jour is predictably superficial: Does your candidate have an A-lister on the stump?
Celebrity involvement in politics was a thing long before Oprah/Obama; indeed, it’s pretty much standard operating procedure. JFK got a boost from his association with the Rat Pack. Country stars like Johnny Cash and Loretta Lynn played concerts to support Jimmy Carter. Ronald Reagan, of course – like current Republican hopefuls Fred Thompson and, arguably, Rudy Giuliani – actually was a celebrity. John Kerry had Bruce Springsteen on his side. And Jon Bon Jovi, according to a recent New York Times article, is apparently the sought-after rocker for Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, and Barack Obama. Plus, let’s not forget that Hillary has another formidable celebrity charmer in her camp: her husband, former President Bill Clinton.
Still, the teaming of media maven Oprah Winfrey and Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama has been front-page news and seems to have opened the floodgates in terms of pointless nattering about which star supports which candidate. Pundits wonder endlessly if Winfrey can do for Obama what her book endorsements have done for lucky authors. Gossip columnists speculate as to whether Barbra Streisand’s seal of approval will help Hillary or hurt her.
It’s kind of a relief, then, that two recent polls – both motivated by Oprah’s endorsement of Obama – reinforce the oft-stated assertion that most Americans don’t choose candidates based on famous peoples’ opinions. In November, a whopping 90 percent of respondents to an Usmagazine.com question said celebrity endorsements don’t influence them. In September, a survey by the more serious Pew Research Center also showed that most of us aren’t affected by celebrity political shills. On the other hand, the same Pew poll noted that 60 percent believe Winfrey’s support will help Obama’s campaign. (But, sadly, nobody seems to have asked folks whether the infamous “Obama Girl” of YouTube fame will give the Illinois senator the edge.)
It’s easy to see why candidates welcome and even court celebrity support. The involvement of someone like Winfrey, or even lesser lights such as Kevin Bacon (campaigning for John Edwards), is great free publicity. Whether or not such participation influences voters, or attracts the attention of people who normally wouldn’t vote, is perhaps less important than the spotlight it draws. With all these players in the primary field, candidates need a way to stand out – especially to people too busy to absorb all the opinions and positions, to say nothing of media outlets too superficial to care about explaining where the candidates really stand.
Polls also show that Americans have serious concerns about health care, the war, the cost of living, and other sobering issues. Maybe, in this star-obsessed culture of ours, the visibility of celebrities on the campaign trail could provide an entry point of sorts for those more inclined to tune into what Oprah or Streisand or Kevin Bacon has to say. Perhaps some will end up paying attention and even voting because a favorite media personality is involved – even if they don’t vote for that star’s personal choice.
Or maybe I’m an optimistic fool, and this is merely more smoke and mirrors. Remember MTV’s “Rock the Vote” crusade, fronted by stars like Madonna, who wasn’t even registered to vote herself? All this interest in what famous people think about the candidates is likelier just another symptom of the celebrity disease infecting America.
After all, we’re already unhealthily obsessed with what the Beautiful People are up to – not to mention reading the books they recommend, dressing like them, acting like them. It’s only natural, in a highly artificial and manipulated way, that the cultural message is we’ll be more inclined to vote like them, too. But even if folks do somehow get drawn into the political process because of star power, it’s pretty awful for elections to become as stupidly trend-driven as fashion, personal electronics, and everything else you can buy.
Published: 01/03/2008
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