What's in a (Big) name?
All the "stars" are aligning for Kerry. And, they're going on the road to provide concerts to support the campaign. Professor Alan Schroeder thinks this is a problem for Bush.
But why? Is it a brand new revelation that most celebrities are Democrats, leftists, commies and worse? Of course not. Americans already know who Bruce Springsteen or John Cougar Mellencamp is going to vote for. And we already don't want to listen to them talk about it.
Why fear that this wave of celebrity endorsements and action is suddenly going to turn the tide of the election? The common model isn't celebrities speak-nation follows. It's celebrities speak-nation rolls its eyes. At best, we really don't care about how celebrities feel about politics. At worst, these celebrities will get a very negative reaction to their words. Do the names Linda Ronstadt, Whoopi Goldeberg and the Dixie Chicks ring a bell?
Americans, for all of our faults, aren't complete idiots. We know the Sean Penn isn't a statesman. We know Bruce Springsteen isn't an economist. We know that Dave Mathews isn't a teacher. For the most part, all these celebrities have is a high school education, a burning need for attention and too much time on their hands.
People will point to the 1992 election and Clinton's saxophone playing and appearance on MTV as proof that politicians can successfully reach younger voters through popular culture. But I think that case is completely different. Clinton succeeded because he personally could engage those voters. Kerry can't engage anyone other than wealthy women. That's why he's looking to Hollywood to do his dirty work for him.
Posted by at August 5, 2004 01:03 PM
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| # March 7th, 2005 6:48 PM Converted_Comment | |
Every poll and every pundit regale us with the fact that the country is divided down the middle, half Republican and half Democrat. Oddly, Hollywood doesn't stack up that way. I wonder why. |