You've got to hand it Barack Obama when it comes to a celebrity endorsement.
Over the past weekend Hillary got an endorsement from the Mayor of San Francisco. If I'd been a member of Hillary's staff I would have told Gavin thanks, but lets not make a big deal out of it. Sodom on the Sea is not exactly heartland America, and his endorsement is as likely to turn off as many people as it turns on - an appropriate phrasing I suppose as far as San Francisco is concerned.
John Edwards got a couple of big celebrity endorsements as well: Harry Belafonte and Sean Penn. That means he's got the calypso vote and most of the folks at S.A.G. (That used to stand for Screen Actors Guild, but has been changed to Silly-Ass-Goofballs to reflect their relevance to American society.)
Senator Obama simply crushed the competition. I'll grant you that fannies in the seats to see Oprah doesn't necessarily translate into Obama votes, but considering the fact that names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and donations of time and/or money were required to get tickets to the event, this was pure genius on the part of those responsible.
I'm not sure if this is democracy at work or just the Mickey Mouse Club redux, but whatever it is, it can do nothing but help Senator Obama. Now before you libs start passing frozen chickens, my reference to the Mickey Mouse Club is complimentary, not negative. It is true that when I "Mickey Mouse" some repair around the house (duct tape required), the phrase does not induce confidence in the trustworthiness of the repairs. In this case however, I'm referring to the marketing brilliance of Disney, a brilliance that's still blinding even today.
Consider the voting population in terms of a swimming pool. There is a shallow end and a deeper end in most pools, and in our voting pool there is quite a bit of shallow water. Not everyone is as afflicted as we are my friends. Regardless of political persuasion, what other conclusion are we to reach when we have such a dismal turn out for elections?
In the shallow end of the pool, it doesn't take as much to roil the waters as it does at the deep end, and right now Oprah is just starting to get her feet wet. The cult of celebrity has always been a player in politics, but I think Oprah brings a dimension to the situation that is above and beyond what anyone else in this country can bring. Don't ask me to explain it, because I've never forgiven her for introducing Dr. Phil to us, but I have the feeling that she will soon be playing a much larger roll in this election cycle.
It's not just the celebrity aspect, because you have to have some substance to go with the smoke and the mirrors. Though I'm in total disagreement with his position on Iraq and abortion, I must admit that Barack Obama has brought something to this election that I had hoped Fred Thompson could bring - excitement and hope.
In the summer of 1968, after Dr. King was murdered, I was one of millions of teenagers who saw in Bobby Kennedy the hope for a better future, even though I was a member of the Young Republicans Club. Once he was killed, I began to question everything about my government and wonder what would cause our nation to writhe in such agony. I became a liberal and voted for George McGovern in 1972. I was so disgusted by our government that by the time we got around to Carter and Reagan that I voted for John Anderson. After four years of Reagan I was changed forever - a thought that horrifies some and makes others nod in agreement.
The point of that brief journey through part of my voting history is this: A President needs to be a leader. Your politics become secondary to the voting population when you can inject and infuse the people with confidence, energy, and most importantly of all, hope. The life long bureaucrats pretty much control the basic operations of government, and our balance of government assures that very little gets done by anyone without a true mandate from the people, so we should never make the mistake of underestimating the importance of "persona" in a leader.
George Bush had it atop the rubble with the bullhorn in his hand, but he lost it almost immediately and has failed to find it again.
Hillary has a "persona", but when half the population would cast you as the witch in the latest stage production of "Hansel & Gretel", that's not the persona needed to lead the country.
There is no other candidate, Republican or Democrat, that is currently capable of creating this feeling. Mike Huckabee may have a shot, but it may be nothing other than a flash in the pan - too soon to tell.
At least at this stage of the game, Senator Obama is getting the best out of a celebrity endorsement that a candidate can expect: plenty of airtime, plenty of print, and plenty of names to add to their database.
Like I said, you've got to hand it Senator Obama, and Oprah may well do that with the nomination.
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3 comments:
Sean Penn endorsement, the Kiss of Death for Edwards.
I also thought that Thompson would stir it up but he fizzled.
I also like Huckabee and Obama, I guess that is why I am a moderate.
As far as I Bush I liked him when he went into Afghanistan but then he lost it when he got us into Iraq. The job was never done in Afghanistan and look where we are now.
Unfortunately, at the end of the day, there is no more than 2 inches difference between Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich. In the modern public square wanting to run for POTUS is prima facie proof of megalomania. Being willing to expose yourself, your family and anyone who ever knew you to media trashing in order to get free airfare for four years, a paycheck less than most Wall Street office boys, complete destruction of the rest of your life and that of your loved ones in order to be "The Leader of the Free World" is just nuts! Sane people would run away from the job. So, we are governed by nutjobs in the White House, crooks in congress and hacks in the courts. The funny thing is that nothing has changed in over 225 years and we're still perking along as the best place on earth (you don't read about citizens sneaking OUT of the US, do you?)
At the end of the day its THE PEOPLE, not the pols that make us great! The Watsons and DDs up in the hills, the nutcases in the swamps down here.
Neither of the first two I named have a snowball's chance in hell. I'm not sure that Babs can drag Billary all the way to the White House this time. An A/A named Barack Obama ain't getting elected Prez in my lifetime. Richardson's too fat, Edwards is too dumb and Biden shot his wad years ago. On the Rebooblican side, even with the comb back, Rudy looks to much like a smiling Heinrich Himmler, Belonging to the LDS is a terminal kiss of death for the Mittster (Mitt? What's with a name like Mitt for President? Remember Jimmmmmy?) McCain, much as I like him personally, is another Harold Stassen and the writer's strike seems to have silenced Fred.
Once again it will be the lowest common denominator and things will move on.
and huckabee is as close to the lowest common denominator that we have. But he'll blow over by February.
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