Rocker, author and well-known hunter Ted Nugent has also voiced his
support of McCain-Palin. Nugent says his comments are well-informed,
but accepts his sometimes outlandish remarks can be used to both help
and hurt his cause. "We're just citizens," said Nugent. "We have more visibility to our
spoken word than our fellow working-class citizens. This celebrity
thing is a terrible condition in that it tends to give actual credence
to our statements instead of just looking at them as an individual's
statements."
************************
Celebs upstaged by candidates in election run-up
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
By JAKE COYLE, AP Entertainment Writer
NEW YORK - In this election, the biggest celebrities are running for office.
Sen. Barack Obama, Sen. John McCain and his running mate Alaska Gov.
Sarah Palin have upstaged showbiz celebrities, edging them off the
covers of tabloids, dominating their primetime television ratings and
even ranking ahead of them in best-dressed lists. (On Wednesday,
People magazine rated Michelle Obama eighth for her attire.)
But that doesn't necessarily mean your traditional celebrities aren't
having their say, either by publicly endorsing their candidate of
choice or by helping to raise money.
On Tuesday night, Barbra Streisand headlined a fundraiser for Obama in
Beverly Hills that raised $9 million. Among those in attendance were
Leondardo DiCaprio, Steven Spielberg, Will Ferrell, Jodie Foster and
Jamie Lee Curtis.
The event, in microcosm, reflected how celebrities and politics often
mix in an election. While it raised a large sum of money for Obama and
gave many famous people a chance to argue for their candidate, McCain
used the event as ammo.
"He talks about siding with the people _ siding with the people _ just
before he flew off to Hollywood for a fundraiser with Barbra Streisand
and his celebrity friends," McCain said at a rally Tuesday in Vienna,
Ohio.
In earlier campaign ads, McCain called Obama "the biggest celebrity in
the world" and associated him with Britney Spears and Paris Hilton.
Since Palin's nomination, similar barbs have been levied at the Alaska
governor. (Palin gave one of her first interview to People magazine.)
Obama's campaign struck back with a new ad Wednesday that labels
McCain "Washington's biggest celebrity," a claim the McCain camp
called absurd. (A spokesman for Obama declined to elaborate on how the
campaign regards celebrity endorsements.)
Celebrities, meanwhile, have seemed little more than pawns in the
image battles between McCain and Obama. Hilton joked last month about
her involvement by making a mock campaign ad for the Web site Funny Or
Die.
Spears, on the other hand, has been mum. At the recent MTV Video Music
Awards, host Russell Brand pleaded "Please, America, elect Barack
Obama. On behalf of the world." Spears, who in 2003 memorably said
it's best to "trust our president in every decision," sat quietly
during Brand's political rant, while many in the liberal Los Angeles
crowd cheered.
Endorsement for either candidate can slice an entertainer's audience
in half. The Dixie Chicks, for example, were boycotted by many fans
after publicly criticizing President Bush. (Success didn't disappear,
though; their 2006 album "Taking the Long Way" won the Grammy for
album of the year.)
This summer, many music acts have supported Obama. Sheryl Crow, Dave
Matthews and Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles performed at the kickoff
concert to the Democratic convention in Denver. Others were in Denver,
too: among them, John Legend, Melissa Etheridge, Jennifer Lopez and
Ben Affleck.
Affleck's friend Matt Damon drew headlines, himself, last week when he
compared Palin's candidacy to "a bad Disney movie" in an interview
with The Associated Press.
Veteran Hollywood publicist Michael Levine cautions Obama in
surrounding himself with too much celebrity support.
"I would advise the Obama team to significantly downplay Hollywood
celebrities because all of this celebrity glitz and glamour reinforces
an emerging negative view of Obama," said Levine, adding that it's
been "detrimental" to his campaign.
Entertainers have, of course, traditionally backed Democratic
candidates, but McCain has several luminaries in his corner as well.
(The Center for Responsive Politics reports the entertainment industry
has donated $21.4 million to Democrats in 2008, but just $7.1 million
to Republicans.)
At the GOP convention in St. Paul, Minn., were Robert Duvall, Jon
Voight, Pat Boone, LeAnn Rimes and, of course, Fred Thompson, the
politician-actor who earlier ran for the Republican nomination.
Rocker, author and well-known hunter Ted Nugent has also voiced his
support of McCain-Palin. Nugent says his comments are well-informed,
but accepts his sometimes outlandish remarks can be used to both help
and hurt his cause.
"We're just citizens," said Nugent. "We have more visibility to our
spoken word than our fellow working-class citizens. This celebrity
thing is a terrible condition in that it tends to give actual credence
to our statements instead of just looking at them as an individual's
statements."
Brian Rogers, a spokesman for McCain, said, "There's no problem with
having folks support you from the entertainment industry. Sen. McCain
is proud to have the support of Sylvester Stallone and others, but
it's obviously nothing compared to Barack Obama's celebrity support."
Republicans will also soon get the rare chance to view a film that
lampoons the left. On Oct. 3, "An American Carol" will be released, in
which Kevin Farley plays an obvious parody of Michael Moore.
Moore is releasing his own election year film, "Slacker Uprising," for
free online on Sept. 23. Moore has said that the film, which examines
young voter involvement in the 2004 election, is meant to rally
support for Obama: "This film, really isn't for anybody other than the
choir," he said.
The most anticipated political film this fall, though, might be Oliver
Stone's "W." Josh Brolin plays a young President Bush in the film,
which is expected to be highly critical of the administration.
But will any of these movies, endorsements or celebrity fundraisers
alter the results in November?
Conventional wisdom holds that they won't, but one study suggests it's possible.
Released this month by the University of Maryland, the study found
that Oprah Winfrey's endorsement of Obama may have netted him
approximately 1 million additional votes in the Democratic primary. It
also notes that few celebrities have the influence of Winfrey, but
that her impact was somewhat quantifiable because of her history of
boosting sales for endorsed products.
Economics professor Craig Garthwaite, who conducted the study with
professor Timothy Moore, said he suspected celebrity endorsements
would have a lesser effect in the national election, where policy
differences between candidates are more pronounced. But he does think
celebrities have more influence than they're often credited for.
"I would kind of say they're underrated," said Garthwaite. "It's hard
to think of a reason why politicians would take the time to gather
these endorsements if they're likely going to have no effect."
