In Hollywood, celebrities can be seen in their natural habit, gallivanting across the red carpet, posing for tabloid photos, and going out on the town with other headliners. In this election year, however, we suddenly see them not striking a pose with P. Diddy but rallying voters in support of presidential candidates.
Unqualified for determining future leaders of the Free World, celebrities are nonetheless popping up all over the political scene, with Oprah pushing support for Barack Obama, Barbara Streisand for Hillary Clinton and the most disturbing of all, Chuck Norris backing Mike Huckabee.
It is easy to understand why politicians have decided to use celebrity endorsements. To begin with, celebrities bring in heaps of free publicity. Politicians don’t even have to work to get the load of publicity one celebrity can bring to a campaign, not to mention the amount of money that comes with him or her. The greatest advantage to the politician for accepting such an endorsement, however, is the crowd turnout at events. What’s better than hearing Obama speak? Obama with Oprah standing next to him.
But why should we listen to these people? Because Chuck Norris has a six-pack? Because Oprah is pals with Dr. Phil? Or because Barbara Streisand can hit that high note?
Realistically, there is no logical reason to pay an ounce of attention to celebrity endorsements. What does someone who has a live-in chef, private personal trainer and gets around by limo really know about the real world or politics? It seems as if celebrities somehow feel that by being famous they have a profound knowledge of what the regular, non-famous working public needs.
A better question is, with current campaigns making constant headlines, do these endorsements actually make any difference?
According to the Pew Research Center, a Washington, D.C.-based organization, six out of 10 Americans say they don’t care about celebrity endorsements at all. Yet after the Iowa caucuses, it’s easy to question that statistic. Is it possible that karate-kicking Chuck Norris could have guided Mike Huckabee to an Iowa victory? After the New Hampshire primaries, did Barbara Streisand or Maya Angelou influence Clinton voters?
In the same celebrity endorsement survey by the Pew Research Center, people were asked if Oprah helping Obama would affect their votes. Of the people surveyed, 15 percent said it would make them more likely to support Obama, but another 15 percent said it would make them less likely to vote for Obama, showing that a celebrity may have the power to dissuade voters as well.
These types of endorsements seem to be more of a celebrity popularity contest than actually a presidential election. Oprah Winfrey versus Barbara Streisand? It’s a very passive-aggressive, silent boxing match. When Obama made a proud statement by showing off Oprah, Clinton followed up with the well-known poet Maya Angelou. Even trailing Kucinich is getting into the action with the public support of actor Viggo Mortensen. It seems as if politicians aren’t applying for the Commander in Chief position, but are instead involved in a contest of who can get the more popular celebrity.
It’s true that celebrity endorsements bring the election to the general public. With the help of those shiny notables, people who pay more attention to Britney Spears’ domestic issues than the ongoing political strife in Pakistan can be suddenly engaged in politics. All well and good, but let’s hope these people are not voting for their future leader based on their favorite celebrity endorsement. Wouldn’t it be more practical to take Chuck Norris’ karate video suggestion or a book from Oprah’s book club than take their political suggestion?
However people feel about the stars and starlets who show up at presidential rallies, in the end, they should vote for the candidate they are most interested in, regardless of the celebrity endorsements. As long as voters get to the polls and use their independent thought, the only harm celebrity endorsements have done is distract news headlines from Britney Spears and, hopefully, encourage people to get out and vote.