Star-studded politics, or my celebrity's better than your celebrity

I've been an Obama supporter from day 1, and I'm not a huge fan of Oprah's or Halle Berry's. If I were to pick my candidate based on celebrity support, I'd be pulling for Clinton or Richardson, apparently!

Actually, for me, the reverse tends to apply. I tend to lose respect for celebrities who express their support for candidates that I don't like, rather than gaining respect for candidates because they're supported by celebrities I like.

I have to say that two things are very different in austria: celebrities and politics. in austria, you never vote for one person, but always for a political partie. plus, we have two "larger" parties (about 30-40 % of the votes) and two/three smaller one (4-15 %). celebrities who have a lot of impact don't really exist in austria, of course celebrities exist but it's still very different.

I think it's very interesting to see who supports which candidate, but I think that wouldn't influence me much. although I have to say that I didn't know anything about dennis  kucinich untill I read about him on tammy's blog.

"Normal is not something to aspire to, it's something to get away from." ~ Jodie Foster

the whole "endorsement" thing just feels like more babbling 'advertising (just slightly less annoying than animated flash banner ads saying that i won something because i'm the 29874762 visitor)

but it still makes sense.  by getting an endorsement, you have someone, in the public eye, say "i like this person because of ____"   now while we may consciously be thinking "yea.. whatever..  they're just reading from a script"...  subconsciously we are still absorbing that person's name and maybe some random "facts" about that candidate. and the more and more we hear about *product A*  .. we are going to think about *product A* ...  and that's the main goal.  just like education.  we learn by repeating, hearing things over and over again, and habit. so that's why i think it's not really the *people* that are endorsing a candidate that helps.. but how *MANY* people are endorsing a candidate that really matters. more headlines. more mention of *candidate A*. more repetition...  better chance of a person remembering *candidate A* when they get behind that little curtain in that portable voting booth. 

Celebrity endorsements are meant to lure in the people who don't have a clue who the canidates are let alone where they stand politically.  Okay, so maybe they know if they are a Democrat or a Republican.  Celebrity endorsments certainly didn't help John Kerry during the last election did it?  If a celebrity does endorse a canidate for president or government office it doesn't mean I lose respect for them because they may want someone I don't care for to win.  I don't agree with most politicians anyways, they are probably the best actors on the planet.  Most of these yahoos should be winning an Academy Award in February.

A lot of the reasons that the politicians are pulling for celebrity endorsements is because voting numbers have drastically decreased.  In my opinion we should shake it up to lack luster canidates and a pathetic rein of democracy.  I haven't really decided yet who I'm voting for, but I know what I'm looking for in a President...by the way, Bush ain't it!  Romney almost scares me more than Bush in terms of his Conservative view points.  The Osmond's can sing and praise their hearts delight, I'll drop dead before I vote for him.  Oh I'm avoiding my political rant >_<.

"Normal is not something to aspire to, it's something to get away from."

Jodie Foster supports Bill Richardson...wow. That's certainly the most surprising, as he's the same guy who believes homosexuality is a choice...not to mention the fact that he's a bit racist.

I'm tired of celebrities throwing their weight around like that, especially ones who know that they're throwing their weight around...*cough* Oprah *cough*

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“In a letter to Dear Abby a reader complained that a gay couple was moving in across the street and wanted to know what he could do to improve the quality of the neighborhood. Her suggestion - 'You could move.'”

Celebrity endorsements and negative ads--the two areas of campaigns that voters swear they hate, but when push comes to shove, there's proof that, if done correctly, both matter a great deal.

When people think of celebrity endorsements, they think of the Barbara Streisands and Oprah Winfreys of the world...really, those types of endorsements only get people in the door and help you raise money...they don't change anyone's mind.

But what can get you some votes is finding the hometown hero...the smalltown girl or guy that managed to make good. Everyone remembers him or her before they made it big and while lamenting at how terrible Hollywood is, they'll thank their lucky stars that their hometown hero remembers his small town values.

Brandon Routh's endorsement of Barack Obama isn't going to carry much sway across the country, but if you put him in Norwalk, Iowa, where he grew up, you're going to win some votes.

I agree with Peachblossm.

A celebrity is just another person. He/She likes who they like just as random John/Jane Doe likes who they like and it counts for just as much. The fact that the're a celebrity is the only reason why attention is called to their support . People make their own decisons.

I don't mean to sound harsh or anything, but anyone whose opinion on a political candidate is swayed by what some Hollywood star says is probably brain damaged in some capacity.

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"The world will not greet you with open arms, but with a clenched fist."

I think we have to remember that these so-called "celebrities" are just like the rest of us who have opinions and support for different things. The difference is, by voicing that opinion, or showing their support, its taken very seriously by other people(celebrities, and non-celebrities alike).

If I said the same thing, or stood behind my candidate, noone would even blink an eye. Its just the way life goes. Whether their choices are good or not, they should be able to stand for what they believe in. If the rest of us want to use that as the reason for giving the object of the attention another look, or as the reason to walk away, then thats on us - we're free adults after all!!

I would like to believe people make up their own mind, and vote based on a well thought out decisions.

Unfortunately, a lot of people don't put all that much thought into their voting behaviour. For some, who they vote for could be as simple as whoever Oprah said she liked.

You cannot really compare European politics to that of the US. Different system, way less money involved, no celebs. Well, maybe one or two.

Having a celebrity in one's camp means two things:

1) Money
2) familiarization

But really, money is the most helpful factor to candidates. Having an Oprah means more bang for one's buck. literally. although I'm also sure that Oprah's bookclub members have/are taking a long good look at Barack Obama.

The familiarization factor just helps the average lazy voter, who only knows whether a candidate is Republican or Democrat, and is fuzzy on the rest. I'm sure if Shia LaBeouf were to declare his love for a candidate, lazy 18 yr. old (heterosexual) girls, with otherwise no inclination toward voting, would perk up if only for a moment. And if that moment happens to be voting day, so much the better for the candidate. And perhaps the same could be said for the lazy 18 yrs old homosexual, Ani diFranco loving girls. We are, after all, a society (or cult) of celebrities ...

Now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates. [Mark Twain]

Firstly many people have this mistaken idea that what some public figure's opinion on a presidential canidate matters to them- it doesn't. Because as far as presidency is concerned, i'm a believer that everyone form their own opinions on canidates not follow some other person's , even a celebrity, idea.

Second... hahaha chuck noris - there isn't a chin behind his beard just another fist! Well... as we saw in that Bruce Lee film- Chuck Norris has one weakness and its asians... so white man this little asian girl is immune to your powers !