the cult of celebrity
by Steven Doss
Published: January 10, 2008
In this topsy-turvy election year, we can safely assume one thing about the next president: he or she will have a celebrity endorsement. Having a celebrity campaign for you seems to be necessary in our day in age. It provides a certain credibility to the campaign that can only come from having WWE superstars Val Venis and Kane at your Ron Paul campaign rallies.
Some celebrities do bring with them significant chunks of voters. For example, Barack Obama got a huge “get” when Oprah Winfrey came out on her show in favor of him. With her word comes the mindless obedience of bored housewives everywhere.
It was her “Book Club” that led to the explosion of popularity for such talented authors as Wally Lamb and Chris Bohjalian. What’s that? Don’t worry, I’d never heard of them either … and I majored in literature. It just shows the awesome power that the Oprah has to bend the will of millions to her designs.
With Oprah’s help, Obama has stolen the vote of the bored housewife that Hilary so desperately needed.
On the Republican side, the best endorsement goes to Mike Huckabee. He took an internet fad popular among drunk frat boys and turned it into an explosion in the polls. With one Internet commercial called “ChuckHuck Facts,” he bolted into first place among the republican candidates. In it, Chuck Norris gives the talking points of the Huckabee campaign while Mike Huckabee talks about how Chuck Norris has another fist under his beard.
After this commercial hit the Internet, Mike Huckabee became the front-runner in Iowa, proving that drunk frat boys will vote when Chuck Norris is involved.
Celebrities do have a huge drawing power, but only to certain sects of voters. Bored housewives will follow the Oprah off a cliff and college-aged males love Chuck Norris no matter how drunk they are. In some instances, though, the “star power” of the candidates take away from the actual issues that we are facing in the real world. Just because the Oprah tells you to vote a certain way should not negate the fact that we need to research our candidates before we vote.
Oh, and P. Diddy, the next time you have a “Vote or Die” campaign, keep your promise.
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