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Celebrity Political Endorsements

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by 21, Dec 10, 2007.

  1. Captain_Kirk

    Captain_Kirk Well-Known Member

    Brad Pitt, no.

    Oprah, absofuckinglutely.

    There's probably a very limited number of celebrities who can actually influence someone's voting choice, but Ms. Winfrey is definitely one. People will take her advice on what to read, what products to use, etc.; and in the same fashion they'll follow her advice when they hit voting booth.

    Me? I'm waiting to hear who Pauly Shore is supporting....
     
  2. EStreetJoe

    EStreetJoe Well-Known Member

    Oprah might be one of the only celebs that can sway votes. After all, any book her book club endorses automatically becomes a best-seller. Her TV show still has extremely high ratings. Her magazine is well-read and the products the magazine recommends sell well. So one can assume that her fans/followers will listen to her on a presidential endorsement.

    Then again, star power and big crowds don't always guarantee results at the polls on election day. Just look at the last election -- the number of rock stars participating in the various Vote For Change concerts -- and Kerry still lost. The final week of the election Kerry drew a total of over 80,000 people to three rallies where Springsteen played two songs solo acoustic and still lost.
     
  3. Pastor

    Pastor Active Member


    Making a movie that sucks or a bad album could be similar to having a bad day at the office. It happens sometimes. It isn’t always because of something you did. At the end of the day, though, you aren’t going to give back your pay check and demand to have that day erased. The other issue is taste. Sure, the album sucks to you, but for some sappy tweener it is the greatest hit ever.

    Putting that aside, let’s realize that being a celebrity shouldn’t mean that the person knows nothing or that we should/shouldn’t listen. Tom Cruise’s occupation is as an actor. Many people that post here have the occupation of journalist. By default, you would figure that Cruise has more time to spend reading information and learning about the world. So, by that very essence, if Cruise was passionate about the topic, he could become incredibly informed. (As an aside, Cruise chose to spend his time researching crazy shit that his cult told him to research so he may not be the best example.)

    I won’t rule out musicians, artists or actors from making political comments by default. I would like to know their reasoning behind how they came to the conclusion instead of just telling me what that conclusion is. I want to know why, specifically, a celebrity would choose a certain candidate. If Michael Jackson is endorsing Ron Paul because Jackson believes Ron Paul will allow him to diddle in the US, then I would consider that something I have learned and I can base my decision on learning something new from a celebrity.
     
  4. Lugnuts

    Lugnuts Well-Known Member

    No, I don't think Oprah sways anybody in favor of Obama.

    On the other hand, the hatred for Oprah by men in this country is like nothing I've ever seen.

    White men will now go out of their way not to vote for Obama.

    Bye bye Obama.
     
  5. zeke12

    zeke12 Guest

    Luggie, God love you, you're going to have to explain your interesting theory of how celebrity endorsements sway no votes for a candidate, while at the same time celebrity endorsement backlash votes will be enough to end the campaign of one of the frontrunners and top fundraisers.
     
  6. 21

    21 Well-Known Member

    That's my thinking as well.

    However. Obama with Oprah, or Hillary? What's a white man to do?
     
  7. poindexter

    poindexter Well-Known Member

    Where do you find a brush that broad to cover your generalizations? Home Depot?
     
  8. John

    John Well-Known Member

    I didn't know men hated Oprah. I don't. Frankly, I don't give a shit about her one way or the other.

    I don't know if what Oprah's doing will actually result in votes for Obama, but if it's getting people who wouldn't ordinarily be interested in politics to pay attention for a while, just like her book club certainly got more people reading, then I consider that a very good result.

    Regarding celebrity endorsements in general, I think it all depends on the credibility of the celebrity.
     
  9. JR

    JR Well-Known Member

    I was kinda thinkin' the same thing.

    Hate is a pretty strong word. I imagine a lot of men find her annoying as hell but hate?

    In marketing speak, Oprah's support of Obama is a tactic in an overall strategy, but it ain't the strategy.
     
  10. Captain_Kirk

    Captain_Kirk Well-Known Member

    Nor did I. I actually admire her. The degree and level of success she has achieved, and her ability to positively impact so many other lives is really quite impressive.
     
  11. poindexter

    poindexter Well-Known Member

    I know the white man is the symbol of evil, but I don't think the white man gives a shit about stuff nearly as much as he's given discredit for.

    My wife loves Oprah. It really doesn't matter to me one way or another. She loves Obama via his exposure on Oprah. It really doesn't matter to me one way or another. We can certainly stand to do worse than watch Mrs. Obama in the white house for four years.
     
  12. JR

    JR Well-Known Member

    Poin, watch that brush thing. :)
     
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