It’s not surprising that Obama has won over the hearts of many popular Hollywood celebrities, as he has with much of the younger American generation. After all, the possible future president almost rates at celebrity status, himself. Why would young celebs vote for someone who is old (very, very old) news?
We all know that Obama’s speeches make Oprah “cry her eyelashes off”, but she’s not the only Obama advocate. It seems all of young Hollywood has become active in promoting Obama. Black Eyed Peas’ Will.i.am even created a music video inspired by a speech Obama gave after Clinton’s loss in New Hampshire, and Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel took to the stage on October 8th to rouse support for the democrat. The duo received their biggest applause after performing “Hail to the Chief”, the official song of the American President, in honor of Obama. Springsteen devoted his classic “Born to Run” to the Democratic candidate and he recently finished a three-day, free tour in support of him. Jennifer Aniston also donated 2, 300 big bucks to Obama’s campaign, along with Robert De Niro who endorsed Obama at a New Jersey fundraiser. De Niro ,defended the candidate against allegations of inexperience, saying that a candidate who hadn’t gotten his country into war had “the kind of inexperience I can get used to.” The comedian Chris Rock introduced the senator at an event in Harlem, not too far from the Clinton campaign headquarters, and has donated $4,600 to Obama’s campaign. Samuel L. Jackson even skipped the Academy Awards to campaign for Obama, claiming, “We need somebody the world relates to in a very real kind of way.”
Scarlett Johansson sang in the “Yes We Can” video, has campaigned in Iowa, and even joked she was “engaged to Barack Obama.” Ben Affleck and wife, Jennifer Garner, threw a fancy fundraiser for Obama, and Affleck, along with Matt Damon, was a judge for MoveOn.org’s “Obama in 30 Seconds” competition. George Clooney is a self-proclaimed “Obama Guy” and says the democrat has the “aura of a rock star.” Although he says celebrity endorsements can do “more harm than good”, Clooney appeared with Obama at a panel on Darfur in ’06. The Kennedy Women are also pro-Obama. Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg caused a frenzy claiming that Obama would be “a president like my father” in the New York Times. Her cousin, Maria Shriver, is voting for Obama, despite her McCain-fan husband. Oprah is, of course, Obama’s number one fan, and he is the first candidate she has endorsed in her entire career. Along with campaigning with the senator, she threw a celebrity fundraiser at her California home which collected about three million dollars. Other celebrities known for their pro-Obama attitude include Jessica Alba, George Lucas, Star Jones, Susan Sarandon, Anne Hathaway, Sheryl Crow, Spike Lee, Jennifer Hudson, Steven Spielberg, and Jennifer Lopez.
So which celebrities are voting republican this year? Almost none of them, unless you include miss Heidi Montag, who is good friends with McCain’s own wannabe-celebrity daughter. However, the list of young, popular celebrities voting republican this year begins with Heidi and end with Heidi. McCain, enthralled by his impressive Hollywood following, has admitted, “I never miss an episode of The Hills.” Even those celebrities who gave money to the Republican Party years before are not voting for McCain. Besides Heidi Montag, McCain has collected checks from Dean Cain (Superman), James Caan (Godfather I and II), Jon Voight (Midnight Cowboy), Lou Ferrigno (The Incredible Hulk), Adam Carolla (The Man Show), Angie Harmon (Law & Order), and Victoria Jackson (Saturday Night Live).
This upcoming election, it is obvious who has won Hollywood’s vote. Because celebrity actions have such an impact on the younger generation of voters, it clearly works in Obama’s favor. Unfortunately for McCain, Heidi Montag may just not be enough.
The Tower 