Scarlett Johansson: Obama’s secret weapon?
With the US election too tight to call, politicians hope A-list stars like Scarlett, Clint and Beyonce can convert fans into voters in a two-week overdose of bling politics.
Spending on the US election is approaching $6bn but money alone has not been enough to sway undecided Americans in the tight race between Republicans and Democrats. So politicians who rolled out the red carpet for celebrity endorsements during convention season are relying heavily on celebrity glamour to captivate voters in the run-up to 6 November, blurring the already hazy line between show business and US politics.
The Boss – Bruce Springsteen, not President Barack Obama – is a case in point. Although the 63-year-old icon vowed earlier this year to stay on the sidelines of politics, he appeared onstage with ex-president Bill Clinton in mid-October singing his support for Mr Obama and advocating for a “president who has a vision that includes all of our citizens, not just some.”
"I kissed your sister then I kissed your mama
Usually this time of day I'm in my pyjamas
Let's vote for the man who got Osama
Forward and away we go."
- Springsteen's Obama campaign song
Inspiring a generation
Even Mr Clinton, no stranger to the stage or the television cameras, spoke about his awe of the “incomparable” rock legend. gushing to the audience: “This is the first time in my life I ever got to be the warm-up act for Bruce Springsteen!“
American celebrities dabbling in politics is nothing new, of course – think “Hanoi” Jane Fonda – but when the stars align correctly the combination of fame and power can energise a stalled campaign and inspire a generation, even more so now with social media and online campaigns reaching a younger audience.
“I never knew Beyonce cared about politics but when she endorsed President Obama along with Jay-Z there was a spike in young people going online and learning more about how to vote and how to get registered,” Donna Brazile, vice-chair of the Democratic National Committee, told US actress-turned-social-activist and now journalist Marlo Thomas.
Donald Trump, US television host of The Apprentice and a supporter of Republican Mitt Romney, is a frequent tweeter on political issues including unemployment and tax cuts, while actor Samuel Jackson used YouTube to endorse Barack Obama with his video: “Wake the F*** Up“. Scarlett Johannson not only spoke at the Democratic Convention (photo, above) but along with Eva Longoria and Kerry Washington she stars in an online video discussing women’s health and throwing her support behind the president.
In one of the more bizarre pairings, Kid Rock – country hip-hop artist, Pamela Anderson’s ex, and a self-proclaimed American bad-a** – made headlines supporting Mr Romney and his running mate Paul Ryan. Kid serenaded a Tampa, Florida crowd in August with his campaign lyrics: “They say Obama is lyin’, that’s why I’m voting for Romney and Ryan.”
US politicians can expect to spend up to $1bn to sit in Obama’s chair.
The 31-year-old rocker (above, right) and the 65-year-old politician together comprise 21m Google hits.
What does it take to be US president?
Celebrity cache is something US dollars cannot buy, although an overflowing war chest of donations certainly helps politicians. The cost of running the 2012 election is close to a record $6bn, according to figures from the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington-based non-partisan research group that tracks money spent on elections.
That $6bn figure encompasses money spent at every level of campaigning. US politicians can expect to spend $1m for a seat on the House of Representatives, tens of millions for a senate seat and up to $1bn to sit in Obama’s chair, so celebrity fundraisers and corporate donors are vital to run a serious campaign.
It is a far cry from the $150,000 David Cameron spent during his five-month campaign for prime mininster. While Mr Cameron may have been helped by a few kind words from actor Michael Caine and other celebrities, British politicians – with the exception of, perhaps, Tony Blair during his “Cool Britannia” phase – have not relied on celebrity fairy dust to increase their popularity nor on paid television advertisements to jump start campaigns.
“It is a really big difference between us. We don’t allow political parties to advertise on television so that massively cuts the cost,” Mr Cameron told US talk show host David Letterman while grabbing a bit of the limelight himself in New York in September.
Body politics
But in America, where a reality television deal, botox and 15 minutes of fame are considered all but human rights, celebrity is part and parcel of the American dream. Television can eat up half of the campaign budget and famous backers may make the difference between winning and losing the US presidency – even when those backers aren’t celebrities in the traditional sense.
“Reverend Billy Graham supported Mitt Romney,” the DMC’s Ms Brazile said, noting that even help from above can boost a campaigner’s profile.
“Whether you are in the pulpit or you are a pundit or you are a celebrity your vote matters, your voice matters. It is important in this process.”
We’ve heard their voices and seen them online so many times in the two-year run-up to the US presidential election most of us address the mega-stars on a first-name basis. We speak knowingly about how Oprah, Mariah, Sarah-Jessica, Snoop – and yes, even Honey Boo Boo – are backing Barack, while Clint, Kelsey, Sylvester, Kid, Lindsey and “The Donald” have lined up behind Mitt.
NBFs
It isn’t all cyber-campaigning and virtual champagne. George Clooney raised $15m for his “very good friend” Barack Obama in Los Angeles in May with a party attended by singer Barbra Streisand and Spiderman Tobey Maguire. Then in September, Godfather star Robert Duvall fundraised for Mitt Romney asking well-heeled supporters to donate $2,500 per person to attend a reception, $10,000 for a VIP photo reception and $25,000 per plate for supper.
Most of us would have loved to attend either event. It is just that we weren’t invited, so we settled for the TV dinner. That kind of colourful, Entertainment Tonight-style flash news has its own place attracting voters however, particularly those more likely to tune into Jerry Springer Show repeats or flip through People magazine than read the Washington Post on their iPad.
Too bad for politicians that life cannot be all paid-for advertising and closed-door fundraisers.
Mr Obama and Mr Romney are likely to spend the next two weeks shaking hands, kissing babies and delivering soundbites and celebrities to reach the wider audience. Mr Obama and Mr Romney would also be well advised between now and 6 November to remember that real-life celebrities and politics can sometimes be a combustible mix.
Actor Rob Lowe’s decision to videotape himself having sex with two women – one underage – on the eve of the 1998 Democratic convention in Atlanta was such a memorable moment the news coverage thratened to overshadow candidates Mike Dukakis and Lloyd Benson.
President Obama will certainly recall his embarrassing explanations in 2008 when an over-exhuberant Scarlett Johannson told the media she and the commander-in-chief traded e-mails. “One e-mail,” Mr Obama stressed in the media frenzy that inevitably erupted.
Mitt Romney and his team have already found themselves spinning wildly themselves during the Republican convention when Clint Eastwood delivered a perplexing monologue to an empty chair for almost 12 cringeworthy minutes, sparking a classic Twitter following: @invisibleObama.
“The term ‘surfing on the edge of the catastrophe curve’ comes to mind,” one Conservative blogger wrote at the time.
“I would not recommend that the Grand Old Party makes it a habit.”
