With race tight, celebrities make the pitch for Obama
Politically, the United States may be a narrowly divided nation 鈥� but when it comes to celebrity endorsements, it鈥檚 not even close.
With polls showing the presidential race has tightened into a dead heat, the Obama campaign and pro-Obama advocacy groups are playing the star-power card, unleashing a virtual tidal wave of Hollywood celebrities who are cutting ads, making appearances on the trail, and otherwise urging folks to turn out in support of the president.
There鈥檚 this week鈥檚 overt appeal to women, with Scarlett Johansson, Eva Longoria, and Kerry Washington attacking Mitt Romney鈥檚 position on abortion in a MoveOn.org ad (鈥淚 want to talk to you about women 鈥� and about Mitt Romney鈥�).
There鈥檚 America鈥檚 own voice-of-God (otherwise known as Morgan Freeman) lending the narration to a new Obama ad airing in swing states.
There鈥檚 the video from Rosie Perez, commenting on Mr. Romney鈥檚 remark that he鈥檇 be better off if only he were Latino (鈥淎ctually鈥�.鈥�). That one was produced by two pro-Obama "super PACS," one of which also recently turned out a satiric video by Samuel L. Jackson (鈥淲ake the [word that rhymes with duck] up鈥�).
Big-time musicians are out there pitching, too. Jay-Z has released a new video about 鈥渢he power of our vote,鈥� saying Mr. Obama 鈥渕ade it mean something for the first time for a lot of people.鈥� Bruce Springsteen is campaigning for Obama in Ohio and Iowa, and last week Katy Perry and Jon Bon Jovi performed on behalf of the Obama campaign in Los Angeles.
By contrast, whom does the Romney campaign have in its corner? Let鈥檚 see: There鈥檚 Kid Rock, who recently appeared with veep nominee Paul Ryan in Michigan. John Elway endorsed Romney not too long ago in Denver. And, of course, there鈥檚 Clint Eastwood 鈥� but that鈥檚 just rubbing it in.
All this Hollywood love for Obama isn鈥檛 new, of course. All campaign long we鈥檝e been hearing about presidential fundraisers with the likes of George Clooney and Sarah Jessica Parker. But right now there鈥檚 something of a celebrity full court press going on.
Which raises an obvious question: Does any of this really help?
Sure, America is a celebrity-obsessed culture, but that doesn't mean people want those celebrities telling them how to vote. To many, it can seem a bit high-handed, or condescending.
And there's evidence it can backfire: A found that voters who didn鈥檛 like certain celebrities tended to feel less positive about the candidates those celebrities were endorsing. It also found those sentiments can work in the reverse, with a celebrity endorsement causing voters of the opposite political persuasion to conclude they no longer like the celebrity.
Even if it doesn鈥檛 wind up turning people off, it鈥檚 not clear that it actually drives up turnout. This isn鈥檛 the first time Springsteen has hit the trail on behalf of a candidate 鈥� he did it for Obama in 2008 (when Obama hardly needed it). But he also made appearances back in 2004 for John Kerry. Senator Kerry wound up coming pretty close in Ohio, where Springsteen campaigned heavily in the final weeks. And who knows, perhaps there was a "Springsteen effect" that drove some votes his way. But we suspect it didn't change too many voters' minds. And in the end, it wasn't enough.
