Nowadays, Americans are accustomed to stars gabbing about the designers they wear, the jewelry they favor, the products they use. But presidential candidates? Just as it has become de rigueur for candidates to campaign from chat-show couches, it is now expected that voters and reporters will ask them such questions as: Boxers or briefs?
(They don't have to answer: When celebrity mag Us Weekly asked Obama about his underwear, he replied, "I don't answer those humiliating questions. But whichever one it is, I look good in 'em!")
Lure of the spotlight is nothing new
The siren call of celebrity is not just a modern phenomenon, says presidential historian Douglas Brinkley of Rice University in Houston. He's writing a book about Theodore Roosevelt, who borrowed his "Rough Riders" shtick from Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West shows featuring the "Congress of Rough Riders of the World," although TR never actually appeared in a Wild West show.
"Buffalo Bill was the biggest celebrity in America at the time, and Roosevelt did all he could to become Bill" to get votes, Brinkley says. "Those presidents who continue to have luster, like JFK and Reagan, all have lingering appeal because they recognized how important celebrity is. "
But politics-merged-with-celebrity is no big deal, says presidential historian Stephen Hess, also of Brookings. It's insulting to suggest that voters don't know the difference between, say, voting for president and voting on American Idol, Hess scoffs.
"You'd have to show me actual evidence that people are voting for unqualified candidates just because they are 'celebrities,' " he says. "The American people can sort this out pretty well."
Indeed, an argument can be made that using the mechanics of celebrityhood to attract voters' attention is a good thing; democracy is about all the demos — the people — and not just political junkies.
"It's easy to distract people with entertainment because people are more interested in entertainment than politics," West says. "But it's not good if it drains substance out of the process. When you get Paris Hilton in campaign ads, you know you're in" silly territory.
Celebrity can be a mixed blessing for the candidates, as well, summed up by the aphorism: Live by tabloid, die by tabloid.
The good thing about your face plastered on scores of magazine and tabloid covers is that you reach more voters than you might otherwise. The bad thing is that some tabloids also want to take you down — dissecting your marriage, your parenting, your pastor, your love life and all those pesky details about cut-rate land deals and bridges to nowhere that you think are out of bounds.
Do you have more information about this topic? If so, please click here to contact the editors of ABC News.
