2008 Primaries, Views on News, public relations • July 31st, 2008

Barack Spears?

by Chris Lato

There are many perils for politicos who associate themselves with celebrities. Witness the mini-uproar over Bill O’Reilly’s favorite rapper, Ludacris, and his tune that sings the praises of Barack Obama.

The problem with tying oneself too closely to a celebrity is that one day the politico may be called on to condemn or defend what that celebrity is doing or saying.

That’s the danger when any surrogate is out there talking up a candidate. Surrogates often stray from the talking points or ignore them altogether. Throughout this presidential election season, the candidates have had to disavow or toss their surrogates aside entirely when the mouth moves faster than the brain (Phil Gramm, anyone? How about Geraldine Ferraro? ).

It’s an interesting thing – Barack Obama is embracing the Cult of Celebrity, being featured on the covers of magazines you typically peruse while waiting in the supermarket checkout line. He draws rock-star crowds. And John McCain is seizing on this to argue Obama may be a celebrity, but he’s too shallow to be a leader.

McCain, like Hillary Clinton before him, is hitting Obama on substance. The words sound impressive, the crowds are impressive, but what are the real ideas below the glittering surface? In a perfect world, those are the questions that would be asked of both candidates, in addition to what happens to be on the candidate’s iPod. But that is not the environment we live in. Celebrity and politics are merging in an entirely new way in 2008. Charisma has always made a difference - but in 2008 it may reach new levels of importance.

However, celebrity status is often fleeting – overexposure burns the public out, and they move on to the Next Big Thing. Will those starstruck by Barack Obama still be there come November - and actually turn out to vote?

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 31st, 2008 at 12:27 pm and is filed under 2008 Primaries, Views on News, public relations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.