I'm sure some people are going to be upset with me for saying this, but I'm not a die-hard Obama fan. I'm not really a McCain fan either. But, the other night while watching "Showbiz Tonight" on Headlines News, it brought up an interesting question: "Do celebrities influence or sway your opinion on who you will vote for?"
This question was prompted by the Tina Fey skit on Saturday Night Live this past weekend. In the skit she played McCain's Vice President candidate, Sarah Palin. (It was bound to happen since all anyone can talk about is how similar they look.)
Right after I heard the question I thought to myself, Lindsay Lohan's opinion of the possible future vice president should have nothing to do with me. After all, when it comes to voting, she is just one person. It's not like her vote counts for more then mine or yours. But why then are some people so outraged or enamored with a celebrities opinion on the candidates.
I know my mom gets really upset when celebrities don't agree with her, or if they say something she doesn't agree with herself. A lot of people react this way. It seems to suggest that while we think celebrities don't influence our vote, they somehow have impacted us. Either they confirm our personal choice, or you look at someone like Lindsay Lohan saying don't vote for so and so and you think, if Lindsay says no, I'm certainly saying yes.
The fact that an entire twenty minutes was dedicated to discussing this question and reviewing popular celebrity's opinions of the cadidates reveals how particular types of media work. They were insinuating that a celebrities opinion should mean nothing to you, but then they spent a large portion of the show talking about it. It's because of this saturation that our opinions are often influenced by celebrity choices, or we can't go a day without learning what they're thinking. I guess that just goes to show how powerful the news is.
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I totally agree with your post. It bothers me when celebrities pimp their candidate thinking that will sway my vote. The sad thing is, I'm willing to bet that quite a few people out there have their vote influenced this way. This goes along with people voting for or against someone just based on their race, gender, religion, etc.
I'm curious to hear what you think about Oprah refusing to invite Sarah Palin on her show because I feel like it kind of goes along with this issue and you stated that you aren't a die-hard fan of either Obama and McCain.
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