May the media be with you...

As the video below came to my attention today, I began to wonder how many other celebrities are endorsing candidates in this election and what that means in the expanse of the campaign. After all, "Hollywood" is the largest film-making enterprise in the world and its influence in so many aspects of the American people's lives is both incredible and somewhat creepy.

Even for those not following the primaries or presidential election, it is almost impossible not to realize the depth of Obama's celebrity endorsement. It's everywhere.


There are reggae and hip-hop songs made about him that have been playing on popular radio stations, and his celebrity supporters often show up at his speeches, which are then fed to us by all the news media eager to get the prize-winning photo of DeNiro's good side.

But what influence do celebrity endorsers really have on a political campaign, besides their pocketbooks of course? I mean, many of them are actors, after all, which could mean they're just as capable of falsehoods as any other political figure. So they can't be valued as more believable than the candidate himself, right? But then there is the issue of familiarity. As Matt Damon implies below, we really don't know much about Sarah Palin, yet most people in their 20s and 30s know Matt Damon fairly well. And in this respect, Obama has all his constituents covered. With supporters like DeNiro, Chris Rock, Oprah, Halle Berry, Scarlett Johansen, Ben Affleck and George Clooney, the democratic candidate appeals to all ages, ethnicities and genders.

So to combat all this, who does McCain have in his corner? An article from the Daily Standard two weeks ago lists a few who have financially offered their assistance. Among them were Dean Cain, James Caan, Jon Voight, Lou Ferrigno, Adam Carolla, Lacy Chabert, Angie Harmon, Victoria Jackson, Gerald McRaney, Jon Cryer, Lorenzo Lamas, Kevin Sorbo, Patricia Heaton, George Newbern, and Robert Duvall. And among those, I must admit, I only recognize four, although having Hercules' support is never a bad thing. However, Mat Damon's viedo received over 1.5 million views in only two days, and somehow I doubt the Daily Standard has that kind of circulation.