What is it with actors playing politicians?

[Deja Q]

Name me an actor, a good one or otherwise, who became a GOOD politician!

I know of three actors, good or otherwise, who became politicians, or at least played them in real life:

Jesse Ventura
Ronald Reagan
Arnold Scwarzenegger

Except the above three people made BAD politicians, and none of them were really good actors.

Reagan being the best actor of the bunch, and that's actually not saying much...

Jesse had bit roles and was a wrestler (so that puts his lack of intelligence beyond question)

and

Schwarzengger... sigh. He's a string of gaudy catchphrases and steroid-induced muscles that must ahve affected the size of both his testicles and his brain. Nothing genuine nor nothing more.

As for politics:

Jesse was all about Jesse and what he wanted, he had as much in common with the people as an anteater had commonalities with Penthouse magazine.

The other two are brainless shills to their political party and to their special interest groups who are their actual constituants. They used their actor status to make the people think "Well, he was in that movie. That must mean he'll be as equally super and heroic with real life!"

WTF do people think when they vote for actors, thinking they'll do good?! Why not get common folk back into politics instead of the phonies and SIGs?

[brainwashed_youth]

1. Clint Eastwood was a mayor

Ya, he was the mayor of some small town in Ohio I think.

And Reagan did have a few good highlights during his presidency, most noticeably the end of the Cold War

[supernova]

2. Eastwood was mayor of Carmel, CA

;-)

I think it's an overabundance of ego about their percieved popularity that leads them to think that just because they pose in pictures (I wouldn't call what any of those three did true acting), they'd make good public servants too.

Hogwash. It's all about ME!

[brainwashed_youth]

4. ya, ur right

it was in California

[Deja Q]

3. Didn't know about Eastwood, but. Reagan? I don't think so.

I dunno about Reagan's good points, very few as they were... too much scandal surrounding and depravity his era.

I think the end of the cold war had just as much to do with the other nations involved. It was a team effort. Reagan should not get total and complete credit for a multi-national effort to end hostilities.

Reagan should get zilch credit, in all honesty. It's been said that Chernobyl was the keystone to the Soviet collapse. The soviets came to us for help. Much good it did them... their economy is not even close to being prosperous, as we said it would become. We also renegged on our deal with them to help them dismantle their nukes. Why? Too expensive. TV report shows also had told us how comparatively easy it is to break in and get the goodies.

Reagan did nothing. It's as simple as that.

[brainwashed_youth]

5. what about the berlin wall

That was one good thing that happened during Reagan's presidency

[supernova]

8. He wasn't responsible for that

and I resent the neocons going around trying to proclaim for RR what the Germans achieved for themselves.

The DDR was already on implode mode. All ray-gun had to do was stand back and watch, which is what he did.

You want to give credit to someone? Thank Mikhail Gorbachev who precipitated the bust up of the Warsaw Pact and finally the USSR itself.

[supernova]

6. Agree about the empty hair dye job

that man gets zero respect from me. I'm sorry for his family at his illness, but he should not have been foisted upon the rest of us. :thumbsdown:

[brainwashed_youth]

7. ya, but at least

he was elected, not selected

[supernova]

12. Better question

Why are you defending RR?

[brainwashed_youth]

16. because he did do some good

I mean, c'mon, give credit where credit is due. Reagan should be commended for the good stuff he did as President. Hell, just about every president has done at least ONE good thing for this country(still trying to find one for Bush though....)

[neebob]

14. Could you be confusing Clint Eastwood with Jerry Springer?

Springer was once the mayor of Cincinnati.

[pagerbear]

9. Some more actor/politicians

Sonny Bono
Fred Grandy (Gopher from Love Boat)
Nancy Kelp (?) (Miss Hathaway from The Beverly Hillbillies)
Isn't Zelda from Dobie Gillis a politician too?

[camero]

10. and Sonny Bono

was a Congressman until he ran into that tree.

[supernova]

11. and Fred Thompson

US House rep from TN who also is an actor. Recently resigned his house seat to take a gig on Law & Order.

[mrfrapp]

13. UK MP

The UK MP Glenda Jackson was an actress. I'm not sure if she's a *good* politician (whatever that may mean) but she's certainly better in all important respects (ie. I tend to agree with her :-)) than the three you mention. She's also a noticably better actor than them too and has won two Oscars amongst other accolades.

[muriel_volestrangler]

17. She's a left leaning Labour politician

Was in Blair's government at first, but now frequently rebels against it, eg voting against war in Iraq ( see voting record ). Her overall record would be pretty popular in DU, I think.

[neebob]

15. Both are good jobs for narcissists.

It's a personality disorder.