Politico: Actress has a crush on Obama
By: Jeffrey Ressner
June 10, 2008 02:31 PM EST
Every presidential candidate can use a sexy blonde movie star to liven up his or her campaign, appear at big money events and rally the entertainment community. Sen. Barack Obama’s go-to Hollywood hottie is Scarlett Johansson, a starlet who trades frequent e-mails with the presumptive Democratic nominee, campaigns tirelessly on his behalf, hosts lucrative fundraisers and even appeared in that “Yes We Can” viral video that got 10 million views in its first week online.
Of course, there’s always the possibility of a backlash. “Even I’m wary of celebrity endorsements,” Johansson told Politico on Friday. “I don’t want to seem like I’m holier than thou. We all have the same right to vote and, especially in this technical age where we all can broadcast our opinions, we all have the opportunity to entice others to vote.” But, she adds, “if the spotlight is on me, I might as well try to direct it on things and causes that I believe in.”
The 23-year-old actress, known for her cool, quirky films such as “Ghost World,” “Match Point” and the Oscar-winning “Lost in Translation,” has been an Obama supporter for years, even before the first Democratic caucus in Iowa, and she’s made no secret of her deep devotion to the candidate. “I am engaged to Barack Obama,” she said back in January, joking with reporters after returning from a USO tour to the Persian Gulf. “My heart belongs to Barack.”
She’s not alone. Jessica Alba is for Obama. So are Ryan Phillippe, John Legend, Anthony Kiedis, Taye Diggs, Kate Walsh and countless others. But Johansson emphasizes that it’s not just young Hollywood coming out. “His support goes across all of America, not just with celebrity endorsements,” she says, laughing. “Trying to find McCain’s youthful core group is going to be challenging. One of the driving forces behind the Obama campaign is that all of these young people who never had a reason to vote before finally got the fire under their ass.”...
...(L)ast week, the actress, who reads The Economist, serves as an ambassador for Oxfam and also speaks out on behalf of several charities, engaged in a back-and-forth conversation about her political activism and how she expects the Hollywood-Obama connection to play out between now and November....
http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=7381F248-3048-5C12-005F78C017A32C17 
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