Obama's Celebrity Army (Scarlett Johnansson Going Door to Door in Minn.)

propol

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Tue Feb-05-08 12:29 PM
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Obama's Celebrity Army (Scarlett Johnansson Going Door to Door in Minn.)

Edited on Tue Feb-05-08 12:50 PM by propol

Many pundits had assumed Obama had written off the Golden State, where until recently Hillary Clinton had a comfortable lead. He had visited only briefly last week before moving on. Then, this past weekend, the campaign announced a last-minute rally with Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama and Caroline Kennedy. Hastily assembled in less than 30 hours on Super Bowl Sunday, the gathering drew 9,000 people. "I believe that change has already come, California. I believe that change has already come because I know that you all just heard about this this morning and you said 'Let me get on over there to UCLA,' here on a Super Bowl Sunday," Winfrey told the crowd. "We're all energized, we're excited and we're fired up."

Oprah isn't the only one. Voters in many of the Super Tuesday states, particularly on college campuses, shouldn't be surprised to see celebrities such as Robert DeNiro, who appeared today with Obama at a New Jersey rally, Kerry Washington, Usher, Chris Rock, Brendan Routh, Kate Walsh, Kal Penn and Tate Donovan speaking on Obama's behalf. Voters in California are getting phone calls from Ed Norton and Alfre Woodard; caucus goers in Colorado might hear from Oscar winner Forest Whitaker. Minnesotans might be shocked to see Scarlett Johansson knocking at their door.
In campaigns past Los Angeles was a little more than an ATM stopover on the fundraising circuit. But this year Obama is asking stars who support him to not only speak on his behalf, but to stuff mailers, make calls, knock on doors, install yard signs and act as precinct captains — pledging to lead hundreds of their friends and neighbors to the polls. "It is indicative of Obama's strategy overall, gathering everyone, actors, directors, producers, elbow to elbow to elbow with everyone," said David Washington, a senior adviser to the campaign in California. Indeed, Obama has approached organizing in California much in the way he did Iowa — with precinct captains and small groups banding together from the ground up, in addition to the more traditional strategy of phone calls, media hits and advertising.

Obama's surge of celebrity backing turns the tables on the Clintons, who have long enjoyed strong support from powerful Hollywood figures. Kelly Hu, of X-Men fame, held two fundraisers at Hollywood nightclubs for young Asian-Americans supporting Obama. "He really speaks to the younger generation," said Hu, who also knocked on doors in Nevada before the caucuses and drove to San Francisco last week to rally supporters. "He speaks to Asian Americans because he's lived amongst us in Asia and in Hawaii. But even if he hadn't, he would still be the most inspiring candidate I've ever seen." http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1709745,00.html