‘O’ Brother, Obama, Huckabee, and Me By R.J. Godlewski

‘O’ Brother, Obama, Huckabee, and Me.

(How celebrity political endorsements are like product endorsements: try before you buy! )

I’ll be the first to admit it; I hate celebrity endorsements. Why? Because we all know that they’re getting paid to say what they are saying. No one actually believes that these celebrities actually use the products that they pitch which is why I remember reading about George Foreman and his infamous grills. It was a story about how the former heavyweight champion lit up the telephones during a television infomercial during one of his on-air endorsements. The marketing folks who study such things couldn’t understand how the former boxer could impact such a distance audience. Until, that is, they reviewed the tapes of the broadcast and during banter between the two less-known hosts, George Foreman could be seen wolfing down a burger in the background. Meanwhile, the phones were ringing off of the hook. It didn’t take long for the researchers to realize that these same people calling were also seeing the ‘celebrity’ enjoying the fruits of his own product. He wasn’t simply lending his name – he actually used the device!

Remembering this tale from years past, I cannot help but consider why educated researchers can’t quite figure out that people aren’t as stupid as we all seem to act from time to time. When it comes down to important things – our money, our health, our food, our families – we tend to ‘try before we buy’ items and services. So when it comes to celebrity endorsements of political figures, I tend to ignore them out of hand. After all, I don’t think that Sean Penn or Robert Redford represent my lifestyle anymore than I suspect that Harry Belafonte’s cozying up with Venezuelan strongman-wannabe Hugo Chavez reflects how I want America to be run. Celebrities, in case you haven’t bothered to notice, have such powerful egos that they’re liable to do anything just to keep in front of the camera. Because of this, few within the population at large tend to concentrate on their doings outside of the tabloids and television magazines.

Now we have Oprah Winfrey entering the fray – a business woman. From what I’ve seen of her shows – I did have a wife, after all – I can’t think of the precise reason that she’s launched into this ‘new’ element of her career. At first, that is; but let me delve a fractional bit into her background before I continue. Oprah’s primary claim to fame is, obviously, her television show where a bunch of soccer moms sit around and discover ways in which they can make their lives better. Most of the shows that I did see, however, were very depressing, quite unlike the commercials that promote the show where everyone’s smiling and laughing. Another trait that I noticed about her program is that she’s always giving away things – bribes? – to her ‘selected’ audience. This is all fine and dandy – it’s her money – but it can be sickening in a way. The last program that I found myself having to watch – I was visiting – was where Oprah was giving away things such as refrigerators to everyone within her audience (this being from someone who makes several thousand dollars per hour for every hour of the year) and tears were flying everywhere. A young mother sitting next to me on the sofa then exclaimed “Why doesn’t she give me one; I’m the one who really needs it!”

Yes, this young mother that I sat next to could’ve used a new refrigerator. Then again, so could I. And probably a zillion other people – along with cars, jobs, healthcare, personal security, and a whole range of other ‘necessities’. Contemplating this thought a little deeper, I concluded that this young (thirty-something) mother still had more than a lot of other people. She had a computer for her kids with high-speed internet. Cable television with umpteen channels. She eats pizza more than I do. Then it struck me! Most of the people that watch the Oprah Winfrey show dream of a better life, one in which everything is rosy pink and picture perfect. Martha Stewart but for a slightly lower economic class. Oprah Winfrey’s claim to fame is that she’s marketed nirvana, utopia, and free living in one neat package – the ‘George Foreman Grill’ for soccer moms.

For those of us who actually have lives to lead, Oprah Winfrey is nothing more than an aging New Ager. She wants to take the best of whatever she can find and fabricate it into a new religion where she’s the priestess, the confidant, and the chairman of the board. Myself, I prefer tried and true Christianity. All of this leads me to consider why she’s now full tilt in Barack Obama’s campaign and why her southern appearances seem to have everything in common with a good old-fashioned Bible Belt revival. Has she given up on her New Age beliefs in exchange for orthodox Christianity? Not by a long shot! Otherwise she wouldn’t be endorsing someone who doesn’t believe in orthodox Christianity himself. Oprah Winfrey has simply reached a barrier in her career. She’s the richest, most influential woman in America and what Oprah wants Oprah gets. This is how Texas cattle ranchers lost big money when Queen Oprah boasted that eating meat was not healthy. She survived the subsequent lawsuits, but I wonder how many ranchers survived after their livelihood tanked because Oprah decided that she knew better than we did (Note to all of my rancher fans: I just love a big, thick, juicy steak). So Oprah’s endorsement of Barack Obama has very little to do with the future of this nation and everything to do with the future of Oprah. She’s run against a wall. She has her production company, her book club, her magazine, her student-abusing school in Africa (that denies education to whites). What’s next? Corralling politics.

Well, enough of harping on Oprah (sorry for the pun). By now you know that I don’t like celebrity endorsements. Being that I’m not exactly a celebrity and that I generally don’t tell people who to vote for, permit me to explain who I’m voting for. You can vote for whomever your heart desires – that’s what this great nation is all about. I’m voting for Mike Huckabee – unless he does something totally against my beliefs in which case I’ll exercise my prerogative and cast my valuable vote somewhere else. Like the customers watching George Foreman on television, I’ve lived under a Huckabee rule for nearly four years and I found it quite a pleasant experience (ignoring the fact that my wife had died from cancer). I’ve also done research on Mr. Huckabee and I can’t find one statement from his campaign that I disagree with. You can read his platform at his Website.

In particular, I like his stance on gun ownership. He is right; the Second Amendment applies to the individual, not the city or the state. It is “We the People” who need to defend ourselves against tyranny and we shouldn’t lose this right whenever we “change addresses.” I also believe that he has a sound policy regarding combating terrorism, which most of you know is what my life is all about. We can seek friends and allies, but what it all boils down to is either us or the terrorists. I want to win and I think that Mike Huckabee does too. Barack Obama, for one, wants to quit while the fight is still going on. Mr. Huckabee also shares my belief on illegal immigration and, if you note a developing pattern here, I vote for those people who represent my particular beliefs and not those enforced upon me by someone more popular and wealthier than I am. You can read more about why I’m voting for Mike Huckabee here. I won’t tell you to vote for him, only that I am and I’ve done my research.

Since Governor Huckabee’s popularity has risen lately, many of his opponents have proceeded to launch attacks on him as, perhaps, can only be expected during such a turbulent thing as a political campaign. Yes, there are a few things about him that I don’t like, but the point is to vote for someone whose track record parallels our desires. Incidents don’t make a person; patterns do. Judge a person by how he most reflects your goals for this nation and not whether he is the leader of the pact, some ‘Cinderella charmer’ from the basement, or merely someone who has been in front of the cameras for the past two decades. America needs your vote because America needs you! If you simply listen to other’s opinions without seeking the facts yourself then you are only handing your rights away to someone who probably doesn’t have your best interests at heart. As for me, I’ve done my homework; I’ve spent my entire life letting people know what I believe and how I act; I’ve analyzed all the candidates and I know which one I’m going to vote for. What about you? Are you an informed voter who’s easy to identify? Or are you simply an impressionable voter who’s easy to manipulate?