Celebrity Politics

The 2000 election was a presidential election in which the leading candidates were two sons of former politicians (George W. Bush and A1 Gore), a former basketball player (Bill Bradley), and a former prisoner of war (John McCain). Hillary Rodham Clinton made history by becoming the only first lady to run for and win a U.S. Senate seat. Four Kennedys (Ted and Patrick Kennedy, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, and Mark Shriver) now serve in elective office, and a former professional wrestler, Jesse Ventura, is governor of Minnesota. Celebrityhood pervades the political process from campaigns and elections to governing, lobbying, and legislating. Celebrity Politicslooks at the history and contemporary role of celebrities in American politics, and the long-term implications of this trend. It examines the intersection of prominent families such as the Kennedys, Bushes, and Clintons with entertainment figures like Charlton Heston (now head of the National Rifle Association), Warren Beatty, the Rock, and Barbra Streisand. In this book, we analyze the celebrities, from John Glenn and Jim Bunning to Jesse Jackson, Jr., and Steve Largent, who have served in Congress in recent years. Our discussion of governing looks at the Reagan, Bush (both father and son), and Clinton presidencies to see how politicians use celebrities to raise money and issue awareness on a wide variety of causes. We show how television and movies intersect with the political process, as demonstrated by the popularity of the NBC show, "West Wing." Since this book examines celebrity-politics in historical context as well as in the contemporary situation, it can be used as a valuable supplementary reading in Introduction to American Politics courses as well as classes on mass media, campaigns and elections, Congress, the presidency, parties, interest groups, and popular culture. Despite the importance of the subject, few books address celebrity politics. David Canon has a fine book,Actors, Athletes, and Astronauts,which looks at the periodic entry of prominent individuals into the U.S. Congress, but it was published more than ten years ago and focuses mainly on House elections. Darrell West is the author ofPatrick Kennedy: The Rise to Power,which looks at how the next generation of Kennedys is moving to center stage. John Orman talked about the problems of celebrity politics in his bookPresidential Accountability.A decade ago, journalist Ron Brownstein wroteThe Power and the Glitter,which looked at the "Hollywood-Washington Connection," while Len Sherman pennedThe Good, the Bad and the Famous,which spotlighted the growing tendency of celebrities to get involved in the political process. The relative paucity of up-to-date materials on the Hollywoodization of politics convinced us that there was a need for a book dealing with this subject. In the 1990s, the now-defunct magazine George, started by the late John F. Kennedy, Jr., demonstrated how all politics had become entertainment and how pop culture had become political. In this era of politics as entertainment and entertainment as politics, what has become of the political process, and what has become of popular culture? In a time when the deaths of Princess Diana and John F. Kennedy, Jr., are covered around the globe, the distinction between public life and pop culture has virtually disappeared. Celebrities run for political office (or lobby those who do), and operatives such as George Stephanopoulos, Geraldine Ferraro, Oliver North, and Jesse Ventura become celebrated figures. With popular culture merging with the political system, the press has moved toward a style of reporting that emphasizes Hollywoodstyle gossip and scandal, to the detriment of traditional politicians and political parties. Critics warn of the deleterious effects that pop culture has on society and politics. Political accountability is undermined. Myths are manufactured in order to booWest, Darrell M. is the author of 'Celebrity Politics', published 2002 under ISBN 9780130943255 and ISBN 0130943258.