Democrats Prefer Celebrities, Republicans Statesmen for Political Endorsements (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | The way in which the two parties view endorsements cannot be better illustrated than by two stories, one by the Tennessean about whom President Barack Obama would like to give him the nod and one by the Washington Post about which ones influence Republicans.

The Tennessean reports Obama has a wish list of people who he would like to endorse him. The list is heavily weighted toward Hollywood players such as Tom Hanks, Tina Fey and Harvey Weinstein. There are a few actual politicians such as Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry. One music group, "Lady Antebellum," was included on the list but has responded it does not comment on political issues.

Meanwhile, the Washington Post has published a poll of Republican voters asking the question of whose endorsement would most sway them to pick a candidate to vote for. On the top of the list is former President George W. Bush. Following close behind is Sarah Palin.

The dichotomy could not be starker. On the one hand, President Obama thinks the endorsement of an actor or musician is important. Mind, Tom Hanks is a great actor and producer, but does one really care about whom he likes for president? Politico once reported that Hanks was going to vote for Obama because of the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" and because he saved a "billion" jobs at General Motors and Chrysler. He also once said, according to CBS News, that World War II in the Pacific was of "racism and terror."Just like the War on Terror.

On the other hand, Republicans tend to value the opinion of people who have actually been in public office in picking someone to vote for. George W. Bush was president and Sarah Palin a governor and candidate for vice president. Tom Hanks has not even played a president in the movies.

This suggests that while Democrats like Obama tend toward the superficial in politics, Republicans take the notion of who should be president seriously. If one regards a candidacy for president as a job application, the nod from someone who has actually held the job counts for far more than someone who has achieved popularity in the entertainment industry due to being able to speak his lines and make his marks.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politicsopinion/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120114/cm_ac/10834717_democrats_prefer_celebrities_republicans_statesmen_for_political_endorsements

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