Celebrity Politicians

The democratic government in place in the United States of America allows all Americans to have their say in what occurs in this country. Through the power of the vote, Americans can decide who they want to represent them in every level of the government. Getting elected, however, is not as easy as it sounds. It would reasonable to assume that a candidate would be elected to their position if they are more qualified than their opponents. This however is becoming less and less true. Nowadays, instead of always voting for the person who is the best at handling their prospective job, people are voting for candidates who handle themselves the best during the campaign. The candidate who is the most charismatic, funny, and outgoing is usually the person who is going to get elected. This is becoming particularly true in the case of many celebrities who have entered the field of politics. Although these people, who have gained fame in another field, are not as qualified for the job as others in the election, they find themselves capturing the majority of the vote anyway.

To truly understand how people with hardly any political experience can step right into the spotlight and win an election, one must first understand what goes into a political campaign. The first step for a want-to-be politician is to declare their entrance into the election. Many people want this to take place at a large press conference. This is a step in the election process where celebrities have a major advantage. Even if a celebrity announces their entrance into an election in their basement, they will still get massive amounts of press coverage. It is a big deal for celebrities to do something like this, especially when they have no political background. For example, when Arnold Schwarzenegger declared his entrance into the race for the governorship of California, he was the lead story on news shows all over the country for the next week. If this was just ordinary politician letting the world know that they were running for this position, they would only receive a quick mention on the news and only in the state of California. By having their name all over the news, the celebrity is getting the voting public to at least know they are running for a certain position.

After the person has entered their name into the election, they must start to campaign. There are many different ways to go about doing this, but one thing all campaign methods have in common is cost. No matter how the candidate chooses to campaign prior to the election, it is going to cost a lot of money.

There is however, one form of campaigning that reaches the most people in the quickest amount of time. Television continually proves to have the largest effect on the voting public and this proves to be another huge advantage for celebrities.

Television campaigning is not limited to commercials. Interviews and talk-show appearances are more examples of how a candidate can get their face and views conveyed to the public. Television is just another way celebrities have a substantial advantage over the competition. Many shows continually request that people with star power appear on that show. For ordinary people running for political office, this is hardly ever the case. Also, celebrities have another advantage when it comes to television campaigning. Commercials in prime-time slots can costs thousands of dollars to run. Often time, celebrities have enormous amounts of money to spend on their campaign. Usually, an election is won by the person who is willing to spend the most money on the election. In the case of celebrity politicians, incredibly large amounts of money are able to be spent on campaigns giving them a much greater chance of victory over their opponents.

With the recent news from California, when one thinks of celebrity politicians, the name Arnold Schwarzenegger immediately comes to mind. Schwarzenegger, who gained fame through his body building and movie career, had no political experience prior to entering the California recall election. Schwarzenegger soon found himself being elected governor of the state of California. This one example goes far in showing why an American voter votes the way they do in a governmental election.

Schwarzenegger declared his entrance into the California recall election on the "Tonight Show with Jay Leno." "At a time when other politicians hauled around briefcases full of 100-page platforms, Schwarzenegger spouted lines from his movies, gave no substantive interviews and agreed to exactly one debate, for which he knew the questions in advance" (Tumulty, 27). However, he still managed to pick up 49% of the vote, destroying all his competition. He won in a landslide and never actually presented his feelings on issues that were important to the people of the state of California.

There are many other examples of celebrities using their fame to propel them into the field of politics. Jesse "The Body" Ventura, a former WWF wrestler, became the governor of Minnesota. Jerry Springer worked his magic to become mayor of Cincinnati. Clint Eastwood served as the mayor of Carmel, CA. Bill Bradley, who gained fame as a superstar basketball player for the New York Knicks, served as a Democratic Senator for three terms. Sonny Bono, another famous celebrity, served as a mayor in California and also as a Congressman.

Even presidents have used former celebrity status to help them win political elections. Ronald Reagan was an actor before he became governor of California and consequently president of the United States of America. Reagan was always a person who appealed to his constituents, not because he was the best politician, but because he truly connected with the voters. "Reagan demonstrated a skill that marked his career: he was a politician who didn't seem to be a politician. He appealed to voters primarily as a human being, not as an ideologue" (Seib, 91).

To understand how these people become politicians after being famous in another field, one must first understand what goes through the mind on the American voter. Through the National Election Studies (NES), it has been determined that voters look for four specific characteristics in a candidate. The first is the competence of each candidate in terms of intelligence and knowledge. The next if the effectiveness of the candidate determines whether or not they can "get things done." The next characteristic is integrity measured by morality and honesty. The last, empathy, determines if the candidate cares about his constituents (Miller & Shanks, 416). These four characteristics are the top qualities the voter looks for in a candidate. Although they seem very important, none of these traits truly prove if a candidate is actually the most qualified person in an election.