The Burlington Hawkeye has an editorial on the role celebrity endorsements are playing in impacting Iowa caucus goers choice for President. Or rather, how they think Iowans aren't impressed by celebrity.
All of this has drawn the notice of Sen. Chris Dodd, who has had singer Paul Simon campaign on his behalf. Dodd cautions voters to pick the candidate best suited for the job, not the one who can grab A-list celebrities to woo stargazers to political rallies.
On this one, we certainly agree with Dodd.
One has to wonder how many South Carolinians in the audience were there more to get close to Oprah than listen to Obama. What would be worse is for Oprah-obsessed fans to pull the lever for Obama simply because she told them to.
Our guess is a bunch.
But rather than dwell on cynicism, the hope here is that those in the football stadium now will pay closer attention to what all the candidates are saying, not just one.
It's possible to make an educated decision only after assembling all the relevant facts, and for this exercise that means studying the positions of each of those who want to be our president.
Dodd says Iowans are too smart and politically educated to make a decision based on celebrity.
The Hawkeye goes on to editorialize that not only will the decision not be made on the basis of celebrity, there is an inherent value in voters deciding through careful thought and evaluation.
In the end... it won't be celebrity connections that will make a win, Americans will pick the person they think will best fix the nation's problems.
For the country's sake, let's hope so.
I couldn't agree more. Personally, I've never been impressed with celebrity (a trait that clearly goes beyond Iowa). I'm working for Chris Dodd because I believe, based on his record as a legislator and his leadership on the campaign trail, that he will make the best President in 2009. That's what matters to me, and like the Hawkeye editorial board, I think that's what matters to most Americans.
