Everywhere I turned... some media pundit was explaining how Alec Baldwin, after being interviewed on Sixty Minutes, was suddenly "political" material.

While he is an accomplished actor, he still remains, at least in my mind, the cold, heartless bastard that called his little girl "a rude thoughtless little pig" as to prove the point that everything was all about him. An Al Gore clone...distasteful as that image is for me.

"Acting is a funny business: you make a living being other people, and you move from saintly heroes to serial killers, which may sometimes lead to a certain uncertainty about who it really is occupying your skin." -- Morley Safer Introduction to Alec Baldwin Interview

But do I want an actor impacting my real life problems?

Morley Safer has highlighted the key question: who is really occupying the mind of the actor who may simply be pretending to be a politician.

Special interest ploy:  the people pulling the strings...

The four things needed for a successful political campaign are: money, a live malleable candidate, name recognition and a believable story. Therefore, the backroom crowd that stands to personally and professionally profit from political decisions are always looking for a promotable "candidate," especially one that can stay "on message" and be controlled in some manner. One explanation for the success of minority politicians who are seemingly being supported by the "backroom guys." Another "people pleasing diversion" while they continue to pick the people's pockets?

Actors fit the bill...

They have massive name recognition. And, in many cases, people often confuse the actor's personal behavior and abilities with the characters they play. The have the ability to deliver lines written by others, no matter their content, in a believably sincere manner -- even if they do not personally believe what they are saying. And, in many cases, they have made enough money to provide seed capital to fund a nascent campaign.

Most actors are dumb narcissists who act like spoiled children...

Anyone who has spent any time around actors will find that they are sometimes terribly insecure and that mostly everything is all about them, their feelings and their career.  If the traffic is bad, it's because they need to get somewhere important. If the picture bombed, it's because their agent picked the wrong script to recommend, the director sucked, the producer did not spend enough money on promotion -- never once believing that the story line and their miscast performance was not believable or credible to their audience. In the final analysis, it is all about "THEM!"

Constant attention is the problem...

Look around you, people fawn over celebrities, entire business models, such as celebrity magazines, exist solely to capitalize on the public's seeming unquenchable thirst for details surrounding the public and private lives of those whom the public apparently has elevated to the position of American royalty.

And, after a period of time, celebrities begin to believe that the laws do not apply to them. And, in a sense, it is often true as a police officer will let a celebrity slide after committing an act which would get an ordinary citizen thrown in the pokey. Money and privilege isolate them from the vagaries of everyday living. Even if they started as a struggling actor with no resources, it is either quickly forgotten or "amassing more" continues to be a prime motivator.

As more and more people accommodate them, they really begin to believe their own press. The thought that people actually want to hear what they have to say is unfiltered through the reality that they are being interviewed as a product to help sell media advertising or product.

Their appearances at charitable events for good causes does not prove they are good people, only that they are being used to attract a crowd of people willing to donate big money to "hob nob" with the wealthy or the famous.

In fact, one major charity selects their "person of the year" by first considering the potential "drawing power" of the person to be honored,  the ability of their studio or company to "underwrite" the evening's expenses, and the necessity of all of those people who contributed to the person's success, and by extension the studio's success, to contribute even more money as well as goods and services to be auctioned. It helps if the person has a record of personal concern for the charity, but this is not always a major requirement.

No consequences for their past egregious actions...

With celebrities, much of their past behavior is often forgiven by the public. Their drug offenses become "old news" and not worthy of comment. They are not held accountable for their actions. How anyone can romanticize a drunken brawl over skanky women remains beyond me. We mere mortals are formed by the sum total of our environment and our experiences -- a somewhat overlooked process when one considers a performer as a politician.

The key to understanding actors...

There is an old Hollywood riddle that perfectly sums up an actor's total existence.

Question:  When is a star not a star?

Answer  When there is a bigger star in the room!

which leads to their outrageous behavior...

From a meaningless piece of attention-grabbing stage business to the full-blown trashing of a hotel room, it is all about image and garnering attention which furthers the public's perception of an actor's persona.

Of course, this does not apply to the actions taken while the actor was almost incapacitated by alcohol or drugs, both which bode poorly for potential politicians.

A bigger truth...

Some have gone so far as to claim that politics is simply "show business for ugly people" and it is hard to prove them wrong. Where else can ordinary people be treated like celebrities? How is it possible for mediocre politicians to amass personal fortunes while only being employed to "do the people's business?"

And sometimes actors fail horribly...

One need only to look at the candidacy of Republican Fred Thompson who had both political credentials as well as a believable actor's persona. All to fall by the wayside due to his apparent lack of enthusiasm or energy (I would like to think as a  result of illness rather than laziness). Scripted, he was brilliant, believable and ballot-worthy. In  person, he was dull, listless and often seemed reluctant to mix it up with the common folks. A fizzle.

Ronald Reagan was the exception...

Before anyone points out, once again, that Ronald Reagan was an actor prior to becoming a politician, let me respond with: this is the exception that breaks the rule. Reagan was a committed conservative who actually listened to what others were saying, did his own political research and was unafraid to espouse views that were different from the liberal-left mainstream in Hollywood. For Reagan it was a political philosophy not self-worship and narcissism  that drove him and his political campaign.

Schwarzenegger is the reality...

What you saw:  An extremely wealthy, well-connected and apparently self-made mega-star who ran on a platform of fiscal responsibility and moderate social goals -- who loudly claimed that he would not pander to the special interests and that he was rich enough to avoid being bought by anyone. A man who was portrayed to have a Reagan-conservative political bent.

What you got: A RINO (Republican In Name Only) who turned out to be as liberal as Teddy Kennedy and fiscally conservative as Lyndon Johnson. A Governor who claimed that he "transcended" political party lines in favor of listening to the people, but in reality pandered to the liberal democrats and special interests whenever possible. Schwarzenegger is responsible for:

• overlooking solid Republican choices for appointments to powerful positions and throwing his fiscally conservative running mate for Lieutenant Governor under the bus at the last minute by denying him the additional support that was needed to secure the election;
• presiding over a deficit that ranges anywhere between $12 and $20 BILLION dollars due to the profligate and unchecked spending of the liberal democrat legislature;
• proposing programs that threaten to bankrupt the State of California;
• and benefiting from hidden legal foundation slush funds which continue to support the mega-star's lifestyle by picking up his jet travel and accommodations. All while keeping their lobbyist-donors a well-kept secret.

A political charlatan who is desperately trying to paper over the current deficit by selling California properties and the California Lottery in order to preserve his image for his next self-aggrandizing run for office -- possibly as a Senator.

It is bad enough that we need to consider politicians like Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain ... adding actors to the mix is just plain crazy.

What can YOU do?

It should not take the acid splash of reality to make one realize that the "apparently"  principled politician that you help elect is doing nothing but creating heartburn as their well-meaning public policies and platitudes are regurgitated from the sour insides of an individual who is still struggling to understand why they aren't universally loved by their constituents.   

Remember to regard the crossover between reality and perception with a common-sense approach that realistically regards that the wonderfulness described in a campaign is illusory and not likely to become fact should a particular party or politician be elected. 

Actors, as well as politicians, are often accomplished liars: able to sincerely portray and image and a position which they cannot support for any length or time before falling into the habit of "winging it" on personal feelings and political polls. 

Do not vote for any candidate or current politician who is willing to subvert the safety, security, sovereignty and economic strength of the United States or limit an individual's right of self-defense for their personal philosophy, power, prestige or profits.

-- steve

A reminder from OneCitizenSpeaking.com: a large improvement can result from a small change…

The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane. -- Marcus Aurelius