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Originally Posted by scaeagles
If a celebrity is going to use their public status to voice opinions or concerns, I need to see that they take such things seriously in their own lives before I can begin to take them seriously.
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The Democrats carry an unfair burden in this regard. The Republicans can trot out any number of violent, drunk/addicted and multiply divorced country stars, actors and talk show hosts at their events to demonstrate that they are the party that represent the people and traditional values. Why? Because a form of hypocrisy is at the heart of the lives of the Christian base: the need to embrace the moral life with the convenient understanding that we all fall perilously short.
W taps into that with his past drinking and drug problems. Clinton, who was a genuinely religious man while also being a complete dog, tapped into it as well, as did Reagan who preached family values while being completely uncomfortable walking the walk in his own life. By contrast, Gore and Bush, Sr., who seemed to live easy, committed lives, alienated a lot of people. (After Gore lost, there were all these pictures of him dancing, partying and sweating after he conceded. Everybody said, "Where was that guy?")
Because the Democratic party's celebrities and base have not mastered the theme of "doing the best you can" while clearly doing the opposite, they take a lot of heat.