By SAKINA RANGWALA and ANDRAS GAL
Observer Staff
Feb. 6, 2008

With the primary season of the presidential election in full throttle, hardly a day has passed without a celebrity announcing his or her endorsement of a candidate.

In this presidential election, California has raised the largest sum of money. New York lags behind in total contributions to the candidates by an 8-percent margin to California’s $65,509,396.

This leg-up in California could be attributed to the Hollywood populace.

Recently, the Kennedys have been in the spotlight with endorsements of Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., coming from Maria Shriver, California’s first lady; Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., who made his announcement last week at American University; and Kennedy’s niece, Caroline, who declared her support for the senator in an op-ed in the New York Times.

“I thought, if Barack Obama was a state, he’d be California,” Shriver was quoted as saying when endorsing Obama in an interview on Yahoo News. The announcement came shortly after her husband, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, endorsed Republican leading candidate John McCain.

Obama has also been endorsed by Oprah Winfrey.

According to Dotty Lynch, senior political editor for CBS News and professor at American University, celebrities add buzz and glitz to the primaries.

“I am not sure that translates directly into votes but it does draw attention,” Lynch said. “Oprah for example was heard by a lot of people saying wonderful things about Obama. Voters may say it didn’t influence them, but it added to Obama’s momentum this week,” she said.


Observer graph by SAKINA RANGWALA

Amidst what might seem to be unconditional support for Obama from members of the Kennedy clan, three of Robert F. Kennedy’s 11 children – Robert Kennedy Jr., Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, and Kerry Kennedy – all gave their support to Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y.

The long list of Hollywood superstars selecting between the two Democratic candidates might be a sign of the entertainment industry’s traditionally liberal choices.

“A celebrity endorsement today is worth more than a chest-full of war medals,” said Rick Shenkman, associate professor of history at George Mason University and editor of George Mason’s History News Network. “Ours is a culture that revolves around celebrities.

Shenkman said voters are often more familiar with celebrities than with the candidates themselves.

“Americans pay little attention to politics…Only two out of five, for instance, know we have three branches of government and can name them,” Shenkman said. “But with a celebrity endorsement, politicians can break through to the world which most people now inhabit. This is invaluable.”

Just to name some of the most generous celebrity donors: Steven Spielberg and Barbra Streisand both endorsed Clinton, as did Madonna and Jerry Springer.

Support for Obama came with a bang as other famous names joined Oprah: Jennifer Aniston, George Clooney, Will Smith and Robert DeNiro voiced support for the senator.


Observer graph by SAKINA RANGWALA

The list of celebrities who support Republican candidates includes: Sylvester Stallone supporting McCain, and Ted Nugent, noted for his conservative views, supporting Mike Huckabee.

Politicians giving Republican endorsements are: Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., H. Norman Schwarzkopf, and perhaps most notably, Henry Kissinger, secretary of state under Presidents Nixon and Ford.

To find out more about who your favorite superstar is supporting, check out CNN, BBC or Huffington Post.