Has the election coverage become too much like celebrity coverage?
Since the 2008 presidential election is now less than two months away, it seems like you can’t go anywhere without seeing the faces of Barack Obama and Joe Biden and now John McCain and Sarah Palin. Their faces are displayed all over the newspapers and on what seems like every news channel on television.
This past week, I saw something at the grocery store checkout line last week that shocked me. As I was checking out, I picked up the newest issue of US Weekly, just as I do every week. This particular week, Sarah Palin, GOP vice presidential candidate, was on the cover cradling her baby with the headline “Babies, Lies and Scandal.” Because I read US Weekly to learn about the latest celebrity gossip and to get up to speed on what Britney has been doing lately, seeing Palin on the cover of this pseudo-tabloid made me rethink this political campaign. Has the election coverage become too much like celebrity coverage?
I did a little bit of research on the subject and discovered that the GOP chose People magazine to introduce Sarah Palin to America, while just a few weeks before, Barack Obama and his family were featured in the same magazine. I’m sure in the past presidential elections, candidates made their debuts on credible news shows or in popular newspapers. That by itself shows how much voters want to know about the candidates’ personal lives, just as we love to know about the personal lives of the celebrities.
Just this past weekend, Saturday Night Live opened the show with a skit in which Sarah Palin, played by Tina Fey, addressed the nation. Fey, who was a cast member of the show until 2006, came back to the show just so she could play the role of Palin. It is sometimes said in the entertainment business that you’re not a celebrity until you’re made fun of on Saturday Night Live.
It is blatantly obvious that this year’s presidential campaigns are trying to market their candidates as celebrities. The fact that John McCain even mentions the name Paris Hilton in one of his ads bashing Obama is clear evidence of this. The campaigns have made a smart PR move by doing this because they know that a lot of times personality wins over the issues. Our world has become so celebrity-obsessed, and the campaigns are using that to their advantage. Some people would rather read an article discussing the Obama family daily routine or Palin’s recipe for chili than an article discussing their stances on foreign policy or healthcare. You can’t really blame them though – one is definitely more relatable.
So, to answer whether the election coverage become too much like celebrity coverage, my answer is both yes and no. Yes because campaigns are pushing candidates to become more like celebrities just to attract candidates, when they should be pushing the issues. And no because political candidates are essentially celebrities when it comes down to it, and they always have been. Candidates have always been spoofed on Saturday Night Live and featured in People magazine. The campaigns have made clever PR moves, and you can’t really fault them for that.