Political Rehab for Starlets
by Vera H-C ChanSep 2, 2008
And so my fellow pop starlets: Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do to rehabilitate your public image through your country.
When John McCain used Paris Hilton to make a point in his anti-Obama television ad, Hilton didn't just dish back with her own ad. She offered an hybrid energy plan. Now, as the blogosphere and media hovered about Sarah Palin's daughter, Lindsay Lohan blogged about how the distraction of teen pregnancy was "taking the focus off of getting to know Sarah Palin and her political views..."
2007 had been a year of celebrity downslides but, thanks to the fervor surrounding the presidential election, the fallen may have a chance at redemption. Witness Hilton's Web turnaround, as brief as it may have been: Her searches, which usually lean a bit more on the salacious side, were on a downslide until her bikini platform. After that, her online profile not only got a big bump, but lookups for "paris hilton john mccain" made her and the "wrinkly" guy an unlikely political couple for several days.
Lohan, meanwhile, is also back with an opinionated vengeance. She blasted her estranged father last week, and searches for "lindsay lohan blog" were already on the rise before her latest punditry. That the Associated Press devoted a story to her blog entry shouldn't hurt her public image.
While politicians have been benefiting from the glow of celebrity endorsements, the reverse may be true. Entertainment outlets have definitely seen an upside to getting political, according to AP.
So far, neither Britney Spears nor Miley Cyrus has shown any inclination to leap into the celeb-political whirlpool, but it's not too late to let the word go forth... and the blogs and the funny videos.