Quote:
Originally Posted by Pete
Prior to running for President he served from 67 to 75 as the Governor of California.
How many of the contenders have "Former Governor" on their resumes?
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I think President Reagan’s role as Governor is a big differentiator/filter from nearly all other actors/celebrities.
And even with that he was still hit hard with the “Bedtime for Bonzo” stuff from many decades earlier.
But I think history long term will view him as the right president at the right time.
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The actor that first raised my concern about the impact of fiction becoming reality was actor Fred Thompson.
He was a character actor who frequently portrayed “important senior government/military officials”, then ran for US Senate in Tennessee as a Republican to backfill Democrat Senator Vice President Al Gore in a massive landslide .
Surely Thompson’s massive public recognition played a significant role in the result.
While that result supported my world-view, it was/is a troubling indicator of the power of the entertainment industry to shape the under-informed general public.
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I’m also reminded of Hillary Clinton’s very high profile visit with Britney Spears in Las Vegas in her failed 2016 run for President.
It was clearly designed to reach and influence Britney Spears’ 75m+ social media followers.
The photo op had Hillary Clinton sitting in rapt attention of Britney Spears’ “opinions on geopolitics”, while former President Bill Clinton was placed further away with his hands in full view to ensure he wasn’t molesting Britney.
It was surreal and sad, but an indicator of the power of personal brands in entertainment.
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Joe Rogan and his podcast have great potential to become king-maker-like.
Tulsi Gabbard(who is going the podcast route herself), Dan Crenshaw, and actor Matthew McConaughey have all used Rogan and his platform to achieve a lot of reach and engagement.
On a long holiday drive last year my wife and I listened to Matthew McConaughey on Rogan’s podcast.
I made a bet with my wife that he would be running for Governor of Texas because it sounded like preparation of the political battlefield.
Entertainment’ s influence over politics is increasing in my opinion.