Of course they do. I would vote for Osama if Jennifer Aniston asked me to.

Yes the practice is more common now a days. The celebrity stunt fetches good votes due to their mass appeal. And for those who idolize celebrities, I think their support have an influence and ability to move the vote bank. And it’s no hoax and here’s the logic. Just ask any layman about politics and I assure you he won’t be having any clue or least knowing and explaining them the same would be of no use. This is because they don’t have curiosity or necessary attention and you won’t succeed in explaining it to them. If a celebrity will speak on the behalf of the political party, people will give attention, you bet. And if a celebrity stunt serves well to get the desired attention of people, what is the harm?

Of course endorsements have the ability to sway voters but depends on who’s endorsing. if the celebrities can be used in advertising products by multinationals and we follow them like sheep herd...the whole political endorsement thing doesn’t sounds so unreasonable.

let me prove this by giving an example from India. Yogi Raj Swami Ramdev is not an unfamiliar name to any one in India not sure abt the status abroad. He says ”Don’t drink cold drinks (Pepsi, Coca cola, etc.) because these are harmful to our health. these cold drinks contain acids that are no better than a toilet cleaner” He has also proved this in his lab.

Now how many of us believe that its unsafe? A very few i suppose.

Now why is it that we will drink these soft drinks more often despite knowing it’s side effects? Because there’s Ashwariya rai, Aamir Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Sharukh Khan, Sachin Tendulkar along with the whole Indian good for nothing cricket team. Sadly Swami Ramdev don’t have any celebrities at his asharam.

we hope that even in our celebrity-obsessed culture we’d have more sense when it comes to endorsements. however, it turns out, we don’t.

As Rahul Rezva has mentioned above, politics mingled with stardom can easily affect the psyche of the hoi-polloi. Surprisingly, a major chunk of people who caste their vote, actually vote the ‘media representation of a candidate’ not his/her individual achievements/capabilities; most of them are not even aware of the truth and the rest don’t care to know. In this scenario, people are likely to be easily swayed by such endorsements by celebrities, who’re actually idols worshipped by common man. Check how Obama is encashing Oprah Winfrey’s fame.

@ Inspector

Though we don’t allow teenagers to vote but there’s certainly a place where our elected representatives want to reach outside politics and that place can very easily be associated with the celebrities’ larger than life status. For celebs there’s a lot at stake to lose if they are supporting someone who don’t deserve. The charismatic fame that attracts us to listen to what the hopefuls have to say is hard earned. So they won’t let it go that easily for a moron. There’s nothing wrong if celebs can sway our vote for the betterment.

Credibility of the one who endorses is at stake. However, the candidate’s popularity in terms of his appeal and performance matters.

Celebrities’ appeal may influence the voter’s choice but I guess the voting public nowadays is becoming more intelligent in choosing who to vote for.

Although celebrities’ endorsements help, the voting public needs to look into the candidates’ contributions or platforms. Celebrities are merely for promotional purposes and never the ones you are voting for.

If you made a wrong choice in selecting a candidate, don’t blame the celebrity. Blame yourself. Just support the right candidates who are deserving with good qualifications and not merely because you like the celebrity endorsing them.

Vote wisely! Never be blinded by simple popularity and gimmicks. In the long-run, it is you who will benefit in the projects of the candidates who you will vote for.

Maynard Delfin
Manila, Philippines

It is a fact that an overwhelming majority of people who vote in true democracies like India and USA are don’t have any political depth. For them, recent issues, charisma and showbiz matter when it comes to voting for a candidate. If George Bush is unpopular today, it is largely due to the continuous inflow of bodybags coming from battle zones in Iraq and Afghanistan in what is now proved beyond doubt botched invasion and losing battle. The average American voter is also concerned about the current rise in fuel prices. However, he has no long standing demands from policy makers such as issues on stem cell researchs, abortion, unemployment, external debt, foreign policies, dollar prices, etc.

Politicians know this very well. Hardly anyone goes out to vote for a long-term policy change or demanding a resolution of a long standing political or economic issue. Exactly, where the vote would go depends much upon the short term memories. In such a scenario, celebrities and showbiz play a very important role. People follow the celebrity. They would like to be a part of them. So if Amitabh Bachchan without any political background can win with a landslide victory in Allahabad Lok Sabha constituency, if Govinda can win an MP election, it goes on to show that their endorsement definitely holds good to sway votes in favour of one party or candidate.