Earlier this week, Ben Smith wrote a post about Barack Obama's prominent early supporters, who came on board when he was seen as having little chance of beating Hillary Clinton. Here is his list:
Senator Richard Durbin
Former Majority Leader Tom Daschle
Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller
Oprah Winfrey
Iowa Treasurer Mike Fitzgerald
Former Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Gordon Fischer
Ted Sorensen
Virginia Governor Tim Kaine
Alabama Rep. Artur Davis
New Hampshire Rep. Paul Hodes
Smith left out John and Jackie Norris, who in my opinion did more for Obama's campaign in Iowa than Tom Miller, Mike Fitzgerald and Gordon Fischer combined. (I explain why here.)
But that's not the point of this diary. It's Saturday night on a holiday weekend, so just for fun, I'm starting a discussion about which Democratic presidential candidate had the best celebrity supporters--that is, people famous outside the political realm.
Follow me after the jump if you care to hear more.
For the purposes of this diary, I am focusing on celebrities who publicly endorsed or campaigned for a candidate. Lists of famous donors can be deceiving, since many rich and famous people give large sums to multiple candidates:
Actor Michael Douglas, for example, has contributed to five current and former Democratic presidential candidates. As of Sept. 30, the latest reports available, he had donated the maximum $4,600 $2,300 for the primary campaign and $2,300 for the general election to Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama, Bill Richardson and Chris Dodd, and $1,500 to Dennis Kucinich.[...]
Another serial donor in the current election is Paul Newman, who gave the maximum contribution to Obama, Clinton, and Dodd, and $2,300 to Richardson.
Some donors have spread the wealth around but have decided to back one candidate. Barbra Streisand gave $2,300 each to Clinton, Edwards and Obama, and $1,000 to Dodd, but recently endorsed Clinton for president.
[...]
Steven Spielberg and Rob Reiner are two other celebrities who donated to multiple presidential candidates four a piece before settling on Clinton. Reiner also shot a spoof video for Clinton's Web site.
Actress Mary Steenburgen gave money to both Edwards and Clinton, but has backed Clinton, a friend for three decades, from the get-go. Steenburgen, a native of Newport, Ark., met the Clintons when Bill Clinton was in his first term as governor of Arkansas.
Last month the Huffington Post published this piece on the top ten celebrities for Clinton and Obama. Here is their list for Obama:
1. Oprah
At least I have heard of these people. When I first saw will.i.am's "Yes We Can" video, I swear that the only person I recognized was Kareem Abdul Jabbar. Since this list was published, Tom Hanks and Bruce Springsteen also endorsed Obama.
HuffPo's list of top ten Clinton supporters:
1. Ellen DeGeneres
The list of other famous people who have donated to Obama or Clinton is of course very long. If I've left out celebrities who played an important public role in either candidate's campaign, please let me know in the comments.
John Edwards: A bunch of big Hollywood names donated to his campaign, but most of them did not play any public role, and many also gave money to other Democratic candidates.
I was fortunate enough to see one of the mini-concerts Bonnie Raitt and Jackson Browne did for Edwards in Iowa last November. They also campaigned for him in New Hampshire. Tim Robbins came to early-voting states to stump for Edwards as well. I heard from a friend who saw Robbins in Des Moines that his first comment to the crowd was, "I'm not Oprah."
Other celebrities who campaigned with Edwards in Iowa, New Hampshire, and/or South Carolina include Ben "Cooter" Jones (former Congressman and star of the tv show "Dukes of Hazzard"), Madeleine Stowe, Kevin Bacon, and James Denton (of "Desperate Housewives" fame). In addition, Danny Glover and Harry Belafonte endorsed Edwards. Jon Mellencamp not only supported Edwards, he also invited him on stage during a concert in Des Moines, and performed at an Edwards rally in West Des Moines the night before the caucuses.
Bill Richardson: Again, a lot of big Hollywood names maxed out to his campaign, but most of them didn't endorse him. The exception was Martin Sheen, who came to Iowa in December to go out on the stump with Richardson. Sheen endorsed Obama after Richardson dropped out.
Joe Biden: The famous people listed here as his donors mostly contributed to other candidates as well. Richard Schiff, who played Toby the communications guy on "The West Wing," came to Iowa to campaign with Biden. I am not aware of any other celebrity supporters. When Biden campaigned in Iowa, his sons Beau and Hunter often accompanied him.
Chris Dodd: Many of the famous people who donated to his campaign also donated to other candidates. However, it is worth mentioning that singer-songwriter Paul Simon campaigned with Dodd in Iowa last July, and former Democratic Senatorial candidate Ned Lamont campaigned with Dodd in Iowa last November.
Dennis Kucinich: Viggo Mortensen came to New Hampshire to campaign with Kucinich after the candidate was left out of the last presidential debate before that state's primary. Apparently Sean Penn gave Kucinich money during the 2004 campaign.
I am not aware of any celebrity supporters of Mike Gravel.
Please take the poll and put up a comment if you like, explaining your choice.
I voted for Edwards, but I have to say that I will take Elton John over will.i.am every day of the week and twice on Sundays.
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