Oscar-winning director Steven Spielberg endorsed Hillary Clinton’s campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination on Wednesday, giving the New York senator a much-needed boost over rival Barack Obama in the race to win the party’s unofficial “Hollywood primary.”
“I’ve taken the time to familiarize myself with the impressive field of Democratic candidates and am convinced that Hillary Clinton is the most qualified candidate to lead us from her first day in the White House,” Spielberg, one of Tinseltown’s most powerful liberal activists, said in a statement.
The decision could mean a fundraising bonanza for Clinton and may help her break Obama’s spell over Hollywood’s elite, who have been piling on to the Illinois senator’s political bandwagon since he entered the Democratic race in January.
While Obama has won the support of A-list actors like Matt Damon, George Clooney and Halle Berry, Clinton has been keen to win Spielberg’s approval, in order to demonstrate the depth of her support among well-heeled entertainment industry moguls.
“What they are mainly good for is money,” said Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. “I hope there aren’t 10 voters in the United States who would cast a ballot for somebody because Steven Spielberg endorsed Obama or Clinton. That would be embarrassing.”
Sabato is unmoved by Spielberg’s choice. “Hillary is old hat. She is establishment, and so is Steven Spielberg. It’s very appropriate that he would endorse her instead of Obama.”
With leading Democratic candidates expected to raise in excess of $100 million apiece in 2007, fundraising trips to Hollywood have become as essential to their campaigns as corn boils in Iowa and kitchen parties in New Hampshire.....
No comments:
Post a Comment