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 espite
penning protest songs and staging benefit shows, rock stars never run for elected office. Bob
Dylan became the voice of a generation by performing politically-charged anthems.
Green Day won a Grammy
in 2005 for American Idiot, the chart-topping rock opera
which assaulted the “redneck agenda.” 2006 saw the release of
Bruce Springsteen’s The Seger Sessions, a cover album
dedicated to songs of protest and social activism. The
Dixie
Chicks had their albums burned by American conservatives and
even pop princess Pink performed a ballad excoriating
President
George Bush. Actors, athletes, wealthy socialites and all
manner of minor celebrities end up in office, but where are the
legends of rock, the vanguards of popular culture? Seriously,
can you name a single rock star who became a political
candidate?
We live in an age of celebrity candidates and politicians.
Former President
Ronald Regan was a famous film and television
actor before becoming a saint to the modern Republican Party.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, the current Governor of California, is
better known as the unstoppable
Terminator from a trio of
science fiction movies than for his gubernatorial policies.
John Glenn — the first American astronaut to orbit the earth
— was elected US Senator from Ohio in 1974.
In 1996,
Steve Forbes took a break from his responsibilities as
editor-in-chief of Forbes Magazine and ran for President.
Forbes
the magazine has approximately 900,000 subscribers. Forbes the
candidate won the Arizona and Delaware Republican primaries. Even Porn Stars run for
political office.
Adult-video actress Mary Carey ran against
Schwarzenegger in 2003 for Governor of California. Carey is
known for classics like “Hot Showers 6” and “Fun Bag Fantasies
5.” Her website reads, “Finally, a politician you want to be
screwed by.”
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Memorial Coliseum
has a capacity of nearly 13,000 and was reporting a sold-out show. Not
bad considering the gig was announced three days before. |
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Our political candidates include actors and athletes,
businessmen and heroes, astronauts and porn stars, but no rock
stars — until now.
While a candidate for US Senate in Illinois,
Barack Obama shot to national prominence with a keynote address
delivered during the 2004 Democratic National Convention. Todd
Leopold, the CNN.com Entertainment Producer and freelance writer
said that Obama received “the
Democratic convention's glamour slot, giving the keynote address
in the heart of prime time. He's the party's rock star.” Obama
won his Senate seat with 70% of the vote.
Two years later, NBC News deputy political director Mark
Murray, described Obama’s announcement of his candidacy for
President by saying, “Some have referred to Obama as the ‘rock
star’ of the Democratic Party. And, perhaps appropriately, the
audience participated as if they were at a rock concert, not a
political rally.”
Rock star comparisons persist, gaining popularity and frequency
as the current Presidential campaign continues. If you doubt
his rock star pedigree, consider the political rally held the
morning of March 21 in Memorial Coliseum. The Junior Senator
from Illinois paid a visit to the Rose City, giving Portlanders
a first-hand taste of the Obama phenomenon.
Memorial Coliseum has a capacity of nearly 13,000 and was
reporting a sold-out show. Not bad considering the gig was
announced three days before. Organizers encouraged supporters
to arrive early and they weren’t disappointed. People streamed
from MAX trains and parking lots into the Rose Quarter complex.
A frantic man holding a hand lettered sign reading “NEED
TICKETS” was begging for extra passes to the rally. Long lines
formed in front of security stations where
Secret Service agents
wearing dark suits, sunglasses, and earpieces observed the
crowd.
As the stadium filled, cheers erupted randomly from section to
section. A large union contingent wearing matching neon green
shirts shouted challenges back and forth as if they were at a
high school football game. A young man sporting a ripped
tank-top and backwards baseball cap produced a harmonica and
swayed drunkenly while playing a tune only he could recognize. Excitement was building. |
Metro
