Here’s an offbeat little thing from Forbes magazine; evidently, someone’s conducted a survey matching each candidate to his closest “celebrity counterparts”. We normally try to avoid overly political discussion here on the site, but this seems benign enough*. The full Forbes story can be found here, but I’ll jump straight to the Barack Obama section, as it’s the interesting one as relates to this site:
In Pictures: Barack Obama’s Celebrity Counterparts
Clifford MarksCalifornia-based ePoll Market Research compared Democratic presumptive presidential nominee Barack Obama with its database of over 4,500 celebrities with respect to five key character traits–how articulate, intelligent, confident, experienced and influential they are perceived to be.
. . .
1. Stephen Colbert
Obama’s closest match is comedian and TV host Stephen Colbert, who himself forged a halfhearted run for the Oval Office when he attempted to get on the ballot for the South Carolina primary. Though their primary outcomes couldn’t be more different, Colbert and Obama are both rated low on experience and high on articulateness and intelligence. It’s unclear how Obama stacks up on “truthiness,” a virtue for which Colbert has labeled himself an expert.
Obviously, this is just a silly little exercise (c’mon, they didn’t even distinguish between Stephen and “Stephen”!), but it’s amusing. Be sure you click through to number ten on Obama’s list, too. I was particularly surprised by the way that celebrity stacked up against Obama in the “articulate” category, but maybe that’s just me.
*That said, please don’t use the comment section as a billboard for the candidate of your choice; we will delete comments if they start to proselytize.
I’m never surprised when Mr. Colbert earns accolades, awards and honors these days, but I am really surprised (pleasantly) by the results of this poll. I still get occasional blank stares when I mention his name, so I must have underestimated his exploding celebrity — but then again, I do live in Tennessee right now.
I guess the country really is divided into two Americas — the it-getters and the non-it-getters.
Shout Out (Hey!):
0
i think he has main stream name recognition, but people really have to watch his show for a few week or two to really appreciate him.
once my aunt saw him sing with john legend, she saw him as more than just political, but also entertaining, and i think that sort of thing adds to his overall apeal,
Shout Out (Hey!):
0
Quite a few people still perceive him as the O’Reilly-esque a**hole, which is unfortunate.
Similar experience: when I posted the “I don’t feel like dancin” video a few weeks ago on my MySpace page, my dad actually called me (shock) and said — first thing — “I feel like dancing!” He said he thoroughly enjoyed and was “tickled” by it. The charisma of Colbert can touch anyone if given the chance.
I swear, if Comedy Central ever airs a Stephen Colbert singing-dancing-variety special, even as a joke, he would *explode*. Mark my words.
Shout Out (Hey!):
0
I have to post something right now if for no other reason than the reCAPTCHA says, “Peace Stephen.”
But if I have to post something on-topic, I second the Stephen variety special. :)
Shout Out (Hey!):
0
Wow, Tony Blair in there too… I’m not sure how I feel about that comparison. I’m gonna try and not preach, I will go as far as saying that I like Obama. Hope that isn’t going too far… :)
Tony Blair was elected to office after a long occupation (for want of a better word) by the opposition. He was incredibly popular. Comparatively young, articulate, he was regarded as a breath of fresh air. Should Obama win in November, he’ll probably be looked on in the same way.
10 years later, Blair was about as popular as a fart on a spacesuit. I hope the comparison doesn’t go that far… :)
Shout Out (Hey!):
0