|
On Politics
Richard Borreca
|
Super Tuesday beats the bowl
This is my theory: The Writers Guild of America strike drove popular television shows off the air. The programming vacuum was replaced by reality television shows. And then the hyper presidential primaries came along and turned politics into the best reality show of all.
Admit it, for the first time in many an election this red hot presidential primary is fun.
The primaries, especially the Democrats' race, are the ultimate reality show. Instead of watching TV only to recoil from armies of bad singers, dopey remodelers, terrorizing chefs or fashionistas, America is now examining pictures of whether Sen. Barack Obama snubbed Sen. Hillary Clinton before President Bush's State of the Union address.
Will pop-culture-driven America tune in to "Survivor: Micronesia," "Dancing with the Stars" or "Debate War: Barack vs. Hillary"?
An ABC News/Washington Post poll about this the most sacred of American holidays, Super Bowl Sunday, found that "nearly as many respondents said they were more excited about Super Tuesday than the Super Bowl as those who said the opposite."
"Thirty-seven percent said they were more eager for the showdown between the presidential candidates next Tuesday, compared with 40 percent who said they were more interested in watching the New England Patriots take on the New York Giants," according to the report.
Not surprisingly, women are more interested in Super Tuesday, when 24 states hold presidential primaries or caucuses. Also, people over the age of 50 are more interested in the prez than the pass.
Yes, today's Super Bowl will be packed with celebrities, but here is the celeb report from the Democratic presidential debate held last week in Los Angeles: Leonardo DiCaprio, Diane Keaton, Pierce Brosnan, Bradley Whitford, Steven Spielberg, Brandy, Stevie Wonder, Gary Shandling and Steven Bochco. Instead of signing autographs, Chelsea Clinton and Michelle Obama may have been asking for signatures from the stars.
This election's star power features former President Bill Clinton vs. Oprah Winfrey. While Clinton jokes that he wants to be "First Laddie," Oprah has been out of the spotlight, but promised to return this weekend to help in California.
The race has been exciting enough to divide households. U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel, the dean of New York's congressional delegation and a power in Harlem, is solidly backing Clinton, but Friday, Rangel's wife, Alma endorsed Obama. And the Kennedy family has also split, with Sen. Ted Kennedy and niece Caroline Kennedy, JFK's daughter, endorsing Obama, while the three children of the late Sen. Robert Kennedy endorsed Clinton.
The race is so close that many are predicting that Super Tuesday won't settle anything and the nation might actually be waiting for the Democratic caucus returns from Hawaii.
What a race. What fun.