Friday, June 22, 2007

Pop-culture woos voters

It's the campaign season for the next presidential election of the United States of America. Candidates vying for the top post from both the Republican and Democratic party are getting in to the swing of establishing their positions to connect with the voters.

Increasingly, both parties are infusing pop-culture into politics to attract the voters especially the younger generation.

In the past, a galaxy of celebrities — from Bruce Springsteen to P. Diddy, Leonardo diCaprio to Ashton Kutcher, Whoopi Goldberg to Martin Sheen, Jon Bon Jovi to Michael Moore — tried to communicate the idea that it was ultracool for young Americans to be politically engaged.

In the current campaign Hilary Clinton is using Celine Dion's song 'You and I', to drum up her audience.

There are other candidates who have appeared on YouTube.

What is emerging is a trend that glorifies style over substance of the issues. The messenger is seen more important than the message.

One of the contentious debates that divides the nation is on how to deal with illegal aliens in America; by some estimates 12 million, a staggering figure that has continued to grow over the years.

These are serious issues, requires tough choices to be made; perhaps with far reaching consequences than the pop-cultre that is dominating the campaign trail.

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