Celebrity Endorsements and Presidential Campaigns

Whether it's the "Rat Pack" crooning for John F. Kennedy or Ludacris rapping for Obama, some entertainers like the stump as much as the stage. Call it an Entertainment Tonight/Electoral College fusion.

So it was not a big surprise when savvy political strategist Paris Hilton - with the help of her Hollywood friends - cut a response to the McCain celebrity spot http://cdn.funnyordie.com/videos/4178033806 target=_blank>spot, ensuring the Republican nominee's original ad receives even more free air time.

The value of all that no-cost media exposure - priceless.

Then there is the issue of fundraising. Call this one, "rich liberals without borders." For example, if you happen to be vacationing in Switzerland in September and have a few extra francs, you could help Obama by hanging out with George Clooney, the LA Times reports:

Sen. Barack Obama's campaign announced that Ã¼berstar George Clooney will host an exclusive -- that means expensive -- fundraiser for the Democratic candidate in, get this, Geneva, Switzerland, on Sept. 2.

This raises a related question. Do celebrity endorsements matter? The folks over at Marginal Revolution recently linked to this paper by two University of Maryland economics graduate students - Craig Garthwaite and Tim Moore - suggesting that, at least when it comes to Oprah and Obama, the answer is yes.

Garthwaite and Moore write:

Prior to the 2008 Democratic Presidential Primary, Barack Obama was endorsed by Oprah Winfrey, a celebrity with a proven track record of influencing her fans' commercial decisions. In this paper, we use geographic differences in subscriptions to O! - The Oprah Magazine and the sale of books Winfrey recommended as part of Oprah's Book Club to assess whether her endorsement affected the Primary outcomes. We find her endorsement had a positive effect on the votes Obama received, increased the overall voter participation rate, and increased the number of contributions received by Obama. No connection is found between the measures of Oprah's influence and Obama's success in previous elections, nor with underlying local political preferences. Our results suggest that Winfrey's endorsement was responsible for approximately additional 1,000,000 votes for Obama.

You can read the full paper here.

If McCain were not such a man of character, he might just quit now given this oncoming Tinsel Town fusillade.

Hat Tip: http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/ target=_blank> Marginal Revolution