trendSpotting Report
Gregg Williams

Oprah backs Obama. Carolina Senator Lindsay Graham supports McCain. Filmonista Steven Spielberg touts Hillary. From the highest perches of entertainment, government, and celebrity, the crop of presidential candidates is grabbing every endorsement they can.

Press aides pad lists of supporters with every City Council president, state legislator, party functionary and local politico crammable into a release. It is like political poker: Oh yeah? I will see your Sean Penn (Kucinich) and raise you one Chuck Norris (Huckabee) and the local county commissioner!

Voting experts say it does not make a bit of difference. A recent Pew Research Center Survey showed that most Americans say endorsements by celebrities and other well-known figures would not affect their voting decisions. But do not tell that to the McCain camp who could not wait to tell the world they had landed the South Carolina state House Speaker Bobby Harrell in time for the primary. Mitt Romney has a page of press releases on his site hailing the arrival of a bunch of office holders no one ever heard of to his camp.

Sometimes obscure backers end up becoming famous in ways that make the candidate gasp. Ask Mitt about the infamous bathroom-frequenting Larry Craig who came out for Romney before coming out in the airport to an undercover dude. Or the McCain-endorsing state legislator with a similar embarrassment in Florida.

Of course, all of this provides fodder for the bored cable news pundits who sound like ESPN college recruiting experts around national signing day, as they begin to count heads of the various endorsements for the candidates. These people fill hours of Fox News or CNN or MSNBC dissecting what it means that Hillary secured the endorsements of 66 members of Congress while Barack only has 22.

When an endorsement comes from the leader of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) with 1.7 million members, a group that rang its bell for Hillary last Halloween, that means more contributions and campaign workers are hitting the streets. And yes, Oprah can sure draw a crowd for Obama but is she and her steady Stedman going to drive people to the polls on Election Day? It is not that direct a correlation.

This is all like dating. An endorsement from someone means sure you will meet their skinny cousin for drinks, but you are not going to marry the guy! It is a means for unfamiliar candidates to get an initial hearing from someone who is trusted. Campaigns create momentum going out with each endorsement with Olympian fanfare.

Ron Paul had the right idea… Donations to Paul for President totaled $6 million in one day. His campaign claimed they added 24,900 supporters in a month! And that, friends, is without Norris, Oprah, or even reliable Caroline Kennedy (Obama). In the end, as usual, the only endorsement that counts is that which is firmly written on the backs of checks.

RLM Account Executive and former White House media advisor Gregg Williams brings political savvy — and a love of sports — to his client accounts every single day. Still registered in Florida, he absentee voted last week but looks forward to watching Super Tuesday fireworks.