Very few celebrities would have the understanding of the political system to effectively govern. I’m never a big fan of celebrities who run for office, but I do have one very poignant and timely example of someone who might be a good choice.
In Minnesota, commedian Al Franken is running for Senate. Now in having read his books, I came to discover that he is no political lightweight. He understands our government and our lawmaking…he knows far more about good governance than many people who have been elected to national office. He has my full support in his run for Senate, not because he is a celebrity, but because he knows what he’s talking about. If he were to serve a couple terms in the Senate, and I thought he did a good job, I’d support him if he ran for President.
There are a lot of celebrities with whom I side ideologically speaking, but almost never do they have the in depth knowledge of what real governance takes. And let’s face it, being the President is a hard job, there are no “days off” (well, unless you want to be an abject failure like W). Most celebrities have a LOT of time off…they’re used to a pretty priveledged life. I’d be leery of someone thinking it was a “neat” idea and then getting in there and not being able to cut it.