Streisand Gives Clinton the Nod

Politicians have always looked to celebrities for campaign support, both in terms of financial contributions and personal endorsements, wanting stars on their team but not always wanting all the drama or negative associations that can come with the celeb package. But Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have chosen carefully — each scoring one of the top picks of the Hollywood litter.

Lynn Sweet’s blog via The Huffington Post:

As the announcement of Oprah Winfrey stumping for White House hopeful Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) continues to dominate political chatter, the campaign of chief rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) rolled out Tuesday the endorsement of megastar Barbra Streisand.

Streisand is being used to reclaim the political news cycle—there’s been a lot of pondering going on in print and cable over the value of celebrity endorsements in general and Winfrey in particular.

The announcement did not say if Streisand, a longtime Democratic activist who has been close to Bill and Hill for years–would go on the stump for Clinton. Unlike Winfrey, a beloved figure who until now has stayed away from politics in order to not devalue her brand, Streisand is the star Repubublicans love to brand as a left-winger.

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