Strengthening Constitutional Self-Government

No Left Turns

The Pat Paulson of Our Time?

Hollywood actor Christopher Walken is supposedly running for president in 2008. From the looks of this website, this is a joke, but then when it comes to Hollywood types, who can tell?

Discussions - 7 Comments

trend... but how utterly depressing. Paulson was at least funny. Walkin, like Hollywood itself, is a dark circle in need of a Reaganesque uplift. This people need to get a frickin’ grip! There’s a damn "pony in there somewhere!"

The good old Hollywood Left, it’s no longer possible to distinguish between parody and sincerity!

The Hollywood Left. My favorite example was Ronald Reagan, an actor-turned-governor-turned President, quoting Dirty Harry, a character played by an actor-turned mayor, telling the Soviets, "Go ahead, make my day."

Those darned Lefties.

I forgot Governor Arnold, and Sonny Bono, and Senator Fred Thompson. I’m sure there are some other liberals in the bunch, but those three just occurred to me.

Small point of order, Fung: Reagan’s quotation of Dirty Harry was used in connection with a possible congressional tax increase, which Reagan promised to veto--not the Soviets. As to your other point, there is reason why most of the successful transitions from actor-to-politician are Republicans. I wrote an article several years ago (can’t remember now where it was published--perhaps at Ashbrook) hoping Warren Beatty would run for president, since he was sure to flop.

I found it! See here.

Steven- Thanks for that. I am prepared to admit that I am wrong, but I was pretty sure that the Reagan quote was one of those "is this microphone on?" situations, where he pretended to taunt Gorbachev, and found that the mic and the cameras were, indeed, on.

As for your article on Warren Beatty, it sounds like you attributed to him some characteristics shared by Howard Dean, and with similar results. I have two things to say about your article: (1) The Dean-ish, (or Beatty-ish) tendency to tell it like it is, and damn-the-political-torpedoes, is probably a necessary sacrifice that is not available to the front-runner, but is rather a way to get the truth said without the damage to the actual nominee. I think, for instance, that Dean is responsible for a good bit of Kerry’s success, since he took the hit for telling the truth, and Kerry could then associate with that "truth," without being held responsible for bringing it to the table.

(2) You begin your article suggesting that we shouldn’t be surprised if Beatty runs, and then you end it with a suggestion that he probably will not. Whatever happens (or happened) you get to say, "I told you this would happen!" Pretty slick!

Finally, I am not sorry that Beatty did not run. I am no fan of actors, right or left, who aspire to become politicians. That is, I am no fan of what is says about the public who votes for them, or the system that fails to produce better candidates.

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