Obama campaign to Sean Penn: Thanks?

That's how I imagine the campaign would respond to perpetually ticked-off actor and sanctimonious activist-in-chief Sean Penn's endorsement of Barack Obama at the Cannes Film Festival:

”I don't have a candidate I'm supporting and I'm certainly interested and excited by the hope that Barack Obama is inspiring,” [Penn] said, but went on to accuse him of a “phenomenally inhuman and unconstitutional” voting record.

”I hope that he will understand, if he is the nominee, the degree of disillusionment that will happen if he doesn't become a greater man than he will ever be,” Penn said. “This is the most important election, certainly in my lifetime, and maybe ever.”

First off, it's a celebrity endorsement, which, as Tom Hanks points out in this mildly humorous endorsement of the Messiah, means absolutely nothing. This one especially means nothing, because the second quote about disillusionment doesn't even make sense, it's just hopeful nonsense. Still, I think the presumption that America really cares what Sean Penn, the guy most people know as Spicoli, thinks about the election is what is most offensive here.

Second, though, is the fact that Penn disparages Obama in the same breath. It's not a very substantial accusation, of course. Penn says "phenomenally inhuman and unconstitutional," but doesn't really point to anything in the record as proof. In fact, that's what makes this charge so odd. According to National Journal, Obama is was the most liberal senator in the Senate in 2007, with a lifetime (they use the term loosely, he only had three years of ratings up to that point) rating of 88 out of 100.

If that kind of voting record is atrocious to the likes of Sean Penn, then he's either moved to the right, which, to paraphrase Cosmo Kramer, is not bloody likely, or he's REALLY far out to the left. In that case, why the hell should we care what a wacko leftist like Sean Penn thinks about the 2008 election? We care because we are celebrity-obsessed culture, that's my guess. Does it really sway popular opinion when we know who Sean Penn or Natalie Portman or Tom Hanks support for president? Probably not, but it gives us bloggers something to write about, I guess.

Comments

[Katherine Miller]

Just like Tom Cruise, he majorly compensates for a lack of education. I can tolerate Natalie Portman, because she actually is educated and intelligent, and well, let's face it, this:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/1404/saturday-night-live-snl-digital-short-natalie-raps#s-p1-st-i1

Because it's awesome.

[Juliette Stango]

Is it possible that someone in Hollywood actually looked into Barak Obama's voting record in the Illinois State Senate? What I think Mr. Penn was referring to was Barak Obama's defeat of the Born Alive Infants Protection Act. He defeated a bill that simply stated that you could not kill an infant who survived an abortion. This law was mot opposed senators Kennedy, Boxer nor Hillary Clinton. It was not even opposed by the National Abortion Rights Action League. Obama was the only one to speak out against this humane law in the Illinois state Senate. Read More: Google: Obama's Top Ten Reasons For Voting For Infanticide. YOUTUBE: Obama's Mad World and Obama's Twisted Mind.