That's 0-for-4 the way I count it. But what celebrity endorsements are really about is money. The Clintons have mined Hollywood for millions in political donations over the years.
While you may not be influenced over who Heather Locklear likes, her support comes with a check attached. Al Gore endorsed Howard Dean in the the last Democratic primary to no good end. On the other hand, when Jimmy Carter announced his candidacy for the presidency in 1974, he was not nationally known.
But the backing of Martin Luther King Sr., helped him immeasurably. Generally, in a presidential election, both Democratic and Republican candidates are presumed to have the backing of every major member of their respective parties so endorsements at that level carry less weight.
Most political experts agree that if endorsements have any value, it's at the local level where media, unions, grassroot political movements and the like tend to have more influence. Overall, however, political endorsements, whether made by politicians, celebrities or advocacy organizations, continue to have little impact on most Americans. Moreover, among the small number swayed by such endorsements, the effect is mostly mixed, according to the Pew Research Center for People and the Press.
An endorsement by a person's priest or minister is a net positive, but 80 percent say such an endorsement would not matter (up from 70 percent in 2000). Newspaper endorsements are also less influential than four years ago, and dissuade as many Americans as they persuade, the Pew survey said. In most races, endorsements are a nice line in a final television ad but are unlikely to move a measurable percentage of voters.
If you were favorably inclined to back a candidate who won a newspaper endorsement, you are likely to feel even stronger in your decision, Pew researchers said. If, on the other hand, the candidate you were leaning toward did not win the endorsement of a major local newspaper, it's unlikely to change your vote - barring other developments that might also raise questions. Which brings us full circle back to Antonio Villaraigosa.
If his endorsement is a pretext to attract Latino voters to Hillary Clinton, will the strategy work? In normal circumstances, it's an iffy proposition. But immigration reform is the biggest hot button issue this side of the war in Iraq.
It's precisely the kind of emotional issue that attracts thousands of people to the polls who otherwise might not vote. And a big city mayor, popular with a large Latino constituency, could marshal those voters to influence the outcome of an election. It won't be a slam dunk.
Democrat Bill Richardson, whose mother is Latino, was born and raised in Mexico City and announced his presidential candidacy in English and Spanish. He is trolling for votes in California. And Barack Obama is not giving up on the state.
The political season has arrived. Robert Rector is a former editor with the Pasadena Star-News and Los Angeles Times. That's 0-for-4 the way I count it.
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