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Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Hollywood's Opinions On Hillary and Bush.

Source: LA Times

Everyone knows that celebrities will always dish about anything...especially politics.

It's apparent that the topic most talked about around Hollywood these days is: what about Hillary Clinton?

There are a lot of different opinions.

Depending on whom you talk to in Hollywood these days, Hillary Clinton is either too conservative, too polarizing, too famous, too stiff or -- keep this to yourself! -- too sexy.

And those are just the opinions of the celebrities who vote Democrat. (Don't even ask what the few Republicans had to say.)

Once the darling of the industry's liberal set, Clinton has come under attack from some as she starts to line up support for what many feel will be a run for the presidential nomination. But that's not unusual for Hollywood -- it's almost like a rite of passage, says veteran Democratic strategist Bill Carrick: You haven't really made it as a politician here until the stars line up to kick your tires.

Plus, "The Democrats want to win so badly, and Hillary is such an important leader, they're going to scrutinize everything she does," Carrick said.


A lot of confusing backpedalling, too.

Hollywood is a fickle place; behind-the-scenes feuding and gossiping are just part of the game. In December, the Sunday Times of London quoted George Clooney as saying that he was "frustrated and disappointed" that the Democratic leaders -- including Clinton -- had "backed themselves into a corner" over the Iraq war. According to the paper, Clooney reportedly called Clinton "the most polarizing figure in American politics."

The piece ran with the headline: "Clooney's ambush hits Hillary's campaign." Clooney and his publicist said the comments were taken out of context. But that's like unringing a bell.

Kathleen Turner, starring in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" in London's West End, was asked by a British reporter if she thought Clinton could win in 2008.

"I have my doubts about that," Turner told Rosie Millard of the New Statesman. "We don't want a celebrity woman president. We want someone who is really proven, someone with a really good foundation at that level, not just a star."

Millard told the diva: "But Hillary is a bit more than a celebrity."

"Yes," Turner said, backtracking. "She might be uniquely qualified having been first lady for eight years. I may have to rethink my position."


And of course, Bush is always a popular subject in Hollywood talk.

In a Q&A for the March/April issue of Hollywood Life, writer Lawrence Grobel was asking the actress such questions as, does she carry condoms with her? (She said yes and went into a long explanation about safe sex.) Then Grobel moved onto politics.

"Do you still think our president is an idiot?" he asked. Stone responded: "We can only hope that those people who hired a president they thought might be fun to go have a drink with will start to notice that the president of the U.S. is a business position -- the CEO of a nation."

So what about Hillary Clinton?

"I think Hillary's fantastic," she said. "But I think it's too soon for Hillary to run. This may sound odd, but a woman should be past her sexuality when she runs. She still has sexual power, and I don't think people will accept that. It's too threatening."


Heh, Sharon would know considering Basic Instinct 2 is a flop. Men and women, alike, were scared away by her age.

And then there's Madonna. Who doesn't even live here anymore...or does she? Hell, who knows?

Then Madonna weighed in. In an Out magazine interview, she said she was equally concerned about Clinton's chances of winning. The pop icon reportedly said she thought the former first lady should "go for it" in 2008. But she wondered if the time was right for Americans to put their trust in a woman president.

"You've got to start somewhere in terms of women leading the U.S.," Madonna is quoted as saying. "In Europe and in Asia and elsewhere, women have ruled over millions. It's not an abstract or frightening or out-of-the-box concept.

"But in America, men are still afraid of women. And women, I don't think, trust women. I find that amazing."


And finally, there's Susan Sarandon, who always puts a little thought into what she is saying and is usually right, even when she (and her husband, Tim Robbins) gets blasted by the media.

A writer for More magazine took up the matter with Susan Sarandon. The actress was blunt. "I find Hillary Clinton to be a great disappointment," she said in the interview, which appears in this month's issue.

"She seems to be a very bright woman. I've met her. But she's lost her progressive following because of her caution and centrist approach. It bothered me when she voted for the war."

Indeed, a number of Hollywood's most politically involved members share Sarandon's concerns.


Hillary's supposed to make another trip to Hollywood to raise funds for the 2008 presidential election in which, supposedly, she is not running. This time, she's taking Bill with her.

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