Divided by more than an ocean

[tinyjo]

So Californians have elected Arnie to run their state. Good luck to them. The report on the radio left me with the impression that his qualifications for this are slim to none but the fact that people liked the Terminator films means they're happy to vote for him.* Like the difference in our reactions to David Blaine, this illustrates the very different ways we view our celebrities over here. Can you imagine the mockery and derision if David Beckham stood as an MP? Americans seem to revere their celebrities. Here, we're all too aware of their shortcomings.

* I'm happy to be corrected on this point.

Comments

Boris Johnson MP

[damiancugley.livejournal.com]

Countries where Boris Johnson can get elected should not throw stones... Arnold Schwarzenegger is smarter than the average airhead, for what it's worth.

Also, there is a tendency to trust non-politicians more than politicians (for example, Martin Bell and Glenda Jackson are expected to be more honest than the average carreer politican). Given that the electorate know nothing whatever about the other candidates is that they are politicians, maybe this helped tip the balance.

Re: Boris Johnson MP

[tinyjo.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure Boris Johnson is particularly dumb - eccentric parhaps, particularly on TV, but not dumb (he did get an Oxford degree, I believe, although I've no idea what in). He is also not really a celebrity I don't think - he just goes on the news quiz because he's an odd-ball politician. I was surprised to learn that Arnie has an economics degree from someone further down - that's certainly something thats not been mentioned in much of the coverage.