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From the New York Times: Somewhere in between the parade of busty women in low-cut gold lamé minidresses and contestants spinning the wheel, George Bush made a star turn.
“I’m thrilled to be on ‘Deal or No Deal’ with you tonight,” Mr. Bush said from a giant screen in a cameo taped for the Monday episode of one of NBC’s most popular prime-time shows. The president paused a beat. Elitism is to the 2008 campaign as communism was to 1950s politics: a career breaker. The “Deal or No Deal” contestant Mr. Bush rooted for, Joe Kobes, is a decorated Army captain who served three tours in Iraq. Timing, however, matters. (Mrs. McCain said that the man she calls “Johnny-Boy” loves horticulture and cooking and contrary to news reports does not have a “temper” problem.)
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Michelle Obama, who last week stood up for her husband’s common touch on “The Colbert Report,” tried to prove it by taping a segment of “Rachael Ray” alongside Barack Obama on Monday. Hillary Rodham Clinton performed a self-mocking skit on “The Colbert Report” last week (not to be confused with her self-mocking skit on “Saturday Night Live,” on March 1) and agreed to appear on “Larry King Live” on CNN on Monday night. Mr. Obama accepted a seat, for the third time, on “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart.”
The novelty of politicians showing their lighter side on national television has begun to weigh heavily on the campaign season. It’s hard to recall how unusual it was to see Gov. Bill Clinton of Arkansas playing the sax on “The Arsenio Hall Show” in 1992 or Mr. Bush revealing his favorite sandwich (peanut butter and jelly on white bread) on “Oprah” during the 2000 campaign. Mr. McCain had a walk-on part on the Fox drama “24” in 2006, and played himself as a wedding guest in the 2005 film comedy “Wedding Crashers.”
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In politics as in show business too many appearances can weaken their value: all three presidential candidates taped appeals for donations for a special star-studded episode of “American Idol” this month and all three were bumped by bigger stars (Reese Witherspoon, Miley Cyrus) and relegated to the next night.
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Satirical programs like “The Daily Show” send up politicians, but they increasingly invite politicians to send themselves up on their dime; too much collusion blunts the satire and turns even the most irreverent, iconoclastic television personalities into insiders.