Nothing’s hard to believe in world of celebrity news

“no” to that question, or else Edwards would still be in the race.

LIZ LAVIN

DEPUTY EDITOR EAL723@CABRINI EDU

Every time I turn on the TV these days, I’m bombarded with constant coverage of the 2008 election, with everything from the previous night’s debate to the one out-of-place hair on Hillary’s head.

Needless to say, it’s just a little over the top. However, the one thing that stands out to me in this election is not the media digging for stories to keep things controversial.

No, it is the candidates themselves and the fact that they think celebrity endorsements will help them win this election.

Since when does being an actor mean that you have validity as a politician? Oh wait, it doesn’t. Reagan could pull it off, but that doesn’t mean everyone else should try.

So what is Oprah doing campaigning with Obama?

Or Chuck Norris with Huckabee?

These are only two of the many celebrities publicly endorsing their favorite candidates and all of the candidates are welcoming them with open arms.

Is that really what matters to our country?

Did John Edwards really think that his numbers would jump if James Denton went on record about supporting him? I’ll admit, when I saw Denton standing, coincidentally, directly behind Edwards in New Hampshire, I watched for a few minutes longer than I would have had he not been there, but it was more out of the shock of seeing a “Desperate Housewives” star doing something political. And he looked gorgeous. But would any of that influence my vote?

I guess I wasn’t the only one who answered

Someone I take only slightly more seriously than James Denton is Chuck Norris. Most of us could crack Chuck Norris jokes all day, but do we really want the man who will roundhouse kick you in the face telling us what’s great about Huckabee? The man is a martial arts pro, not a political activist.

And then there’s Oprah. Oprah is a living legend, she makes women (and probably men) all over America laugh and cry and she’s devoted large amounts of time and money to numerous charities.

But Oprah is not a politician. I personally would not take political advice from the same woman who has made it her personal responsibility to inform women that 85 percent of us are wearing the wrong bra size.

Don’t get me wrong; it’s great that celebrities are showing interest in the election. Maybe it will influence more people to vote and take an interest in the major issues affecting our country but they are going about it in the wrong way. These celebrities are obviously doing this for the publicity or else they wouldn’t be strategically placed right in front of the cameras.

These celebrity endorsers should be sending a message encouraging people to think for themselves; to find out what issues matter to them and research each candidate’s stance on it. We should be voting for someone because we care about their cause, not because Walker Texas Ranger is voting for him and that show was pretty cool.

Will people vote for Obama because they agree with his health care plan, or because Oprah said they should?

As Election Day draws nearer, these celebrities need to take a step back, leave the campaigning up to the candidates and save their support for the polls.

In My Opinion

Trying to keep up with the latest celebrity gossip is almost impossible considering the constantly changing details, and significant others, in the lives of many Hollywood socialites.

It is as if celebrities almost try to become involved in another outrageous scandal if they have been out of the headlines for more than a few weeks just to stay on the public radar and keep up their superstar status.

If it were not for the media frenzy surrounding her sister Britney the pregnancy of Jamie-Lynn would be just another case to add to the national statistics. But because she is Britney Spears’ younger sister the announcement of Jamie-Lynn’s unplanned pregnancy made national headlines.

graphed making a dramatic exit from the back door of a mental hospital.

Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Americans get psychiatric treatment everyday of the year, they just conceal their problems better because they do not have a flock of paparazzi capturing their every move.

Overdoses! Teen Pregnancies! A day in the life of Britney Spears!

It seems like everyday there are more shocking and tragic events in Hollywood than in the rest of the country combined.

In a place where the wealth and power are endless, it seems ironic that there are so many miserable people who are literally dying to make headlines on Page Six or a major tabloid.

Most of us can only imagine what goes on behind the closed doors of the hottest clubs and mansions of the rich and famous, but based on all of the scandalous and troubling stories that constantly grace the pages of People Magazine or tmz.com, it seems it may be safer on the other side of the velvet ropes.

While some celebrities are more low-profile than others, many of the most well known faces in Hollywood are more famous for their social lives than their accomplishments in the entertainment industry. It is easy to get caught up in the ritzy and alluring lives of these icons but in reality most of the events publicized are not very different from those in the lives of the rest of the public.

Consider one of the latest shockers to surface in the news: the unplanned pregnancy of 16-year-old Jamie-Lynn Spears, the younger sister of renowned Britney. Her situation is unfortunate in any right but is also all too familiar to the other one million teenage girls in the United States who wind up unexpectedly pregnant every year.

Although this was definitely negative press instead of positive, it still made a huge impact on the public and added even more flare to the never ending saga of the eccentric Spears family.

But even this was not enough drama to suffice Britney’s need to be in the spotlight; within a few weeks she once again overtook the media by having an alleged nervous breakdown and jeopardizing her custody over her two sons from her previous marriage to wannabe rapper Kevin Federline.

Her behavior shocked the public but once again it is not uncommon to have a mental breakdown or overdramatized divorce in the world outside Hollywood limits. Britney Spears finally gets diagnosed with bipolar disorder and the next day we cannot believe how tragic it is as she is photo-

The recent sudden death of actor Heath Ledger from overdosing on prescription pills was completely unbelievable to most people in the general public. It is heartbreaking to hear about such a tragedy for anyone but again this situation happens to thousands of people in the U.S. every year.

Ledger was not reputed to be troubled or suicidal so his death was extremely surprising.

Hollywood may be full of extremely rich and famous celebrities but its residents are still susceptible to the same problems and accidents as people living anywhere in the country.

Following the lives of celebrities may be hard to resist but remembering that at the end of the day they are still normal human beings like the rest of us makes the shocking events publicized easier to believe.