A generation reclaims its country.
A reader channels my own mixed feelings:
Those videos make me, an ardent Obama supporter, much LESS inclined to like him or his campaign. I am past needing cheesy songs and celebrities to confirm my political beliefs or philosophy. I don't think I'm the only one that finds them mildly offensive. "Oh Jessica Alba is a Barack supporter? The Fantastic Four was so good. I'm definitely going to vote for him."
I think it tarnishes his image as a uniter since it once again seems to be a statement about privilege, about power, access and fame.
I liken it in my head to the Radiohead phenomena. Part of what made their gambit so brilliant was that for once every fan regardless of affiliation (famous celebrity, promoter, reporter, record label guy) was treated the same way and on equal footing: as a fan. Nobody was a 'bigger' fan than anybody else. It was a direct connection with the artist and I didn't feel excluded or penciled into a caste system for not having the right credentials. It felt so refreshing.
That's the same way I think about the Obama campaign. We are the ones we've been waiting for. The community.
Besides being awful music, these videos sully that notion and seek to separate the tiers of Obama supporters into the masses and the beautiful celebrities. They strike exactly the wrong note for me. And it's annoying. They feel, in fact, Clinton-esque in their self-satisfied, pseudo-hip cloying preening.