With McCain, Hollywood loves a comeback tale
CAUSE CÉLÈBRE / TINA DAUNT
EIGHT years is an eternity in Hollywood. There's time enough for a career, a downfall (maybe a couple of trips to rehab) and a triumphant return, if you're lucky. Some actors are still waiting for their second chance.
Does the same hold true for political stars?
In 2000, liberal Hollywood was enamored with all the usual Democratic presidential candidates and one Republican, Arizona Sen. John McCain, who some believe is on the verge of a comeback here. (After all, he was supported this week by the industry's favorite governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger.)
The entertainment actuators like McCain for much the same reason they like Barack Obama: They both have a good story, and they're "authentic." (And Hollywood, being the phoniest place in the world, loves authenticity.)
In fact, Hollywood's affection for Obama is one of the things McCain has going for him here this time around.
Some industry politicos are angry with the Clintons for questioning Obama's experience and character in ways that many people found racially insensitive, according to one longtime Democratic activist and high-level Hollywood insider. "I've talked to three people who said that if it's Hillary against McCain in the general election, they might vote for McCain," said the insider, who asked not to be identified.
And coming back to McCain wouldn't be that much of a stretch. People here genuinely like him, although they don't necessary agree with him politically. And the industry is famous for breaking party ranks for the right candidate. (Look at Ronald Reagan -- and Arnold.) If McCain comes out strong after Super Tuesday, he'll find an audience in Tinseltown.
Political Hollywood has always been an area of ideological enthusiasms. It's a place filled with true believers, most of them left, a few of them right. But they don't call it the industry for nothing. Hollywood, particularly at the upper reaches, is like any other big business. It hedges its bets because access is everything. ("It's called pocketbook politics," says celebrity spin-meister Howard Bragman.)
It doesn't matter whether there is a Republican or a Democrat in the White House -- Hollywood still has to deal with federal regulators and piracy laws. The practitioners of pocketbook politics make sure the industry's side gets a hearing no matter which party is in charge.
They know little about former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, but they know a lot about McCain.
