by Dr. Kathryn Cramer Brownell Author of Showbiz Politics: Hollywood in American Political Life.
“Every American likes to be entertained… So if you can’t fight it, PUT ON A SHOW. And if you put on a good show, Mr. and Mrs. America will turn out to see it,” wrote the California political consultants Clem Whitaker and Leon Baxter in 1934. Rooted in California politics in the 1930s, this practice reverberates today and continues to shapes the modern American presidency. On December 8th, President Barack Obama appeared as a guest on the Colbert Report. Taking over for the comedian as the host of the show, Obama changed the segment “The Word” to “The Decree.” His comedic performance highlighted both his humor and acting talents. In a strategy reflective of his decision to appear on Zach Galifianakis’ Between Two Ferns to promote the Affordable Care Act, and to rap the news with Jimmy Fallon to advocate for his student loan policies, Obama again showed his ability to flourish in his role as “Entertainer-in-Chief.”
Like many of his predecessors in the White House, Obama has turned to a “showbiz politics.” Following an electoral defeat for the Democratic Party last month, Obama’s entertainment efforts have helped him to reclaim the media narrative of his presidency and re-invigorate the activism of his younger supporters, whose voices he needs to push his policies through a Republican Congress over the next two years.
Though a defining feature of Obama’s presidency, showbiz politics has deeper roots. It’s a product of changes in American politics over the past eighty years as presidents slowly, and frequently controversially, turned to Hollywood personalities for insights on how to approach new technology and communicate to an expanding electorate. In 1934, Whitaker and Baxter joined studio executives Louis B. Mayer and Jack Warner to use publicity tools from the motion picture industry to propel Frank Merriman to a gubernatorial victory over the Socialist Upton Sinclair. However, shock broke out across the nation because the campaign looked so much like a motion picture production.
Over the next decade, Franklin Roosevelt’s critics blasted him for using Hollywood entertainment to manipulate voters. They warned of the danger of mixing “politics and glamor.” During the 1950s, as Dwight Eisenhower welcomed an actor, Robert Montgomery, to the White House as his television advisor, reporters looked uneasily at the “Hollywood element” that threatened to undermine presidential politics.








