By Christopher Gabriel, CGabriel.com

Those pesky little Hollywood celebrities, they say the darnedest things.  Nothing like a good Emmy Awards broadcast to give this group of amateur political commentators their opportunity to play MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann.  Is there a difference between 15 minutes of fame and 15 seconds of folly?  You’ve heard the phrase “less is more?”  Sometimes, less is too much.

The First Amendment is a wonderful thing.  Then again, a powerful weapon in the wrong hands can be dangerous. 

There they were, up on the Nokia Theatre stage in Los Angeles, the few, the proud, the marionettes, doing their very best for our country.  At least that’s what they want us to believe.  This whole notion, put forth for years by the Tim Robbins’ and Susan Sarandon’s of the world, that they know more than the rest of us and they know what’s best for us is just this side of insulting.

The endless preaching about the evils of any candidate from the Republican Party over the past 50 years has grown awfully tired and well beyond weathered.  Try as they might, be it Laura Linney thanking ”the community organizers that helped form our country” in her Emmy Award thank you remarks or Canadian Howie Mandel, sliding in a “bridge to no where” reference, they just can’t help themselves. 

Linney went on to say “I don’t think anyone should be disrespected for their service no matter who they are or no matter what party they’re in.”  Apparently Stephen Colbert missed the memo on that as he stood on stage eating prunes while saying to Jon Stewart in a not so thinly-veiled reference to John McCain, “Right now, America needs a prune. Granted, it is shriveled and hard to swallow, but this old fruit has the experience we need.”

Would Linney consider Colbert’s comment disrespectful?  Or was it just good-natured fun?

The basic problem here – and point in fact, it makes no difference to me whether they’re out-and-about making fun of conservatives or liberals – is that the vast majority of them open their mouths first, and become educated on issues second.  Trying it the other way around would be a great first step on their Path to Enlightenment. 

Further, they are surrounded by people – agents, publicists and “handlers” – who make them the center of the universe on a daily basis.  When the subject isn’t their next movie, a development deal or an appearance at a Wal-Mart in Oklahoma City, they still believe they’re that important when discussing anything . . . especially politics.

They’re not.

They’re actors, directors, writers, comedians and television hosts.  They’re not seasoned political analysts and strategists served up by CNN or Fox News.

I’m not debating the right for any of them to state their opinions.  I’m simply asking them to have a sense of responsibility to make even a feeble attempt to be . . . responsible.  If they want so desperately to be in the political arena, then really get in the game.  How about taking a stab at offering up political insights in a venue outside of their comfort zone?  I’m sure CNN’s The Situation Room, Fox’s Hannity and Colmes or NBC’s Meet the Press would love to have some of these pundits-in-training grace their sets.

Somewhere on the trip to bountiful, Hollywood heavies got the idea they were an accurate reflection of America.  And because of that, it was, and remains, their civic duty to remind all of us, especially those of us in middle-America (which seems to mean Peoria to most of them) to vote.  But, to vote for the candidate they support.  To vote for the candidate that best represents their interests. 

Hollywood is unmatched at making fantasy appear as reality.  They’re also unmatched trying to impose their own reality on the rest of America.  That they believe so many outside the studio gates are buying what they’re selling - well that’s just fantasy.   

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