With Bush in Crawford, the White House rocks -- with the Jonas Brothers

No telling who will show up at the White House when the president's out of town.

Today it was the Jonas Brothers -- Nick, Kevin and Joe -- a boy band from Wyckoff, N.J., who has been nominated for MTV video of the year for their "Burnin' Up" clip.

In Washington for a concert, the three brothers stopped at the White House to tape a public service announcement urging kids to get outdoors and stay active. With Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne at their sides, the trio pitched the wonders of the National Parks, of which the White House is one.

Afterward, the three got a briefing on diabetes. Nick, now 15, was diagnosed with the disease when he was 13. Then the brothers were peppered with questions by White House reporters who did not get the call to Crawford.

Asked how they were voting, Kevin, who turns 21 the day after the election, and Joe, who just turned 19, said they were not in a position to say.

"As a band, we are not in a place to endorse any of those who campaign, but we, me and Joe, are both of voting age, so we do endorse voting, getting to know the issues, learning about the candidates," said Kevin, according to an account in the Washington Times.

Joe added that neither candidate had approached them for an endorsement but said it would be "an honor." Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama has said several times that his preteen daughters are big JoBros fans.

White House spokeswoman Emily Lawrimore said she did not know if the president, in Crawford, knew what he was missing.

Eight-year-old Ethan Ross could have told him. "I'm flipped out," he said. "They're cool."

-- Johanna Neuman

Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Associated Press

es

Comments

[Nathan]

1) Who cares how a bunch of packed pop tarts vote
2) Pop tarts like these never pick sides cause they only care about selling products to pre-teens whose parents might try boycott them if they are against their choice.
3) if you are going to ask a celebrity about politics, ask the ones who actually care enough about it to have a reasoned opinion. I don't ask paris or brintey for their thoughts on WW1, because the odds are they will just say hitler was bad.

[SJ.Stevens]

I think it's nice that they kept their political opinions to themselves. Most celebrities can't seem to shut their mouths about it. Their fans are probably under 18 for the most part, so I doubt it would matter who they said they were for. I think that celebrities should endorse voting rather than a particular candidate. That matters more because so many young people do not vote. I also have to say that I find it funny that this band came when Bush was out of town. ha ha.

[Niki]

I think that the Jonas Brothers carried themselves very well with all the political questions. What other 20-year-old (or younger person) would answer a question so intelligently? I also personally thank them and think that it's very classy for not endorsing a candidate. They don't need to. Like Kevin said, the people need to look at the facts about each candidate (where they stand) and decide for themselves. They don't need a celebrity telling them who to vote for or what to do. That's putting too much on celebrities and putting no responsibility on yourself.