American Idol: Simon’s Advice to the Candidates (Presidential)
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Beneath the blizzard of political punditry after the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primaries, one voice, perhaps the voice most qualified to speak about what the American public wants in its candidates, has been buried and gone unheard.
In a obscure interview (not available online) with Patrick J.D. Kennedy of Frank, the journal of the Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock, Ark., Simon Cowell took time out from the weighty business of selecting America’s next singing superstar to opine on the relatively obscure fluff of electoral politics. His advice: Be like Simon, unleash whatever gush or venom comes into your head, and the voters will flock to your door.
After qualifying that with ‘I would never go into politics,’ Judge #3 says:
What I’ve learned from being on ‘Idol’ is that most people, whether in Great Britain or America, do not think in a politically correct way -- thank God. I just talk in a normal language so that people at home understand what I’m saying, which is important in politics as well.
Other high-lites from the interview:
My advice for anyone in politics is tell the truth and don’t set yourself up to be a perfect human being. We all have our faults and our weaknesses, but it’s amazing how quickly an audience will accept if you’re honest. They will accept your faults as well. Sometimes, when I listen to politicians speak, I think, ‘Why don’t you talk to me like a human being, because then I’ll understand you.’ I think political correctness is right now becoming an epidemic, and it’s a problem. There are increasingly more rules coming into society, and if you create one rule, then you have to create another. The average person doesn’t understand that, because it’s basically saying you must behave in a particular way, which is wrong.
While he doesn’t endorse any candidate, he does offer particular praise for the side act of one politician in particular.
FRANK: Could you take a politician who has a certain star power and market them through a record deal or a reality TV show? A: Well, I heard Bill Clinton play the saxophone once. I’m not sure either they or I would want to do anything like that. I think they’ve got enough to keep them busy. Having said that, look, if you’ve got charisma, anything is possible. Now mind you, who did I see recently dancing and rapping. FRANK: Was it Karl Rove?A: Karl Rove. Brilliant. FRANK: I believe he called himself ‘MC Rove.’ A: ‘MC Rove.’ And people loved that. I really liked him for doing that. He showed himself to be a human being. Good luck to him. (Photo courtesy Fox)