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Celebs Might Have Hurt BY CELESTE KATZ - DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER Wednesday, November 3, 2004 Stars came out for challenger, but did they help or hurt? Dem greets Bruce Springsteen. John Kerry's campaign had far more star power than President Bush's - but it couldn't put him over the top. There were the singers: Jersey rockers Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi, as well as Stevie Wonder and Barbra Streisand. And comedians: Margaret Cho and Whoopi Goldberg, who got into hot water at a Radio City fund-raiser when she made mocking references to Bush's name and her nether parts. And the sickly celebs: Parkinson's-stricken Michael J. Fox, as well as Christopher Reeve, the Superman who died three weeks ago after years of fighting his paralysis. Both Fox and Reeve were strong advocates of embryonic stem cell research, a hot-button issue that brought Ron Reagan, the son of a beloved Republican President, to Kerry's coronation as Democratic nominee in July in Boston. But Kerry's ties to the entertainment bigs played right into Bush's assertion that the Dems are more in touch with "Hollywood" values than Main Street values. And that was a message that resonated well in the 11 states, including Ohio, that had gay marriage bans on the ballot, said Michael Long, chairman of the New York Conservative Party. "People raised the point that the people really voted their values and it was a good sign, because America is really losing its moral compass," Long said. "They're tired of Hollywood's 'Do anything one wants to do' [attitude] ... I think it says something [about Kerry's] values to have those people surround him." But consultant Ken Sunshine, who represents high-profile Kerry backers such as Streisand, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Affleck and John Mellencamp, said the whole issue is a little overblown. "I think too much attention is given to 'Hollywood,' and for that to be a code word for 'anti-family, anti-Christian' is insane," he said. "What do Ben Affleck, Leonardo DiCaprio and Barbra Streisand want out of government except more progressive policies that would make for a better society?" he asked. "Halliburton executives want something material out of government." Originally published on November 4, 2004 SOURCE: New York Daily News, NY http://tinyurl.com/6oaqo * * *Murray Charters <[log in to unmask]> Please place this address in your address book Please purge all others Web site: Parkinsons Resources on the WWWeb http://www.geocities.com/murraycharters ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn