Tells the colorful story of how the two most visible branches of American celebrity-the presidency and Hollywood-came together in a marriage of pop culture and politics. }U.S. presidents and Hollywood have had a mutual admiration society that extends far back into history. In Celebrity-in-Chief , journalist Alan Schroeder contends that each camp has influenced the other-particularly over the past century-creating a president who no longer stands apart upon a remote civic pedestal, isolated from Hollywood and pop culture. Instead, the powerful forces of the American celebrity circus drag him into the tent and ask him to put on a show. The job of president has always been politically demanding, but now there is another requirement: to exude star quality. In the parlance of Hollywood, he must "fill the frame." Drawing upon a wealth of fascinating anecdotes about some of the most celebrated individuals in American history, Schroeder shows how a succession of presidents since Woodrow Wilson has put on a show with mixed results. Whether it was Bill Clinton playing sax on TV talk shows or George W.
Bush's Top Gun stunt aboard an aircraft carrier, Celebrity-in-Chief entertainingly and convincingly shows that the result is a wholesale demystification of the office-and that this marriage of pop culture and the presidency will continue to fascinate and endure. }
- ISBN10 081334137X
- ISBN13 9780813341378
- Publish Date 4 February 2004
- Publish Status Out of Stock
- Out of Print 13 December 2008
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Basic Books
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 368
- Language English