First Ronald Reagan then Arnold Schwarzenegger and now actor Alec Baldwin of "30 Rock" fame is the next celebrity in line to enter the political world. He recently announced his plans to run for Mayor of New York City. But not in the next mayoral elections in 2013 but 2017. According to an article in the Huffington Post, he plans to go back to school first to learn about the inner workings of government "the reality of the city unions, of contracts, agreements, teachers, infrastructure, decentralizing, everything? And utilities, Con Ed, the M.T.A. -- how does it all work?"

I'm not sure how I feel about celebrities joining the political ranks but I guess at least he's planning on getting some background education first. And it's not utterly out of the blue, he's well known for his progressive political views and has publicly spoken out in the past against Mayor Bloomberg, the war in Iraq and Sarah Palin.

You do wonder how celebrities can have a genuine understanding of the people and society when they live these glamorous, unrealistic lifestyles where money is no issue but Baldwin claims his Hollywood status and income hasn't changed him.

He was quoted in the NY Times as saying: "There are people who make a lot of money who become rich people, and then there are people who make a lot of money, but they don't think like rich people do. No matter how much money they have, they are the same from their own upbringing. I would definitely put myself in the latter class."

Then again, maybe celebrities have more power to gain respect from the people and make changes since so many people are caught up in celebrity culture. And let's not forget that not all celebrities are dumb. Some of them have brains and good educations and can speak articulately. Alec Baldwin's track record isn't as scandalous as others in the celeb world... apart from the aggressive voice mails to his daughter that were leaked. I guess you need a tough side to succeed in politics anyway...




link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B49WtN8guhY

Would you vote for him?