President Obama announced 21 recipients of the prestigious Presidential Medal of Freedom today. Traditionally, the award is reserved for those private individuals who have served the nation and humanity by advancing art, culture and science.
But this year, the nation’s highest honor also seemed like a participation prize for liberal activism. One-third of the of the winners had been involved in endorsing, fundraising or even stumping for Hillary Clinton.
While they deserve their awards for their talents, their combined efforts to turn that star power into political capital for Clinton failed this year. A consolation prize is in order.
With his working-class ballads, Bruce Springsteen dominated rock n’ roll beginning in the late 1970s and then peaked in the early 1990s. And this year the Boss was “with her,” putting on concerts to warm up the crowd for Clinton.
“I don’t think people go to musicians for their political points of view,” Springsteen told Rolling Stone. “But it’s worth giving a shot when it’s the only thing you have.” It didn’t work though. His poetry filled stadiums but failed to sway the electorate.
Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Lorne Michaels also won the award for leading the Milwaukee Bucks to the 1971 NBA championship and founding “Saturday Night Live,” respectively. During this election, Jabbar spoke at the Democrat National Convention and Michaels’ comics went in for Clinton early.
For his work in “Taxi Driver” and “Raging Bull,” Robert DeNiro owns a pair of Academy awards. But his acting proved more persuasive than his political advice. The New York Democrat was confident in Clinton’s victory earlier in the year, telling The Daily Beast, “There are going to be no surprises.” Like nearly everyone, he was wrong.
Ellen Degeneres remains one of the funniest people on television today. Cicely Tyson acted on film, television and the stage. Both earned the presidential medal after publically endorsing the first female nominee of a major political party.
Actor, comedian and director Tom Hanks has won numerous awards for his work in front of and behind the camera. Thanks to Obama, he will add a presidential medal to that collection. Earlier in the year, he grabbed dinner at a fundraiser for Clinton.
Philip Wegmann is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
