Taylor Hicks Receives More Votes Than Any President in History?
I recently came across an article that intrigued me greatly. The past winner of "American Idol" Taylor Hicks receieved more votes than any other President in history. Hicks receieved over 63 million votes on his way to becoming America's next "Idol". While Presidential incumbent George W. Bush received a little over 62 million votes and runner-up candidate John Kerry received a dismal (compared to the powerhouse Hicks) a little over 59 million votes. However, people my see this data and think that American's did not show up at the polls but on the contrary they showed up in record numbers. Not since 1968 has a Presidential election receieved a greater voter turnout than the 2004 Presidential election. Approximately 61% of eligible voters turned out to cast their vote for their Presidential nominee.
Although, American's turned out in droves (if you consider a little over half of the eligible voters a "drove") to vote for their respective candidate with the hopes that their vote would make a difference, it would appear that American's are more interested in pop-culture and television than they are politics and the future of their nation. I find it alarming that people are more interested in a glorified karaoke singer than they are the leader of the free world. It is alarming to me and it should be to others that our society is so heavily complacent on celebrities and reality television when there are so many pressing issues the U.S. and its people face today. If you voted for Taylor Hicks or the runner-up in "American Idol" but you did not show up for the Presidential election in 2004 you should not be able to critique the government or the war in Iraq and how you wish things were different. I hope that people realize that when celebrities are more commonly known and are interested in more so than the President they will realize that something is wrong and become actively involved in changing this backwards cycle.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2006/05/american_idol_thoughts.html