Posted April 3, 2008 7:00 AM

by Andrew Malcolm

Jane Fonda, the actress and ardent anti-Vietnam war advocate who visited North Vietnam during those hostilities, has endorsed Democrat Barack Obama for president.


There were no formal ceremonies for the endorsement. In fact, the Obama campaign may just be learning about the actress's approval now as word spreads like lit gunpowder via the Internet.

Fonda was eating out last night and exited the restaurant, ignoring as celebrities often do the assembled press contingent.

But a video camera was rolling as she approached the street and someone, perhaps just trying to get her to turn around for a picture, shouted out at her back, "Who are you going to vote for?"

There was a moment of silence. Then, the actress did turn around toward the cameras, paused and with a smile said simply, "Obama!" Then she got into a car and drove away.


any people question the value of celebrity endorsements, whether they actually.attract anything other than simply more publicity, not to mention votes. The imprimatur of Fonda, who's been an antiwar activist for decades, certainly supports Obama's anti-war credentials.

Less examined is whether some celebrity endorsements may actually cost a candidate votes. This could be one of those less desirable votes for part of the country, especially if Obama was hoping to attract some crossover Republicans if he's the Democratic candidate come fall.

Obama, who was recently named the most liberal member of the Senate by the nonpartisan National Journal, has sought to portray himself as the earliest anti-Iraq war opponent and tagged his sole remaining opponent, Sen. Hillary Clinton, with voting to authorize the use of force in Iraq.

The problem for those of a certain generation that endured the Vietnam war and the sometimes violent domestic conflict that accompanied it at home is that during Fonda's controversial wartime visit to North Vietnam, she was photographed at a Communist anti-aircraft gun battery.

According to the photo caption distributed at the time, she joined North Vietnamese soldiers there in singing an anti-war song while preparing to shoot at attacking Americans.

This earned her the nickname Hanoi Jane (indeed, that's the TMZ headline this afternoon) and an enduring image as a polarizing figure, especially regarding patriotism.

As it happens, the Republican presidential candidate this time is Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who was one of those American fliers shot down over that same city by those same anti-aircraft forces, tortured and spent nearly six years in a POW cell while Fonda returned home.

Andrew Malcolm writes for Top of the Ticket, the L.A. Times political blog.

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Damned right I'm an equal opportunity offender, I'm a Conservative!

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"I suppose I always knew America would eventually break the planet, like some ghastly, hyperactive toddler that gets hold of a mobile phone and then smashes it repeatedly against the edge of a table". Quote from british journalist.

Man, you have such a warped sense of your country, Med. Not dissing you ... so don't get excited. It's amazing to me how anyone your age, growing up in this country, could have a view such as yours. I mean, its such a negative outlook. I wonder how you came out of the Vietnam conflict loving Jane Fonda ... while at the same time, knowing what John McCain's experience was. Honest to God, Med ... you "love" Jane Fonda? She collaborated with the enemy! 60,000 of your fellow Vietnam buddies had their graves pissed on by Fonda. Jeezes man, do you celebrate when you go to the Holocaust Museum?

Vi

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Damned right I'm an equal opportunity offender, I'm a Conservative!

American dead - 58,169
Vietnamese killed by American military - 1,165,000+

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I have the urge to drink another fif and let shredded cheese melt all over my hairy chest cuz I'm hawt awwwwooo.

And the Main Stream Media (Walter Cronkite) would have you believe that we lost.

Vi

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Damned right I'm an equal opportunity offender, I'm a Conservative!

I hate Jane Fonda with an unhealthy passion.

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Am I supposed to have some sort of disclaimer here?

wow that is the first vietnam vet I have ever heard say they love Fonda.Almost stiffling to hear that..Didnt help obama any thats for sure lol My uncles were in nam and they always talk about wishing they could kill her lol

Did we win? Thats what happens when everything is based on body counts

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"I suppose I always knew America would eventually break the planet, like some ghastly, hyperactive toddler that gets hold of a mobile phone and then smashes it repeatedly against the edge of a table". Quote from british journalist.

Nope, we got our asses kicked by a Democrat administration and congress who wanted to micro-manage the war. Remember McNamara?

Here's an excerpt from one of Hanoi Jane's speeches:

On November 21, 1970 she told a University of Michigan audience of some two thousand students, "If you understood what communism was, you would hope, you would pray on your knees that we would some day become communist." At Duke University in North Carolina she repeated what she had said in Michigan, adding "I, a socialist, think that we should strive toward a socialist society, all the way to communism." Washington Times July 7, 2000


Vi

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Damned right I'm an equal opportunity offender, I'm a Conservative!