LOS ANGELES, Feb 24 2011 — Actor George Clooney will play a flawed presidential candidate in his latest movie, but he has again rejected the notion of running for politics in real life.
"I didn’t live my life the right way for politics, you know," the Oscar-winning actor told Newsweek magazine in a cover story about his humanitarian work in Sudan.
“I fucked too many chicks and did too many drugs, and that’s the truth,” said Clooney, who has twice been declared People magazine’s sexiest man alive.
Clooney, 49, said a smart political campaigner would "start from the beginning by saying, ‘I did it all. I drank the bong water. Now let’s talk about issues.’
"That’s gonna be my campaign slogan: ‘I drank the bong water.’”
Clooney, who won an Oscar in 2006 for his supporting role in Syriana, gave a similar rejoinder in 2007 to suggestions that he should run for the US Senate against Republican Mitch McConnell.
Clooney, a political liberal, was named a United Nations messenger of peace in 2008 for his efforts to draw international attention to the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, Sudan.
He told Newsweek his job in the region was to "amplify the voice of the guy who lives here and is worried about his wife and children being slaughtered."
"And if he finds me and asks, ‘You got a big megaphone?’ and I say ‘Yes.’ ‘You got a decent-size mountain to yell it from?’ ‘Yeah, I got a pretty-good sized mountain.’ ‘Will you do me a favor and yell it?’ And I go ‘Absolutely.’"
Clooney is currently working on the movie The Ides of March about an idealistic staffer for a new presidential candidate who gets a crash course in dirty politics. Clooney will direct and star in the film, and he co-wrote the screenplay. ~ Reuters
George Clooney seen with hot date Sarah Larson
When I read the Reuters piece on George Clooney, it struck me as the perfect statement on everything that has gone wrong with political reality since humans began living together in villages, then towns and cities.
He has made more than enough money with his enormous talent as an actor, and certainly doesn't crave celebrity status anymore after a massive overdose of it. What makes a man like George Clooney a natural-born leader is simply that he commands attention and respect, and can be trusted to be true to himself. Nobody in the habit of faking feelings and living on the surface gets to be an actor as accomplished as Clooney.
So he openly admits to enjoying a robust sex life with a multitude (or at least a series) of partners. With his screen idol looks and his urbane savoir-faire, which red-blooded woman would forego an opportunity to explore a bit of intimacy with George Clooney? While it's wonderful to believe that a guy like Clooney could remain exclusively married to his childhood sweetheart and never once succumb to temptation, it's far more realistic to accept that superstars are the closest thing humans have to a living pantheon of quasi-divine beings.
When presidential candidate Bill Clinton was accused of having smoked pot in college, his lame response was: "I didn't inhale." Yeah, and I suppose he didn't come in Monica's mouth either. And she didn't swallow, so it's all okay, folks. Yup, I had my hand in the till, but I didn't grab any money!
Sex, drugs and rock'n'roll are evolutionary keys. Anyone who pretends they never indulged cannot be trusted or entrusted with decision making - because they're either compulsive liars or just utterly lacking in curiosity, imagination, and the spirit of adventure. Those who never consciously break any rules must never be allowed to become lawmakers, because it's clear they take rules way too seriously and therefore haven't a clue what life is all about.
You've heard it said that people get the government they deserve. Considering how provincial people's minds are, even in the digital era, when the pettiness and triviality of their daily preoccupations can be broadcast to all and sundry via facebook status updates, is it any wonder that we inevitably end up voting liars and hypocrites into public office? As for me, I would rather see honest men and women in administrative positions who are not ashamed of who they truly are - and who feel no need to airbrush their public images.
Being honest is a lifelong habit, folks. Once you get used to being a True One whose inner and outer personalities are aligned, you're much more inclined to deal with criticism without feeling threatened. If you realize you've made a serious mistake, you immediately apologize and take steps to rectify the problem. And if your error has massive repercussions, you slap yourself hard on the forehead and gracefully resign.
In short: if you feel you deserve an honest government, get honest with yourself first!
[First posted 26 February 2011; reposted 14 November 2013]
