leavey_2's profile

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Thursday, June 1st, 2017 2:51 PM

Live Poll: First Hispanic American President

Almost all presidents in the history of the United States were white caucasian males. The sole exception was Barack Obama, the first black American president. Currently, over 10% of the population of the United States is Hispanic. Therefore some people say the next American president might well be Hispanic.

Now let's assume for a second that only movie stars could apply. Which Hispanic actor/actress should run for next president of the United States?

(only American actors/actresses over 42 years old, the age of Theodore Roosevelt when he was elected, America's youngest president ever)

List: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls068035727/
Poll: http://www.imdb.com/poll/9OB-uca-TZc/

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7 years ago

Sorry but no more actors or actresses should run for president (at least without being elected to congress, governorship, senate, etc...) no matter their ethnicity.


So none of the above really needs to be an answer here.

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I fully agree with you, Stephen, but the question is not to be taken too seriously. I just wanted to be a little bit more original and not ask the classic question: "Who's your favorite Hispanic actor/actress".

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7 years ago

FYC

You should stick to the constitutional requirements, rather than setting your own (American, min. age 42) for clarity. Even for entertainment purposes, it will eliminate Hispanics who would get support, but wouldn't qualify (naturalized Americans). Spelling them out might be helpful as 70% of IMDb users are from outside the USA and even most Americans don't know all of them. Also, changing the question to "would you support" focuses more on the hypothetical and favorite/best qualified aspect without getting into whether they are actually the best candidates. You are simply asking which is the best of this group with a shared heritage?

Which Hispanic actor/actress* would you support to be the President of the United States? * Hispanic heritage, 35 years of age or older at time of inaugration, a natural born American citizen and resided in USA at least 14 years

You should remove Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Andy Garcia and Ana Alicia from the list. All are ineligible to be the president of the USA, as they are not natural born American citizens.

Possible Candidates: TOP 100 HISPANIC ACTORS [assuming 25% minimum Hispanic (ie. one grandparent), 35 years of age or older, a natural born American citizen and resided in USA at least 14 years.]

Martin Sheen
aka Ramón Antonio Gerard Estevez
Cameron Diaz
Michael Peña
Louis C.K. aka Louis Szekely
Jessica Alba
Zoe Saldana
Alexis Bledel
Rosario Dawson
Jay Hernandez
Wilmer Valderrama
Eva Longoria
Robert Rodriguez
Hector Elizondo
Michelle Rodriguez
Hulk Hogan aka Terry Eugene Bollea
Raquel Welch aka Jo Raquel Tejada

America Ferrera (eligible to run for 2020 election)
Aubrey Plaza (eligible to run for 2020 election)

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Thanks so much for your help, urbanemovies, very much appreciated! Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Andy Garcia and Ana Alicia have been removed from the list. The question has been updated like you suggested. And all of your new suggestions have been incorporated, which brings the list to exactly 35 in total. :-)

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Your Welcome. I think it is a pretty strong poll suggestion. The 2015 census estimates put the total at 56,592,793 as self-described Hispanics representing 17.61% of the population with 30% being projected by 2050. It is going to happen sooner, rather than later as the group has the votes to influence elections.

Just a thought, I think the list would seem stronger by culling some of the less viable and weaker actor/actress candidates that don't give that presidential vibe. In my opinion, I would cull some select actors from the bottom third of your list, in terms of STARmeter rankings (3000+) from the list to start: Ricardo Chavira, Raymond Cruz, Valente Rodriguez, Ada Maris, Belita Moreno and maybe some others that are not as popular or that don't seem presidential. These actors number one asset is their fame, name recognition and popularity. If they don't have that in spades or another asset to compensate (ie Ronald Reagan got his start as a labor union president of the Screen Actors Guild); I can't see them being elected President of the USA.

You might even consider expanding the list to include other types of movie, television, sports or other media Hispanic celebrities. Media celebrities like Elizabeth Vargas, Nina TasslerCesar Conde, Sonia Sotomayor, Soledad O'Brien and others might validate the list to be seriously considered. These more credentialed candidates might add another dimension to your poll.

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urbanemovies = helpful contributor goals

Champion

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7 years ago

There may be a pretty good chance that the next president is Hispanic, but a Hispanic actor being the next is extremely remote.

This article is interesting:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/25/latino-philanthropists-_n_3989013.html

Out of everyone listed, the only people eligible are Rosario Dawson, George Lopez, Eva Longoria, Mark Anthony, Jennifer Lopez and Rico Rodriguez, and NONE of them have anywhere near the stature to even run.

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7 years ago

it has been previously said, but obvious that they have to be american born....(thank god...otherwise we might have president schwarzenegger...)

but...to pull one off of your list, i would take cheech marin for vice president, with one from urbane's list, martin sheen, as president...

now that's a ticket i would vote for...

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7 years ago

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A-Rod as First Significant Other?

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7 years ago

What about Oscar Isaac? 

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Great choice, but unfortunately not born in the USA so he would not qualify for the American presidency.

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For some reason I thought he was born here.  

Edward James Olmos

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He looks very presidential, doesn't he?

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7 years ago

Mmm, I think there's a little mix-up here. If you refer to Hispanic culture (or background), that's fine, but since you mention "white caucasian males" in your intro, as the usual trend, then we shouldn't have actors or actresses who look like they could be born in Stockholm. Cameron Diaz is as Hispanic as Jennifer Lopez, I have no doubt about that, but she's also white and caucasian.

The problem, as I see it, is in your intro. Your poll is supposed to highlight the contribution of Hispanic culture, and people of Hispanic (or Latin) background, but this has nothing to do with ethnicity, because 'Latin' people have mixed origins (African, European, Indian etc.), so it has nothing to do with the 'skin factor', so there's no need to mention the fact that the former Presidents were white, unless you meant white-anglo-saxon-Protestant.

If you replace white by WASP and mention Kennedy and Obama as the exception, the question will work just fine.

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I can see your point, but I don't want to complicate things too much, either. I'm afraid that people not very familiar with ethnic backgrounds in the US (like myself, I'm European) will not understand the term WASP. What if I just leave out the first phrase completely and start with: "Over 10% of the population of the United States is of Hispanic descent, therefore some people say..." Would that be ok for you or would you suggest a different formulation?

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I had the same thoughts initially, that WASP would be better than white Caucasians to keep the comparison between cultural backgrounds (rather than mixing types). The focus of the introduction should focus on predominance of white-anglo-saxon-Protestant American presidents (except. recent barrier breakers Kennedy and Obama). It would be better to bridge that future presidents will likely break other barriers (1st Woman President, 1st Jewish President, 1st Hispanic President, etc.) I would tweak to focus on this slant or alternatively, avoid it altogether and just focus on the emerging political power/size/scope of the American Hispanic electorate in the USA. The 2015 census estimates put the total at 56,592,793 as self-described Hispanics representing 17.61% of the population with 30% being projected by 2050.

My dark horse candidate ticket: President Nina Tassler, former CBS Entertainment chairwoman, former Triad Artists talent agent, Jewish, Puerto Rican, feminist, and a one credit movie actress. A seemingly quadruple threat, in terms of appealing to different segments of the voting electorate and proven leader. Vice President: Martin Sheen. Both are known for their strong convictions, commitment to social justice, results driven and have political views/attributes that would appeal to both voters from both major parties.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Tassler came in at number two on its Latino Power 50  with Salma Hayek at number four, Jennifer Lopez at number ten, and Eva Longoria at number 31.

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Thanks, urbanemovies. I changed the description to focus on the emerging political power of the American Hispanic electorate in the USA as you suggested. I didn't include Nina Tassler because I already have 35 actors/actresses in my list and if I open it up for all types of celebrities, I have to add many others as well. Another reason is that Nina Tassler has no image on her IMDb page. So could you live with Martin Sheen for President instead of Vice President? :-)

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I have no problem limiting the poll to "professional" actors. In my opinion, I still would cull some of less viable options to leave open the possibility to add someone you may have overlooked. Ricardo Chavira, Valente Rodriguez, Ada Maris, Belita Moreno and a few others don't seem to have a fighting chance. All are ranked between 10,000 and 30,000 on IMDb's STARmeter.

Sleeper options like Aimee Garcia, Lana Parrilla, 30-somethings like Melissa Fumero (who turns 35 years old on August 19, 2017), other surprising unknown Hispanic celebrities, like Pam Grier (% ?) or some other rising star might be more popular choices. I would leave yourself some options to add, as these unknowns crop up.

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7 years ago

Either Jimmy Smiths or Martin Sheen, just because they were both great presidents in The West Wing so I can easily picture them on the job.

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7 years ago

Rosario Dawson, and Zoe Saldana for VP!

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7 years ago

The list is complete now.

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7 years ago

My vote goes to: Martin Sheen

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7 years ago

Bump

Champion

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7 years ago

Bump.

Champion

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7 years ago

President Hector Elizondo!

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"35 years of age or older at time of inaugration" is a bit odd if you haven't specified when the inauguration would be. Also, there's a typo in "inauguration".

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leavey, could you please address Peter's comments?
That's what I meant by the bump. :)

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Ok, sorry. Must have missed this. I only saw the bump.

I changed the footnote to: "Hispanic heritage, currently 35 years of age or older (minimum age requirement to become President), a natural born American citizen and resided in the USA at least 14 years"

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7 years ago

Martin Sheen is kind of the obvious choice for several reasons but there are a few others who I would consider at least as much, such  as Eva Longoria, who is really smart, interested and involved in socio-political issues, even-keeled with a measured temperament, and very knowledgeable about several issues. She has the added benefit of being woman, and it's long past time that this country has a woman President. So my vote goes to Eva Longoria. :)