Seduced By The Spotlight

The celebrity angle of the John McCain story: Elvis hasn't quite left the building yet.

That's the opinion of Mitchell Fink, a columnist for the New York Daily News and a former writer for People magazine.

"I don't think any other time in our society has been like it is now," he said during an interview with Early Show Anchor Bryant Gumbel. "Celebrity and politics have been intertwined forever."

McCain is infatuated with the attention and the media is fascinated with him.

"I'm saying that the media looks at Gore/Bush and sees zeros in their ratings," Mitchell explained. "McCain got them numbers, so they don't want to let go of McCain. I believe he was seduced enough by the process that he doesn't want to let go either."

The columnist also said that the celebrity potential of Bush and Gore "will be decided by what they do wrong. When Bush makes a mistake and doesn't quite know who's the head of some country, it becomes a laughing matter. When Al Gore changes his shirt, it becomes a more of a celebrity story, because he's doing something about image. We deal in image."

How do you know if you're famous? One of Fink's barometers: If people recognize your name when it's printed in bold type, it's a pretty safe bet that you're a celebrity

"What really matters today," he said, "is who the most famous people are. We're a celeb-driven culture, and politics is certainly huge in that area."

For instance, the columnist's take on New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani focuses more on the celebrity spotlight than political science. Fink's theory: Giuliani does not really want to be a U.S. senator. He would really like to be New York governor.

"This man doesn't quite see himself as getting on that little train in the basement of the Capitol building, going back to his office, back for a roll call vote, coming back up to New York and taking the temperature of his political constituents. I think he has his eyes on a much bigger job, and that's why he's hedged about his announcement, which he has never made."

Giuliani would be happier as governor, because he would be a head of state, said Fink, adding, "If he's one of 100 senators, it's not quite the same thing."