Starlet Says Winning The War 'Doesn't Matter'

The Associated Press quoted the starlet as saying: “I hope that the war resolves. Whether we win or lose or whatever, it doesn’t matter.”

I am not knocking her. She’s 16. I don’t expect her to politically aware. And although she’s a TV star, as a newspaperman I believe her quote comes in response to a question — so she is not speaking out. Not yet. That comes later after a few awards.

The starlet is Demi Lovato, who is the star of a new Disney Channel show, “Sonny with a Chance.” The premise of the show, according to IMDB, is “Sonny, a talented Midwestern girl, has won a nationwide talent search to move to Los Angeles and star in a popular television series. Sonny’s home and work life is documented along with her adjustment to life in the spotlight.”

Art is imitating life, isn’t it? She is adjusting to life in the spotlight, just as her character will.

It seems to me like she has the Hollywood view of politics down pat. It is how you make it in Hollywood (or Universal City, Calif., where Disney’s shows are made). The old studios used to teach starlets how to walk and talk and eat.

All the trades have certain ropes that a newcomer must learn. In “Bull Durham,” catcher Crash Davis teaches pitcher Nuke LaLoosh what to tell reporters after the game. He learned:

“We gotta play ’em one day at a time. I’m just happy to be here. Hope I can help the ball club. I just want to give it my best shot, and the good Lord willing, things will work out. A good friend of mine used to say, ‘This is a very simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains.’ Think about that for a while.”

Lovato must be a bright girl. She knows that when it comes to politics, she must be as vapid as possible in order to fit into Hollywood (Universal City). When it comes to the war, you root for Che and other terrorists, and you demand pacifism from the United States and its allies.

I am assuming a reporter asked her about politics for a story about her and other Disney stars appearing at the inauguration. That makes sense.

And her answer was perfectly Hollywood: “Well, our economic system is in a crisis right now. I definitely hope that that will change. Also… I hope that the war resolves. Whether we win or lose or whatever, it doesn’t matter. I hope that it just ends. So you know, I think that Barack Obama will be able to help us.”

Win or lose or whatever?

It is a blood-curdling quote. The quote insults the sacrifices made by 600,000 American men and women (and millions more of their family members) in moving Iraq from a sponsor of terrorism in Iraq to a budding democracy.

That quote is so terrible John Kerry could have said it. (“You know, education, if you make the most of it, if you study hard and you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, uh, you, you can do well. If you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq.”)

But I don’t blame Miss Lovato. She is new. She is trying to fit in. She just parroted the attitude in Hollywood (Universal City) about the American side in a war: Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains.

“Nuke” Lovato is just happy to be there and she hopes she can help the Disney Channel. Sounds like she will.