(The Tennessean) — Former first daughter Chelsea Clinton is there, labeled as a “philanthropist.” More than 30 years after she got her start in Nashville, talk show host/actress/icon/billionaire Oprah Winfrey is listed but given no title at all.
And two major country music acts, Lady Antebellum and The Band Perry, are there, too, though they say they shouldn’t be.
The names of those celebrities and 190 more — many of them household names — appear on a list of potential surrogates circulated by President Barack Obama’s campaign last month.
The list, distributed to a group of campaign donors in Washington and obtained by
The Tennessean, gives a sense of who could help carry the Democratic president’s message to voters across the country over the next 10 months. It’s full of musicians, athletes, movie stars, elected officials, Cabinet members (though not Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Obama’s former rival) and other politicos.
They range from rapper Jay-Z — but not his famous wife, Beyoncé — and actor George Clooney to comedian-turned-U.S. senator Al Franken and superstar investor Warren Buffett.
Dated Dec. 5, the seven-page list has 194 names under the heading, “Confirmed and Passed Surrogates.” One of the lesser-known people on it, Nashville attorney and Democratic activist Bob Tuke, said he wasn’t aware of the list but had agreed to speak about veterans’ issues and other matters on Obama’s behalf.
But not everyone in the “Confirmed and Passed” group is necessarily confirmed.
Mary Hilliard Harrington, chief publicist for Lady Antebellum, said the group, which won five Grammy Awards less than a year ago, was blindsided by questions about the list.