Can Harold and Kumar Keep Barack Obama in the White House—or Will Chuck Norris Keep Him Out?

Fictional duo have reunited to support the DNC, but it may not be enough to appeal to swing voters

By Leslie Gornstein Sep 04, 2012 10:47 PMTags

Just saw the awesome Harold and Kumar video with President Obama. Will this get him more votes?
—O.M. Justice, via Twitter

You speak of a smokin'-fresh spoof in which POTUS calls Harold and Kumar to get them, um, fired up for the Democratic National Convention.

"Who was that?" a stoned-looking John Cho asks Kal Penn after listening to Barack Obama come through on an answering machine. "Sounded intense."

Intense it may be, but according to political analysts, don't look for the spot--or opposing videos by folks like Victoria Jackson or Chuck Norris—to make much of a dent, at least, among voters who really matter.

Why? Because the videos clearly appeal to certain demographics—groups that are pretty much already locked down as either pro-POTUS or pro-Mitt Romney.

In other words, says Republican strategist and former presidential campaign advisor Ford O'Connell, this election is really about "undecided voters in the battleground states of Florida, Ohio and Virginia, and I don't see how these videos are speaking to those groups."

Instead, O'Connell says, the videos are perfect for another purpose: keeping political bases interested and engaged. (Note that not every video is official; many are done independently.)

According to O'Connell, Obama already knows how to speak to the Hispanic vote, educated single women and folks under 30, while Romney handily appeals more to the white working class; among those crowds, the respective videos are perfect.

So while the spots may not win over undecided voters, they do serve a purpose.

"It's always important to remind people of the importance of the election," O'Connell explains. "People lead busy lives. They have 2.3 kids, a minivan, bills to pay and other things to worry about. Sometimes mixing in humor is a good way to keep the base enthusiastic in a nasty and grueling campaign."

One other reason for those videos: Me. Literally.

"More than anything else, the videos are fodder for a media looking for a scoop in this crazed 24-7 news cycle," O'Connell tells me.

Done and done.

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