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After retired space-shuttle astronaut Sid Gutierrez trumpeted Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan in Florida last month, Obama countered with his own famous former astronaut. Former Ohio Sen. John Glenn, the first American to orbit the earth, appeared with a rally with the president. Singer Will.i.am, who wrote the song "Yes We Can" for Obama's 2008 run, also was on stage that day. Obama joked that the singer "sometimes looks like he's been to outer space," while Glenn "has actually been to outer space." Celebrity warm-up acts may draw news coverage, but they're unlikely to have a lasting effect on the election, said Darrell West, director of governance studies at the Brookings Institution think tank. Even so, appearances by high-profile supporters can validate candidates "by taking them out of the political realm into popular culture," West said. "Voters are cynical about candidates and think they will say anything to win," West said. "Having a nonpolitical opening act gives politicians credibility at a time of massive cynicism."
[Associated
Press;
Associated Press writers Steve Peoples in Virginia, Ken Thomas in Florida, Kasie Hunt in Ohio and Julie Pace in Colorado contributed to this report.
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