For all the celebrities who think that popularity is enough to enter politics (Matthew McConaughey, The Rock, you-know-who) there are those who realize that they’re just not qualified for that. We’ve heard Oprah say she’s not going to run for office and now Barbra Streisand is saying the same. Barbra was a guest on Variety’s podcast, where she was promoting her new album, Release Me 2. It’s made up of songs from her vault chosen by her record label, including “The Rainbow Connection,” recorded in 1979 with Kermit The Frog(!) and a duet with Willie Nelson from 2014 called “I’d Want It to Be You.” Variety’s Marc Malkin asked Barbra if she smokes pot, if she drinks and if she’s considered running for office. Barbra is 79, she tells it like it is and I admire that.
Were you are a pot smoker [in the 70s]?
No, no. I tried it once and I didn’t like the way it made me feel. So I never did it again.Do you like to drink?
I like beer with Chinese food or Italian food and I also like non-alcoholic beer.Are you hopeful now after the four years of Trump?
Disaster. Removing climate change facts from a website even? I mean, not being allowed to mention the phrase climate change. That was four years in a black hole. Unforgivable. Four years of people dying unnecessarily because they didn’t tell the truth. The truth is so important. Tell people the truth, they can deal with it.How are you feeling today? There’s the pandemic, but Biden is President.
I love Biden. I love his compassion, his honesty, his integrity, his love of facts, not fiction. He is a good-hearted soul, intelligent. Years in the Senate. I’m a big fan.Do you think the country’s headed in the right direction?
I think the country is certainly headed in the right direction. What’s so hard to understand is all the hate and violence that Trump invoked during his years and how that manifested itself in the January 6th insurrection and the falsities and the lies that are still floating around about an election that Biden won by 7 million votes. When you think of it, Al Gore lost the election by 537 votes. Hillary Clinton lost the election by 77,000 votes. But Trump lost the election by 7 million votes. I think they should show that every day on TV.Did the Democratic party ever come to you to run for office?
No, no, no. That was funny when I was in Washington and talking to people and writing stuff in the papers, it was like, because I’m friends with Colin Powell and Madeleine Albright that means that I can run for office? No.Did you ever think about [running for office]?
It is, but it doesn’t mean I’m qualified to run for office. I know my limits. I’m a pretty smart person, but not that smart.
This was such a great interview! Malkin knew just the right questions to ask and Streisand was candid and dropping facts. I loved her explanation that Biden won by 7 million votes while Hillary lost by less than 100,000. I’ve never thought of it that way, but the statistics make it clear whom the country supports. And of course I agree with her that Biden is an incredible and experienced President. Why is it that the celebrities who would make the best politicians rarely consider it? Is it that their self awareness makes them more qualified than most while being more conscious of their limitations? Now I want to hang out with Barbra in her mall-like basement, talk about how awesome Democrats are and eat Chinese food.
Photos credit: Avalon.red and via Instagram
She may say she’s not smart enough, but has just proven herself smarter than all of the other celebrity wannabe politicians.
Exactly what I thought while reading this interview.
Yes. True wisdom is knowing what you DON’T know. And being willing to go ask those who DO.
So the celebrity men think they have what it takes while the celebrity women sit back and say no thank you, you need someone actually qualified to do this. Funny that.
I think the celebrities who are smart enough to run for president are also smart enough to look at their lives and think, “nope, its good as it is.” I also think that they are smart enough to realize that being president isnt just about being smart, experience really really matters. That’s part of what is so comforting and has been so effective about Biden up to this point. He knows what he is doing. He knows his way around Congress, around the federal agencies, etc.
I do enjoy interviews with Barbra. She is funny and witty and does not have any effs to give anymore lol.
I am not sure that the argument about not being not smart enough to hold a public office is still allowed to be used after four years of Trump.
Well, when you look at the damage Trump caused ….
I think someone with experience like Biden probably has less naivete when it comes to how the process works. I think he’s more used to disappointments when something doesn’t go his way.
I could see a celebrity politician (at least on the Democrats) side who is optimistic about what they think they could do becoming disappointed with the setbacks they’d have to face. Or maybe someone like Streisand knows the setbacks that could come her way, and she’s like “oh heck no.”
Barbra isn’t just pretty smart. She’s very smart. There is no doubt.
Many politicians have a legal background which I think would lend itself well to this type of public service. That she does not have.
We all have a role to play, no matter what we do.
I think you have to have a thick skin with the media. good relationship-building skills, and the ability to get along with people you don’t agree with (sometimes even morally). That’s why it takes a certain kind of personality to even want to attempt running.
That image of her piano room stresses me out – I can’t stand totchkes. On zooming in to see what is so precious to her that it must cover every surface, I was dismayed by the racist dolls on her piano. That look is not great.
Somebody please send this interview to The Rock and Matthew McConaughey
LOL.
God, I would love to hear her statement of not being smart enough (not true) from the mouth of Rick Perry. Or for that matter, from a good chunk of our white, male, Republican politicians (if they ever decided to tell the truth).
All I can think about is that dog is a clone. She cloned her dogs.