Civic-Minded Entertainers: An Election Post-Mortem

To Number One (and other interested parties):

I would be interested in your take on "Rock the Vote," "Choose or Lose," "Vote or Die" and other understated efforts at demogogic--I mean, democratic--mobilization by MTV, P. Diddy, and other popular favorites. Were these good for the country (either for the process or the ends of self-government in America)? Did they enlighten and promote responsible citizenship? Or did they succumb to the inherent unseriousness, crudity, and incoherence of the celebrities and entertainment that got out in front of them? Are they a model for future civic engagement? Were they effective? Youth turnout was apparently no higher this year than in the 2000 election -- maybe because the kids discovered actual polling places weren't going to bumpin' Jay-Z.

And what do you all make of "Team America: World Police"-co-creator Matt Stone's remark in the press, "If you don't know what you're talking about, there's no shame in not voting"? Seems almost Jeffersonian (though not Jacksonian).