The Coveted Rhea Perlman Endorsement

There are a lot of times I envy swing state voters and their televisions overflowing with campaign propaganda. I am huge fan of the subtleties of campaign advertising and would love to be able to check out the messages tailored to specific swing groups...like elderly Jews in Florida.

You may have seen Sarah Silverman's sly and snarky video for "The Great Schlep." But there's an even cooler effort out there targeting Florida's older Jewish population...one that calls on that cohort's legacy as torch-bearers for civil rights and social justice and, well, hilarious comedy.

The tagline of "Ain't Funny" is "Vote for Your Grandchildren." A project of the very cool Jewish Alliance for Change, the videos feature a smile-inducing array of older Jewish comedians, from Garry Marshall to Carl Reiner to Rhea Perlman.

I just love these ads. They are simple and straightforward and done with a knowing wink to the audience. These are not celebrities "imparting wisdom" to an ignorant electorate. These are contemporaries reminding their friends and family what is really at stake. There are no better testimonies....

I think Carl Reiner captures the historic nature of the race best: "I got the chance to vote for Roosevelt and I'm still talking about it. Obama's your person."


Ain't Funny - Our Grandchildren. Vote for Obama-Biden from Alma Har'el on Vimeo

And it's amazing what Jerry Stiller can say without saying a word. I'm voting for "That One," too.


Ain't Funny - Vice President. from Alma Har'el on Vimeo.

NORM!!!

(By the way, I just spent ten minutes looking for a clip of Rhea Perlman singing the Canadian National Anthem after her husband died on Cheers. That was a real highlight of her career, but no dice.)