METRO WEEKLY: Given what John McCain’s campaign has put out about "celebrity" and things like that, they seem to be trying to tap into the idea that people who are famous our vapid and don’t have things to contribute.
BERNHARD: They don’t like the idea that most performers and artists are usually liberal and want things to be good for people. They want people to be angry and uptight and bitter and pissed off.
They feel that entertainers are entitled – and to a certain extent we are, but certainly no more than John McCain or anybody who has the kind of money Cindy McCain has. Everything that’s played out over the past years has been in the name of money and holding down the middle classes and the working classes. It’s totally hypocritical and stupid of them to point fingers at celebrities.
MW: Do you feel optimistic about Barack Obama’s chances in the campaign?
BERNHARD: I do feel optimistic. Has he said everything the way I wanted him to say it?No. Do I think he’s a politician? Yes. But I certainly have more faith in him and I really like Joe Biden quite a bit. I’m glad it’s somebody who’s fresh and new. And like presidents who are smart, they surround themselves with smart people. No president makes decisions on his own – certainly George Bush probably made next to none. I don’t know why people are scared that [Obama is] so inexperienced. George Bush has had it for eight years and he seems like he doesn’t notice or had any reaction to what he’s created in the world, so what does that say?
Brackets theirs. Earlier in the interview, Bernhard’s loathing of Bush had been summoned [brackets mine]:
MW: Again, going back to the 2002 interview [with the same magazine], you were an early and pretty harsh critic of George W. Bush. Given the fall in his popularity in the country, do you feel somewhat vindicated?
BERNHARD: I don’t care about being vindicated. All I care about is what’s happened to this country and how it’s affected the global stage. It’s very disturbing to me that people are not more engaged and involved, more vocal and passionate about it....I’m glad that people finally caught up. But things are still in a terrible condition and we haven’t gotten through this election yet. We hope and pray that it comes out on the right side of history.
The magazine notes the Bernhard show is being performed at Theater J at the D.C. Jewish Community Center and its Gay and Lesbian Outreach and Engagement program.
Photo of Bernhard via seatwave.com
