Update: ALLAHPUNDIT appreciates Hanks’ self-deprecation and candor:

There’s no nutrootsy pretense here about having closely studied anyone’s platform; he wants a black president and he likes what he’s seen of the guy’s character, case closed.

True enough, although I think a truly self-deprecating celebrity–especially one of Hanks’ magnitude–would just keep his or her opinion to his- or herself. 

Original Post: For years I’ve said that Tom Hanks is my favorite actor of all time.  Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew that he was a liberal—or a Democrat, at least—but I didn’t let that bother me because he always seemed to keep his political opinions to himself—unlike other celebrities such as Sean Penn.  (Or at least I never heard of him shooting his mouth off about things political.)  Well, yesterday he finally did it.  As reported by the Huffington Post, Mr. Hanks is now officially in the tank for Barack Obama, as evidenced by the following video—apparently filmed by Hanks himself—that can now be found all over the internet.

The video starts with Hanks saying:

Hello.  I’m Tom Hanks and I want Barack Obama to be the next president of our country.  As an official celebrity, I know my endorsement has just made your mind up for you.

I know—it’s just a tongue-in-cheek introduction to the video.   But I’d really like to know what the phrase “official celebrity” means.  Or maybe I’d just like to have an example of an “unofficial celebrity” so I could make a comparison….

At any rate, Hanks begins to explain why he’s voting for Barack:

He has the integrity and the inspiration to unify us, as did FDR and Harry Truman and John F. Kennedy—and even Ronald Reagan—when they ran for the job.

Ooooh!  Right off the bat he’s comparing Obama with heavyweights like Roosevelt, Truman, JFK, and the Gipper.  (I’m not exactly sure what his thing with Truman is.  I mean, if Hanks thinks Truman ranks up there with the rest of them simply because he’s the only leader in the history of mankind to have dropped a nuke in anger, I can’t agree with him.  It was a necessary evil, but the act in itself was certainly so sign of greatness.  And let’s face it, the only other claim to fame Truman has is his status as “the president who didn’t actually lose the Korean War”.)

Anyway, Hanks continues to try and explain his newfound devotion to the candidacy of one Barack Hussein Obama:

This November we have a chance to witness another moment like in 1797, when George Washington transferred power to president-elect John Adams, and for the first time in recorded human history leadership of a great nation was passed from one man to a non-relative without death, rebellion, or violence being the cause.

Hmmmm.  I dunno ‘bout that.  There he goes again comparing the pipsqueak from Illinois with giants like George Washington and John Adams.  And I suppose by inference he’s comparing Obama’s lack of accomplishments with the superlative accomplishments of our founding fathers.  He blathers on:

It was a seismic shift in the political and social fabric of the eighteenth century, and here in the third millennium we need another seismic shift.

Seismic shift, eh?  By “seismic shift” does Hanks imply that it’s somehow imperative for America to elect an inexperienced one-term senator (with little to no foreign policy experience) to the office of President simply on the basis of his (black-ish) skin color?  Is that what Hanks means?  Because if it IS what he means, he’s a fucking lunatic.

Anyway, let’s hear more from Tom:

In November Americans will have redefined our republic when President George W. Bush watches president-elect Barack Obama swear on the Holy Bible to preserve, protect, and defend our constitution.  Around the world, to friend and foe alike, our nation will live up to the great promise once shaped by our founding fathers when they came up with the grand American idea.

For what it’s worth, that’s why I’m supporting Barack Obama as president in 2008.

Well, I guess he’s right about that “for what it’s worth” thing.  But what is this “great promise” thing to which he alludes?  Did the founding fathers promise us somewhere, sometime that a skinny black kid with “street cred” and no experience would be our president?  Did they REALLY promise that?  If Mr. Hanks thinks they did, he needs to think again.

But the thing about this endorsement that really gets my goat is the bit after the introduction that goes:

My support for Obama isn’t just about breaking boundaries.  It’s because of his character, and vision, and the high road he’s taken during this campaign.  He has the integrity and the inspiration to unify us….

Character and vision.  High road.  Yes, indeed, those are traits that Barack has been showing us recently.  He’s endowed with that unique sort of character and vision that would allow him, for twenty long years, to attend a church whose pastor spewed venomous, racist, hate-filled sermons that promoted black separatism, hatred of whites, and anti-Americanism.  And then he has the integrity to look millions of Americans in the eye and tell them that he had no idea that Pastor Jeremiah Wright had been saying such nasty things.

And his ability to inspire us is of the highest order, as well.  To be inspired we need only to listen to Obama’s comments about white middle class Americans being gun-totin’, Bible-thumpin’ bigots….

Indeed, all of these characteristics make Barack Obama the only truly unifying candidate in the 2008 presidential race.

Not.

Thank you, thank you Mr. Hanks for setting us straight about our obligation to bend over kneel down before the Messiah.

In closing, I wonder what the boys in Captain Miller’s rifle squad are saying about their leader now?

Chickenshit.

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