Daniel D'Addario Chief TV Critic George Clooney’s New York Times op-ed calling for President Biden to drop out of the election felt like something more than standard-issue celebrity activism for a few reasons.
For the political class, it was not just an actor speaking, but a major Democratic Party donor and fundraiser — one whose insight on Biden’s age and manner was bolstered by his having seen the President in action at a June 15 fundraiser.
But for the general public, something more ineffable is at work. On- and off-screen, Clooney has painstakingly constructed an image for himself that’s unlike practically any of his peers on the A-list.
As an actor and as a public figure, Clooney is a self-styled American conscience, a leading-man throwback who provides a sort of guiding sensibility to the films he anchors, and to the causes he supports.
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