Affleck plugs his latest project: getting Kerry elected

Chicago Sun-Times, Jul 28, 2004 by CHRISTY LEMIRE

Ben Affleck has made so many appearances during the Democratic National Convention, you'd think he was the one running for office.

Here he is making surprise breakfast visits to star-struck delegates from Arizona and Iowa, Missouri and his home state of Massachusetts. There he is joking with Boston Globe sports columnist and author Dan Shaughnessy on his way out the door of a "Rock the Vote" party behind Fenway Park's fabled Green Monster. He was inside the park, too, watching his beloved Red Sox defeat the dreaded New York Yankees, 9-6, during a nationally televised game Sunday night.

Then there are the interviews -- on CNN's "Larry King Live," NBC's "Today" show and Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor." He's even playing the role of interviewer for ABC News, asking Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy questions about Boston and his longtime friendship with Kerry.

But the star of the blockbusters "Pearl Harbor" and "Armageddon" - - and the bombs "Gigli" and "Jersey Girl" -- says he simply recognizes the power of his celebrity and wants to use it to help John Kerry get elected to the presidency.

"I seem lately to bring with me, whether I want to or not, a certain amount of media attention," the 31-year-old actor told reporters Tuesday before a Democratic National Committee fund-raiser at a bar outside Fenway.

"But I think you have to be smart and you have to be judicious and you have to be tasteful and you have to be respectful and you have to know your place," he added later. "I am not an elected official. I am not a political expert. I perceive my capacity here mostly in terms of being somebody who grew up here and wanting to be an ambassador for this city."

When a television reporter suggested that being good-looking, articulate and famous would make him a natural candidate for office, Affleck responded: "Uh, you know, that's a nice idea and I'm very flattered that you say it, but it's a tough fight, you know? I mean, if I think that the entertainment press is tough on me now, I can't imagine what it would be like to have a political agenda, as well."