I was just watching WWE Raw, and Hilary Clinton addressed the crowd via a taped message! I was shocked, they have been promoting appearances by Clinton and Obama for the past few weeks to be aired today, but I assumed it was a typical gimmick, where they'd have lookalikes get in a humorous brawl or something. In addition, they announced McCain will be appearing.
As of this posting, only Clinton has addressed the crowd, but I imagine the other two are forthcoming. The implications of having major candidates appear on a wrestling show are numerous and complicated.
The first thing that came to my mind is that it is unusual for Democrats to appear on a program that strongly personifies worker exploitation. Professional wrestlers are an interesting combination of actors and athletes and are not covered by the Screen Actor Guild or any other union. They face some of the most hazardous working conditions of any profession and the list of wrestlers who have died before 50 is staggering, a far greater percentage than even American soldiers.
I imagine neither Democratic candidate wanted to have their opponent appear uncontested, leading them to abandon better judgment. Neither want to concede the youthful and primarily male audience the show attracts.
Also striking is that they would appear on a program that is constantly under fire by watchdog groups against sex and violence on TV. Older viewers think of wrestling as clean cut all-American types like Hulk Hogan extolling the virtues of training, prayer and vitamins against evil villains, but since around the mid 90's, the Attitude Era ushered in by foul mouthed beer swilling anti-hero Stone Cold Steve Austin has seen greater sexual content and profanity that makes many parents blanche.
I can only conclude that chairman Vince McMahon's efforts to make wrestling more family friendly again have payed off and that the candidates are gambling that the Democratic public is either unaware or indifferent to the exploitative conditions under which professional wrestlers work, as well as the frequent objectification of women.