The Obama endorsement was disgusting. Using the Lincoln discussion as a jumping-off point for getting on his soapbox was uncalled for, and I would have thought David Selby would have more dignity than that.
Less dignified than, say, his entrance? Just kidding.
What you don't see on YouTube is that Selby next began the book discussion by painting a picture of the political climate of the era in which he first took on the role of Quentin-- the disillusionment and topsy turviness, the calls for change and unrest of a wartime that were not unlike current times. His words hit home, I'm sure, for many in the audience. He also stressed the importance of education then and now. He performed "Lincoln's Better Angel," btw, as a play ("Lincoln and James") at the '97 Fest; it's a story about racism, the impact of war, mistrust and, eventually, of hope that is told in part through conversations between a proud black Viet Nam vet named Charles and the title President (who served in the Illinois House; Selby also pointed out that Chicago [Obama's home] was Lincoln's favorite city). I purchased the book on Saturday (one of the last few copies; they apparently sold well) and I imagine that had he not brought up the Presidential campaign on stage, I probably would have made the comparisons between it and the characters' questions on my own, perhaps even wondering how Lincoln and Charles would be affected by current events. But anyway, I think it's difficult to capture the sentiment of Selby's talk without having been there to see it, but I will say that the brief references to Obama and segues between his story and modern political issues seemed seamless and quite dignified.
There is a time and a place for discussing one's political views, and that was not it.
In previous discussions about her books, Diana Millay has revealed that she practices Wicca. Lara Parker has often talked about returning to school to study writing. Roger Davis showed festival attendees a video for his real estate development project. If there's a rule about actors not talking about their personal interests during Festivals, I doubt that many of them know about it.
If he had been asked who he was supporting at a Q&A session, that would be fine, but going from discussing the Lincoln project to "VOTE OBAMA!" was ridiculous.
What he said was, "
I have the greatest respect for McCain" but "
I will probably vote for Barack Obama."
