SPIELBERG ENDORSES CLINTON, BREAKS WITH KATZENBERG AND GEFFEN..."THE MOST QUALIFIED CANDIDATE" (HH, W&W;, DEF)

By Tom Tapp

Hillary Clinton won a big victory in the escalating political war for Hollywood's affections this morning, as Steven Spielberg endorsed her bid for the presidency.

In an announcement on Hillary Hub.com, the director says he has "taken the time to familiarize myself with the impressive field of Democratic candidates," and is "convinced that Hillary Clinton is the most qualified candidate to lead us from her first day in the White House."

The announcement comes after Spielberg co-hosted an event for Clinton at Peter Chernin's home late last month. But it is a surprising turn around, notes Wilshire & Washington's Ted Johnson.

"It had been widely anticipated that Spielberg was leaning toward Barack Obama," says Johnson, "when he and his DreamWorks partners Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen agreed to co-host a fund-raiser for the candidate in February."

Johnson says the tide began to turn when Bill Clinton reportedly asked Spielberg to withhold judgment.

Johnson:

The Spielberg endorsement is important because he can help lure additional donors, not to mention the cachet his name carries throughout the industry and nationwide.

He notes the announcement is even more surprising given the fact that Spielberg's DreamWorks partners David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg have already endorsed Obama. In fact, Geffen has not only done so, he also went after Hillary Clinton in an interview with The New York Times Maureen Dowd.

Geffen:

I don't think that another incredibly polarizing figure, no matter how smart she is and no matter how ambitious she is -- and God knows, is there anybody more ambitious than Hillary Clinton? -- can bring the country together.