Image by Kelly Sikkema.

As we turn towards the 2024 presidential election (much as many of us might like to forget its existence), calls for Joe Biden to step aside have grown in number and volume. I think these pleas are well-founded, and I hope Biden follows through on his campaign-trail indications that he would only serve one term. But liberals and centrists will now likely begin hunting for a glamorous personality candidate like Tom Hanks or Oprah. This isn’t idle speculation: prominent liberal Michael Moore asked Tom Hanks to run for president twice in the wake of the 2016 election. As Moore elaborated, “I’ve said for years Oprah should run. I’ve asked Tom Hanks twice to run. Who doesn’t like Tom Hanks? Nobody, right? Tom Hanks would win.” Although there is a certain logic to Moore’s suggestion—people do value likability—such a move would be both strategically misguided (the right-wing attack machine would undoubtedly uncover things not to like about Tom Hanks or any other celebrity) and an ideological mistake.