"Huge Celebrities Tout Voting on YouTube" (with video)

Ari Melber, with video (04:45):

When celebrities push their politics, it's often annoying and rarely effective. A new YouTube video, however, has the makings of the kind of viral hit that could help -- yes -- Raise Awareness for something important.

There are only about five days left to register to vote in some key states, including Ohio, Florida and Colorado, and this video features a fleet of traffic-driving A-listers urging people to register before it's too late.

The public service announcement is packed with quips from Halle Berry, Dustin Hoffman, Natalie Portman, Sarah Silverman, Forest Whitaker, Leo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Usher and Demi Moore, to name only a few. Kevin Bacon is also in the mix, you know, to keep everyone connected.

The video opens with a twist, as famous faces spit out the cliched reasons that people don't vote, and then flips the script by hammering home all the issues at stake in the election. The irreverent message is strictly non-partisan -- urging people to contact five friends and register to vote through Google Maps -- though conservatives will grouse that many of the issues have a progressive tint. (Pro-lifers do get a shout out, though.) This effort also overlaps with the Obama campaign's aggressive push to register voters before the looming deadlines. Senators Leahy and Kennedy are tapping their lists to drive people to Obama's registration portal, VoteForChange.com, and the campaign has been running ads on TV, news websites and Facebook to recruit first time voters.

Howie P.S.: Here's another reason to vote: Caribou Barbie attempting to blow smoke in our faces.