Rock the Vote

In this election year, pop stars, record firms and cable channels have launched a campaign to get 18-to-24-year-old Americans to just say yes to politics

Rapper Ice-T challenges his fans to take action. "We got two options," he says. "Either vote or hostile takeover. I'm down with either one. We're youth; we have to change things." Pop vamp Madonna literally wraps her otherwise scantily clad body in the American flag and cries out "Vote!" to - the staccato rhythms of her hit song Vogue, ending with the admonition, "If you don't vote, you're going to get a spankie."

O.K., the faces are standard currency on MTV, where these spots appear. And the beat is right. But what gives with all the flag waving? Well, yo, young...

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