Imagine this scenerio:
Ford Motor Company, a major sponsor of American Idol, "test drives" the American Idol contestants by creating commercials with Taylor, Katharine, Elliott, Chris, Kellie and so on.
(They actually did do this, but whether they were test-driving the candidates is questiionable.)
It comes down to two. Katharine and Taylor. But is Katharine really a Ford kinda person? Not really. She is Prius kinda person. Ford is tough. Not girly. They need Taylor to win, so he can become their new face...which he is indeed becoming.
But the votes are close. Too close. Better pressure the judges to talk down Katharine and talk up Taylor....which the judges actually do. Surely you remember the negative talk toward Katharine in the final days. "It wasn't my favorite."...and so on...
There was a clear bias against Katharine by the judges.
Did Ford have anything to do with this? Did the judges get pressure from Ford to make sure Taylor Hicks won, and thus become the new face of Ford? Were American votes thwarted, influenced, thrown out? (It would be nothing new.)
This is my question.
In those final days of the show, I sensed that there was something untoward going on. I think, frankly, it was one of the sources of anxiety on the part of the judges. At the time, I couldn't figure who may have been the source of bias, but now that the outcome is playing out, and Taylor has become the new face of Ford...the source emerges.
This is just a hunch. I have no proof. But there is plenty of precedent...with Bush 2000, Bush 2004, Salt Lake City Olympics...
I never called in a vote, but it may even be the case that these calls had a cost. Either way, the American People would be quite cross, I think, if it turned out that Ford's vote had more weight than theirs.
Any insider dope on this matter?
