Who would you endorse: Jack Nicholson vs. Robert DeNiro

"Yeah, now all you have to do is hold the chicken, bring me the toast, give me a check for the chicken salad sandwich, and you haven't broken any rules."

"You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me? Then who the hell else are you talking... you talking to me? Well I'm the only one here."

They are perhaps two of the finest actors of their generation or any generation. One has been nominated for 12 Oscars and won 3 of them. The other has 6 Oscar nominations and 2 statuettes.

They are Jack Nicholson and Robert DeNiro. And why do they belong in Be-Elected?

They have picked sides in the Clinton/Obama battle toward the 2008 presidential nomination. Nicholson is supporting Hillary Clinton and making robo-calls for her. DeNiro is talking up Obama.

We're not necessarily saying you should vote for a candidate based on a particular celebrity endorsement. But if you did, you would have a tough choice. Nicholson has won 3 Oscars to DeNiro's 2, but the Terms of Endearment win seemed a little off, and how could you not reward DeNiro for "Taxi Driver"?

But Nicholson has 12 nominations to DeNiro's 6, and Nicholson has spread his appearances over a longer period, while DeNiro hasn't been nominated since 1991. And "The Shining" should have at least got Nicholson one more nomination.

From the Oscars official Web site, the nominations for Nicholson and DeNiro.
* indicates roles where they won the Oscar.

Jack Nicholson
1969 SUPPORTING ACTOR -- Easy Rider {"George Hanson"}
1970 ACTOR -- Five Easy Pieces {"Robert Eroica Dupea"}
1973 ACTOR -- The Last Detail {"Signalman First Class Buddusky"}
1974 ACTOR -- Chinatown {"J. J. Gittes"}
1975 ACTOR -- One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest {"Randle Patrick McMurphy"}*
1981 SUPPORTING ACTOR -- Reds {"Eugene O'Neill"}
1983 SUPPORTING ACTOR -- Terms of Endearment {"Garrett Breedlove"}*
1985 ACTOR -- Prizzi's Honor {"Charley Partanna"}
1987 ACTOR -- Ironweed {"Francis Phelan"}
1992 SUPPORTING ACTOR -- A Few Good Men {"Col. Nathan R. Jessep"}
1997 ACTOR -- As Good As It Gets {"Melvin Udall"}*
2002 ACTOR -- About Schmidt {"Warren Schmidt"}

Robert De Niro
1974 SUPPORTING ACTOR -- The Godfather Part II {"Vito Corleone"}*
1976 ACTOR -- Taxi Driver {"Travis Bickle"}
1978 ACTOR -- The Deer Hunter {"Michael"}
1980 ACTOR -- Raging Bull {"Jake LaMotta"}*
1990 ACTOR -- Awakenings {"Leonard Lowe"}
1991 ACTOR -- Cape Fear {"Max Cady"}

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