Politicians vs Actors: a Greek Tragedy for the modern era?

Being in something of a reasonable mood on Saturday, I nonetheless (or perhaps as a direct consequence) found myself buying the Guardian. Marina Hyde had a rather amusing column about luvvie-darling types who care awfully much about the little people.

"...the most disturbing image in the Hurricane Katrina coverage, a photograph that managed to communicate just how desperate were the straits in which New Orleans' dispossessed found themselves.
To wit: somebody's best hope was Sean Penn in a dinghy."

Well, as ever with celebrities, well meaning or not, protocol of a particular sort must be adhered to:

"In fact, somebody's best hope was Sean Penn, pictured frantically bailing water out of the aforementioned rescue craft, with a red plastic beaker. Think he should be lauded for trying to help? Apologies for not clarifying. The dinghy was sinking under the weight of Sean's five-person entourage. An entourage including, among others, someone referred to as his "personal photographer"."

The whole thesis of the column is neatly put as:

"When celebrities care, they find it excruciatingly impossible to do so with quiet dignity."

Aptly enough, she then goes on to mention Bono, to whom the words "quiet" and "dignity" are clearly alien concepts. Bono was recently accused of being "a stupid turd" by Sinead O'Connor but then that only goes to prove that despite her significant consumption of mariujana, she still has her lucid moments (sourced from her interview in the October edition of Mojo).
It's clearly not just us cynical Brits that are wearied by pontificating thespians. Ms Hyde mentions the welcome contribution of David Letterman when he introduced a Hollwood couple who are almost as famous for being right-on johnnies as they are for their acting:

"Here to present the award are Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins," he drawled. "And I'm sure they're mad as hell about something."

So you might ask the question, what sparked this criticism of actors who dare to care? The words of Alan Rosenberg, the newly elected President of the Screen Actor's Guild seem to have played a crucial role in the conception of her column, namely:

"I have more faith in what an actor has to say, if they're well informed, than any politician."

Not a good start Mr Rosenberg. Spot the glaring mistake - it shouldn't just be actors, it should be actors and rock stars.