Do young folks need celebrities to tell them how to vote?

As if he had nothing better to do, will.i.am, frontman for the pop/hip-hop group the Black Eyed Peas, mastermind behind a star-studded sing along in support of Barack Obama, came to Virginia on Monday to campaign for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe at the Norview Community Center in Norfolk.

"I could be at home in Hollywood, trying to get a gig or producing," he said to the crowd of about 35 people, about a dozen or so who appeared to be under 30. "It's not time to write a song. It's time to do the thing."

With just 29 days until the Democratic primary, the thing is campaigning. Every appearance, every vote matters, and, if winning means bringing out the star power, then the thing is speaking in community centers.

But, when you cut away the chatter about how McAuliffe and will.i.am - real name William Adams with real capital letters - have been friends for years and how McAuliffe got will.i.am interested in politics and how they've spent hours talking about the issues, the basic reason the pop star was here, as McAuliffe told me afterward, was because "he energizes young people."

Ah, yes, young people. Can't talk to 'em. Can't win elections without 'em.

A little over a year ago, just 16 percent of Virginia's eligible voters under the age of 30 showed up for the 2008 presidential primary. In the November general election, 58 percent showed up. Experts expect turnout in the June 9 Democratic primary to include less than 8 percent of eligible voters under 30.

It's encouraging will.i.am has stayed involved and campaigned, even if most of the audience Monday looked like they wouldn't know Fergie's humps from Kelis' milkshake. Too many stars show up on their soapbox only on presidential election years.

It's equally encouraging to see McAuliffe drive from Northern Virginia with will.i.am in tow. He is smart to try to attract young voters and to realize they can make a difference. I just wish he thought young people were a little smarter.

During his speech, will.i.am said he thinks so much of McAuliffe that he wished he could run for governor of California. But when I asked will.i.am what he specifically liked about McAuliffe's plan for Virginia, he looked at me, paused, then said, "There's a lot of people who are going to tell you they're going to do this or that. I know when he says he creates jobs, he's going to create jobs."

Fine. But that's hardly a nuanced response. Will.i.am didn't point to McAuliffe's plan to use chicken waste to create energy, or wind farms, or tax incentives for the film industry, or McAuliffe's strategy to make Old Dominion University one of the finest research universities in the country, or his stance on the Marshall-Newman amendment outlawing gay marriage.

Will.i.am is a "name," McAuliffe said. Young people are drawn to him for "what he represents" and that he inspired people to vote in all 50 states.

What about young people being inspired by what the candidates represent? Apparently that's not enough. It is the backhanded assumption that young people are smart - but only so smart that they vote celebrity-backed candidates based on the recommendations of our favorite actors or bands or YouTube videos.

No study has shown that voters prefer candidates who have celebrity spokesmen (not that we'd be willing to admit it).

Monday night, after four events with will.i.am, McAuliffe campaigned with Biz Markie. Yes, the same Biz Markie famous for the 1989 hit "Just a Friend." In a conversation Monday, he also alluded to other celebrity friends, other people who connect with young people, who could make an appearance on his behalf as well.

People like Beyoncé.

Gasp. So we should expect to see Beyoncé on the trail?

"I haven't asked," he said.

Please. Don't.

Mike Gruss, (757) 446-2277, mike.gruss@pilotonline.com