Loser.

(NBC News) — A pizzeria in this small city west of Des Moines was the setting for a celebrity visit Thursday from an actor once famous for talking about nothing.

But these days, Jason Alexander — who played George Costanza on the TV series “Seinfeld” — is a surrogate for Barack Obama, and he insists he has a lot on his mind.

“I am hardcore middle class.  And I stepped in a puddle.  And that puddle was called, ‘Seinfeld,'” Alexander told about 50 Obama supporters.  He said the job put him in the upper echelons of society.

“I do not want to live in that 1-percent.  I don’t believe in it,” he continued.  “I don’t think our country, or any country, runs well when the 1-percent is thriving and the rest are suffering and struggling.”

The supporters were gathered to listen to Alexander and then walk to a nearby elections office to cast early votes for Obama — just one of a number of statewide events marking the start of early voting Thursday in Iowa.

Alexander told the crowd he has a “man crush” on Obama, who he said he has met several times.

Later, in an interview with NBC News, Alexander praised Obama as a man of “conviction” and “principle,” though he allowed that such lofty considerations would be beyond the reach of the man he played on television during the 1990’s.