McCain ad calls Obama 'biggest celebrity in the world': Features images of Britney, Paris Hilton

[DeepModem Mom]

Source: CNN

(CNN) — Britney Spears, Paris Hilton…Barack Obama? A new campaign ad from John McCain — which flashes shots of the two aforementioned megacelebrities — calls Barack Obama "the biggest celebrity in the world," but asks, "Is he ready to lead."

"He's the biggest celebrity in the world. But, is he ready to lead? With gas prices soaring, Barack Obama says no to offshore drilling. And, says he'll raise taxes on electricity. Higher taxes, more foreign oil, that's the real Obama," the ad's narrator says while crowds screaming, "Obama!" are shown.

Responding to the ad, Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor said, "On a day when major news organizations across the country are taking Senator McCain to task for a steady stream of false, negative attacks, his campaign has launched yet another. Or, as some might say, ‘Oops! He did it again.’"...

In a conference call with reporters announcing the ad, McCain adviser Rick Davis said of Obama's campaign coverage, "The focus on media, on events and activities, is much more something you'd expect from someone releasing a new movie....What we decided to do was find the top three international celebrities in the world," he said. "And I would say that from our estimation Britney and Paris came in second and third. So from our perspective, we have the biggest three celebrities in the world."...

***

The ad will run in 11 key battleground states — Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Read more: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/07/30/mccain-ad-calls-obama-biggest-celebrity-in-the-world/

[Solly Mack]

1. Jealousy is such an ugly thing

[DeepModem Mom]

3. And this is SO Rove! Take a great strength, like Kerry's war heroism --

and the love the world has for Obama -- and turn it into a negative. I don't know how we fight this stuff, but I hope we find a way.

[paparush]

19. You are correct.. Pure Rove. And the simple minds of 'Murka lap it up..

bahh...bahhh.... Obama baaaaaad.

[ljm2002]

33. It's also a typical judo move...

...use the opponent's greater weight or strength against them.

Now one does not have to play dirty to do that. But one does have to recognize the tactic in order to use it effectively.

So what are McCain's (perceived) strengths?

1 -- "straight talker": the tactic here is to put together snippets of his various comments on different topics, where he really is all over the map and changes chameleon-like over the years (or months, or weeks, days, even hours).

2 -- "war hero" and "friend of the troops": here you have to go after his voting record on veterans' issues, such as funding for body armor, medical treatment and education benefits, all of which cast him in a bad light.

3 -- "experienced" and "ready on day one": here you just splice together all of the gaffes (oh hell, they're not "gaffes", they are outright stoopid mistakes) he has made with not knowing factual information about what is going on in Iraq and the rest of the world. End it with: "Is this what McCain means when he says he is ready?

4 -- "maverick": show what positions he has changed over the last 8 years, always going towards the Bush position -- and accompany it always with the picture of him hugging Bush.

5 -- "daddy" and "protector": here we have a man whose family was attacked by Rove et al in a previous campaign in a most ugly way -- yet instead of steering clear of the people who did it, he embraces them. Do you really think he can protect you when he won't even protect his own family?

Well you get the idea -- all of this can be done without stooping to the level of Rove et al.

[DeepModem Mom]

48. Well done, ljm! I wish you were on the campaign staff. nt

[ljm2002]

49. Thank you...

...I hope someone on his campaign staff figures out how to attack strengths, it is not that hard and it is very effective. And as I pointed out, you do not have to stoop low to do it.

It is one thing we could learn politically from our opponents, for sure. They've been using it effectively for years.

Of course, they do have the media to help. Now we have to figure out how to take that big behemoth and make it work for us, before it knows what has happened.

[BOSSHOG]

2. Who is that ad directed to???

Dumbass people with values who want to vote for hateful, unpopular humans? mccain has surrounded himself with dumbasses. A skeptic might think the gop is encouraging his loss (sabotaging his campaign with crap like that ad) so they can blame everything bush has done on Obama starting next January

[DeepModem Mom]

5. As in my post above, I think it's the essence of Rove's tactics. Turn an opponent's greatest...

strength into a negative, turn it against them, destroy it as an asset in the campaign. It's vile.

[KittyWampus]

8. Sadly, Obama's campaign has bent over and taken it for a week now. No sign of any meaningful

check coming from his team.

[kay1864]

24. Thanksfully, you could not be more wrong

Obama senior strategist David Axelrod called into the 1:00 pm MSNBC hour to respond to McCain's latest TV ad. Having watched McCain campaign policy adviser Nancy Pfotenhauer defend it, Axelrod called in and said the latest ad is both "sophomoric" and "negative."

When asked about the ad's attempt to link Obama with Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, Axelrod replied, "I think the most important reference in the ad was Britney Spears, because as it said in the statement, she has that song in a paraphrase 'Oops, he did it again!' Sen. McCain has been criticized in papers all over the country -- Factcheck.org -- for the tactics he has taken in the last several weeks, and the ads that he has run including one that blames Barack Obama for the energy crisis and so on."

and

Obama just responded outside of Bell's Restaurant in Lebanon, MO: "You know, I don’t pay attention to John McCain’s ads, although I do notice he doesn’t seem to have anything to say very positive about himself. He seems to only be talking about me... You need to ask John McCain what he’s for and not just what he’s against."

[DeepModem Mom]

28. I just saw some of that on MSNBC. I think you're right -- they're hitting back today. nt

[Botany]

4. Obama finished top of his class @ Harvard Law

I don't think he is a Britney or a Paris but old McCain finished almost dead last @
the Naval Academy ...... Come on John Bring up "smarts" when you are going
against Obama is kinda like telling Tiger Woods he sucks @ golf.

[SpiralHawk]

6. Meeeeeow!

Jealous much?

[TheCowsCameHome]

7. Spears and Hilton must be excited about seeing a real dinosaur

in the likeness of John McCain.

[kay1864]

9. "Obama: is he ready to lead? Or is he ready to TAKE OUR WHITE WOMEN?"

"Uppity Obama"...it's the new fearmongering!

:grr:

[Stuart G]

34. It is the Harlod Ford ad all over again.........

I sure hope that Obama responds to this shit. Nothing is below these people

[Tim4319]

10. Brittany, Paris, and Barack

These are the three top celebrities in the world?

First of all, Brittany and Paris have nothing, whether it be negative or positive, that has been newsworthy for quite some time!

Secondly, these two idiot boxes have done nothing but support the Iraq invasion, something that Barack opposed.

Finally, Barack is not club-hopping, in and out of rehab, or crashing his Bentley Coup into parked cars.

BUt, once again, instead of calling the McCain campaign out on making such childish comments, they will take these words and run with it.

[kay1864]

12. Oh, I think there's a *very good reason* they picked

two blonde women...

[Tim4319]

18. True!

[Quantess]

50. watch out, the black man's going to date your white daughters.

[RexDart]

30. He's not in that "super celeb" group

until I see Obamas vagina when he climbs out of a car.

wait, that doesn't sound right...

[kay1864]

36. McCain's expert photo-altering team is working on that right now...

but the Scotch tape keeps showing up in the photos.

[truthisfreedom]

11. McSame's jealousy has been apparent from the beginning, as he co-opted Obama's "believe in" slogan

and so many other aspects of Obama's platform and campaign. The one thing he can't get his Obama's popularity, so the next best thing is to suggest that popularity is bad. Unfortunately for McSame, that leaves him wide open to comparison to bush's unpopularity... Obama's campaign can easily show him matching bush's popularity level as a Senator.

[Union Thug]

13. The Obama campaign is too slow to respond...

...and, at least to me, are too passive. IMO, they need to pick it up and get much more aggressive.

[yardwork]

21. I'd like to see Obama's campaign go very negative.

Really pull out all the stops. The difference would be that anything negative we say about McCain is likely to be true, while all McCain can do is lie and smear Obama.

I hope that Obama starts running ads of McCain hugging Bush, etc. Call McCain a "Bush Republican" every chance we get.

[maxsolomon]

14. appealing to the basest aspects of human nature

jealousy & spite.

and stupidity - are americans so dumb they think we import oil from the ME when there's an adequate supply just sitting off the coasts? the scary thing is; yes, they're probably that dumb.

[Union Thug]

15. Yes, they are that dumb and if the ad goes unanswered, many

Americans will bobble their heads in endless agreement.

[WCGreen]

16. Oops! He did it again....

That's classic...

[no_hypocrisy]

17. Britney is so yesterday.

Should've used Hannah Montana.

[kay1864]

23. Bwah!

Sadly most of her fans are too young to vote.

Seriously, 20- and 30-something bigots are going to identify with Britney and Paris way more than with Hannah.

[radfringe]

20. obama needs to call him on these ads

it's old school politics, fear and smear.. if mccain wants to run a "straight talk" campaign then let him run ads touting his positionS on the issues

[C_U_L8R]

22. What makes GOP grapes so especially sour?

They really are the most pathetic bunch of whiners that
have every tarnished this side of the universe
(and probably the other side as well)

[defendandprotect]

25. This is a personal attack on Obama . . . can I at least call McCain "short" . . .???

[Diane R]

27. Yes. Seems little John has a bit of a Napoleon Complex.

[flvegan]

26. *boom* Well, that takes care of one foot.

Honestly in today's America with a Schwarzenegger, Sonny Bono, Jesse Ventura, etc all holding public office, I don't see this hurting Obama.

And don't celebrities get "big" because they're well liked by the masses?

[Ian David]

29. Honestly, I think we should just trust our president in every decision he makes...

[fasttense]

31. What everyone fails to notice

is that Britney and Paris support the bush and McSame. I wonder if they will appreciate being associated with Obama?

Britney has actually come out and said she trusts bush. She was actually courted by the RNC to attend the 2004 republican convention but the religiously insane objected to Britney's low morals.

The Hiltons are long time contributers to republicans.

I don't think they will appreciate the association with a liberal politician. I hope they have cleared it with the two republican Hollywood celebrities before distributing that add.

[Hugin]

38. Thanks for bringing that up...

Good point.

I'm not completely sure about Hilton, tho.

[depakid]

32. Classic Rove

Unfortunately (note to beltway consultants) mockery often works and works well in America.

Especially when it attacks your opponents perceived strengths.

[Hugin]

35. Whoowee, those must be some sour grapes they're eating over at the McSame place...

Talk about bitter.

[ryanmuegge]

37. His wife is pretty metropolitan and "Hollywoody" too. He being McCain.

I don't think he has any room to talk.

[madrchsod]

39. brit and paris are old news.

....just about as old news as johnnie boy

[EC]

40. Just shows how old McCain is if they think

these has-beens are the most popular next to Obama....they are passe` and behind the times. Same old, same old.....

[yellowcanine]

41. I just don't think an ad campaign based on Obama being able to draw big crowds is going to work.

Much too sour grapy and whiny. And it did not work for Hillary.

[proust78]

42. McCain's the one who's married to a blonde heiress!

The Straight Talk Express is looking more like the National Enquirer!

[Canuckistanian]

43. Don't you just hate it when the cool kids are younger than you?

In McCain's case, about 35 years younger.

[mitchum]

44. And wasn't McCain's celebrity as a prisoner the thing that...

he rode into a political career? He was no more qualified than a jock who uses his celebrity to launch a political career.

[Skittles]

45. extremely juvenile ad with misleading "facts"

typical Rovian bullshit

[Toucano]

46. How can something be so funny and sad at the same time.

1. McCain is trying to put Obama in the same set as "troubled" celebrity youths. Like he rose to fame getting fucked on the internet and not wearing panties to public events.

2. WILFRED BRIMLEY is supporting McCain.


Tears of joy, smiles of sorrow.

[pinniped]

47. No doubt, this super asshole supported movie star Schwarnegoober 100%.

McLame becomes a bigger asshole every time his pie hole opens.

[Jimbo S]

51. Isn't Britney a Republican?

Stabbed in the back by her own kind.