Posted on 08/02/2008 12:14:49 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
As celebrity ties go, Britney Spears and Paris Hilton don't rank high on your typical presidential nominee's must-have list.
We can assume then that Sen. John McCain knew what he was doing when, in a recent ad, he attempted to associate Democratic contender Sen. Barack Obama, the oft-described "rock star" of the 2008 campaign, with two women who made stepping out of a car without any underwear a national obsession.
"He's the biggest celebrity in the world," the ad's narrator intones as the screen cuts from pictures of Obama addressing a crowd in Berlin to images of Hilton and Spears. "But, is he ready to lead?"
Spears and Hilton did not actively, or even passively, endorse Obama -- it remains unknown if they even know who he is -- but McCain nevertheless drew a line connecting the poster girls for celebrity fluff to a politician who has also found his way onto the cover of the celebrity magazine Us Weekly and the entertainment program "Extra."
"It wasn't exactly a coincidence that McCain chose those particular women for that ad," said Kelli Lammie, a communications professor at the State University of New York at Albany, who studies the impact of celebrity endorsements on candidates.
Celebrities sometimes bring a candidate much-needed attention. Oprah Winfrey helped draw 30,000 people to an Obama rally in South Carolina in December, and former Gov. Mike Huckabee, R- Ark., made his endorsement by Chuck Norris a cornerstone of his ad campaign.
"My plan to secure the border? Two words," Huckabee joked in an ad early on in the Republican primary. "Chuck Norris."
Another reason to keep celebrities around? Money.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
From the article: "You have to make a real distinction," he added, "between an endorsement that a candidate embraces, or just rap star or even a guy like [Louis] Farrakhan saying something independently." Excuse me, but didn't Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, Sen. Obama's church for over 20 years, honor Louis Farrakhan? Didn't Mr. Obama participate in Mr. Farrakhan's "Million Man March" in the 1990's?
I'd give 50/50 odds at least one of those two vapid blondes knows of him.
Bingo! The MSM wants to treat ‘the annointed one’ like a rock star so it is easy to compare to the two women that the MSM cannot get enough. Breaking news on Spears at one time was routine and same with Hilton.
McCain hit the target with that ad it looks like! Makes my day!
when the MSM complains that much about something you know it is working, take for example how they still hate the swiftboat vets
I hope someone saw this Fox News story at approximately 3:45 pm. The blonde Fox babe had a comedian on to discuss which celebrities might be appropriate for an Obama response ad. While several were mentioned, the tenor of the conversation was to choose people who are over the hill, to be polite about it.
Then, on commercial break, one of those tubs you can walk into was featured.
I post this because I am ready to curse at the obvious insults.
When it comes to experience in economic capitalism, Paris Hilton has it all over Obama. She has had her own TV series, a line of clothing and makes a pretty good living without using any tax dollars.
It is scary to think we might elect a president that is less qualified than Paris Hilton.
Does the writer know for sure that Obama wears underwear? The characterization seems unfair to vacuous, celebrity skanks who don't wear underpants. What's next, legislating morality? There's a risk of alienating a key demographic among Obama supporters.
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