Tammerlin Drummond: Cheap shot won't pay off for McCain

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Aug 3, 2008 | by Tammerlin Drummond

I decided to visit www.johnmccain.com to see what all the fuss was about over the presumptive Republican presidential nominee's latest political ad.

A large photograph of Paris Hilton popped up on my computer screen. I clicked on the arrow and was immediately whisked to images of large crowds chanting Sen. Barack Obama's name. More Paris Hilton, followed by Britney Spears in dark sunglasses.

A female narrator warns: "Barack Obama is the biggest celebrity in the world, but is he ready to lead? Higher taxes and more foreign oil, we're told. That's what Barack Obama stands for."

How could anyone even begin, with a straight face, to compare the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee to two bubblehead celebrities whose dysfunctional lives provide steady fodder for the tabloids?

A man who graduated from Columbia University, attended Harvard Law School, became a U.S. senator and has defied improbable odds to become the first African-American presidential nominee for a major political party? To suggest that he brings nothing to the party but rock star celebrity?

It's ludicrous, of course. But advertising isn't about appealing to people's rational side. It's about sending subliminal messages -- in this case, to convince people that Obama is as much of a lightweight as Hilton and Spears.

It's a sign of how increasingly frustrated and desperate McCain is becoming in light of his rival's megawatt popularity. Even though he has closed in on Obama, according to the latest polls, the Illinois senator is dominating the race in every other conceivable way.

Hundreds of thousands of people turned out to hear Obama speak during his recent nine-day tour of Europe and the Middle East. The highlight was a speech in Berlin that drew 200,000 Germans and worldwide media coverage.

Meanwhile, back on the ranch, McCain rode in a golf cart driven by 84-year-old George Bush Sr. (yawn) and went on an awkward "shopping" trip in a Pennslyvania supermarket that was widely panned as a public-relations disaster.

It's easy to see why McCain would be hopping mad over televised images of Obama, beaming and waving to roaring crowds, acting like his face were "already on the coin," as comedian Jon Stewart quipped recently.

Meanwhile, McCain himself was doing all he could not to trip and break his neck after dozens of cans of applesauce fell off the shelf, landing near his feet.

He's angry at the media, which he insists is in love with Obama and has given him a complete pass. There are really two story lines emerging from the McCain camp. One is the suggestion that Obama is all celebrity and no substance. The other line of attack is that Obama has the gall to act as though he had already been elected commander in chief.

First of all, who says celebrity is necessarily a bad thing? It depends on what you're famous for. Not all celebrities are idiotic Hollywood creations. When Nelson Mandela toured the U.S. shortly after his release from prison in 1990, hoardes of people turned out to see him. He didn't get all of that adulation just because he was famous, but because he was an extraordinary, courageous man who had helped change the course of history.

Obama is certainly no Mandela. But he is an extraordinary individual who, whether he wins the general election in November or not, has already made groundbreaking history. The reason he has gotten so much attention is because of his intellect, charisma and ability to inspire hope and bring people together.

McCain's attempts to turn Obama's popularity on its head come across as sour grapes because the Arizona senator couldn't get 200,000 people to show up to see him in a million years.

As for McCain's criticism that Obama has been presumptuous, there is a fine line between ego and egomania.

Anyone running for president tends toward the latter camp. People with average-sized egos don't wake up and suddenly decide to run for president.

You don't come as far as Obama has come -- or McCain either for that matter -- if your picture of your own possibilities is the size of a 13-inch, black-and-white televison screen. Remember, folks, Obama is a man who came out of nowhere to become the Democratic nominee for president of the United States. He did it without family money and connections. He has managed to build a political machine that blew the Clintons out of the water.

Unlike McCain, he didn't have a beer heiress wife to finance his Senate runs. He did it all, step-by-step, on his own.

Does this sound like a dumb blonde to you?

There is nothing wrong with McCain questioning Obama's experience and his stance on the issues. He should press his opponent on these things.

But for a man who promised civil discourse in politics, his latest ads are pretty low.

Drummond is an editorial writer and columnist for the Bay Area News Group. Contact her a tdrummond@bayareanewsgroup.com.