If Obama's A Celebrity, What's McCain?

Politico: As McCamp Camp Tries To Brand Obama A "Celebrity Politician," It's Worth Considering McCain's Own Media Status

(Politico)  This story was written by Carrie Budoff Brown.

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If Barack Obama gave new meaning to the term “political celebrity,” then John McCain helped define it.

He emerged as the most popular Republican in Hollywood following his 2000 presidential primary defeat, winning more screen time than the rest of Congress combined. McCain made cameos in “Wedding Crashers” and “24,” saw his memoir turned into a popular biopic on A&E, and appeared more than 30 times on late night comedy shows.

So this week, when McCain cast Obama’s celebrity as a disqualifier, it seemed like a curious turn.

Just one day before McCain released an advertisement interspersing pictures of Paris Hilton and Britney Spears with footage of Obama addressing 200,000 people in Berlin, actor Jon Voight told Variety that McCain had “many great, intelligent, talented Academy-winning actors standing by, awaiting a major press conference to show their support.”

“[The ad] is a bit ironic given that McCain has been the most pop-culture savvy Republican candidate in quite some time,” said Ted Johnson, managing editor of Variety and editor of the blog Wilshire and Washington, which monitors the intersection of celebrity and politics.

The McCain campaign continued to hammer at Obama on Friday with the release of a very sarcastic Web ad that at one point cuts to an image of Charlton Heston as Moses parting the Red Sea before posing the question: “Barack Obama may be The One, but is he ready to lead?”

The Spears-Hilton ad hits a similar note, describing Obama as “the biggest celebrity in the world.”
The Republican National Committee piled on, launching a Web site Friday called Who Said It? Celebrity Edition that features a multiple-choice quiz in which people must identify whether Obama or a celebrity made certain, often vacuous, statements.

It’s a striking line of attack for McCain, who’s accepted without complaint the “celebrity” epithet from journalists for four decades.

“John’s been a celebrity ever since he was shot down,” former McCain strategist John Weaver told The Atlantic earlier this week, “whatever that means.”

Yet, like the way fresh starlets push aside aging actors, political hot shots from years past (think former President Bill Clinton, often described as a “rock star” in his day) have been overshadowed by the newest crop of talent in this election year. This sort of churning is typical during presidential campaigns, said Matt Bennett, communications director for Gen. Wesley Clark’s 2004 presidential campaign and co-founder of Third Way, a progressive policy group.

“McCain was famous for a politician,” Bennett said. “Obama has almost transcended that, and has become famous as a famous person which is why they are comparing him to Paris Hilton.”

Since 2000, Bennett went on, McCain has enjoyed “enough fame and authority and celebrity” to aid candidates and organizations with ads that simply involve him speaking into a camera.

McCain started on the public stage with the pedigree of a family whose name graces a naval ship and a Mississippi National Guard training center.

With his father serving as a top admiral, John McCain first became a household name when he was captured in Vietnam, and even more of one upon his release five years later. The New York Times featured him on its front page. He wrote an acclaimed 12,000-word, first person account for U.S. News and World Report. President Richard Nixon feted him.

Hollywood warmed to him in 2000 as he ran against one of its least favorite people, George W. Bush. He endeared himself with liberals, including Warren Beatty, by taking unconventional stances for a Republican presidential candidate, such as favoring campaign finance reform and challenging the Christian right. His open-door approach with journalists made him the darling of the media elite.

“You can definitely makes the case that McCain stands out among Republicans for his associations with Hollywood and his celebrity status,” Johnson said. “The fact that he was in ‘Wedding Crashers,’ it underscores the fact that he does have a lot of friends in the entertainment industry that Bush can’t claim.”

In the years that followed, he became a near-regular on the late-night comedy circuit, appearing eight times on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," 12 times on the "Late Show with David Letterman," 10 times on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," and three times on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," according to imdb.com.

He hosted "Saturday Night Live" in 2002. "Faith of My Fathers" pulled in 3.7 million viewers on A&E in 2005, making it the network’s most popular program in over a year. He appeared on “24” in 2006.

And he made a brief cameo in “Wedding Crashers,” offering congratulations to the father of the bride, a senator played by Christopher Walken.

As a then-likely Republican presidential candidate, McCain’s appearance in the film stirred a mini-controversy when the Drudge Report labeled it a “boob raunch fest.” But McCain laughed it off - during a visit on Leno’s show.

“In Washington, I work with boobs every day,” McCain joked.

McCain has received support this year from boldfaced names such as SNL creator Lorne Michaels and producer Jerry Bruckheimer. But the Republican's circle is far smaller than the one around Obama, and less robust than 2000, when lifelong Democrats including Harrison Ford and Michael Douglas signed checks for McCain.

So far, Obama has raised $4.7 million from the movie, television and music industry, while McCain has received $815,000, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan campaign finance group.

A liberal blog noted this week that the McCain campaign had scrubbed its website of an Associated Press story from last year that described him as a “political celebrity.”

Dismissing claims circulating in the liberal blogosphere, McCain spokesman Brian Rogers said the article was removed as part of routine housecleaning of the website several weeks ago.

But Rogers skirted the question Friday of whether he considered his candidate a political celebrity.

“John McCain is a widely respected and admired political leader in our country and the world,” Rogers said, adding that Obama is in a “different stratosphere.”

“Who else could get 200,000 people in Berlin? Those aren’t voters. Those are fans.”

The campaign, he added, was not attempting to make “celebrity” a pejorative term. “It is not a dirty word,” he said of the spot that juxtaposes Obama with Britney and Paris, calls him “the biggest celebrity in the world” and then asks, “but is he ready to lead?”

“We are celebrating his fame,” Rogers went on, “and the reality that this guy has entered Tom Cruise-type of fame.”

Bennett said the heightened sensitivity around "celebrity" was unlikely to cause a full-scale pull back from the entertainment industry by either candidate.

Indeed, on Friday night in Panama City, Fla., McCain basked in the glow of Nashville - not Hollywood - as country singer John Rich of the duo Big and Rich hosted a "Country First" concert for the presumptive nominee and debuted a new song: "Raising McCain."

Obama’s star even shines in Nashville, though - last year “Big” Kenny Alphin, the other half of the act, contributed $2300 to the Obama campaign.

[alanrobisch]

My son is serving a second tour in Iraq, will that qualify him to be President some day?


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Posted by armydog2 at 03:09 PM : Aug 04, 2008
+ report abuse
It does show he has courage and a willingness to serve his country

[iownthemoon]

Haha. So ironic. McCain needs to listen to this guy:

http://echodemic.com/index.php?q=node/1282

[bigwhtpony]

''If Obama''s A Celebrity, What''s McCain?''

A somewhet dignified presidential candidate.

[armydog2]

erichsh
I do not believe mccain ever sided with the VC. I do believe he got fairly better treatment because of who his father was.

[armydog2]

erichsh
My son is serving a second tour in Iraq, will that qualify him to be President some day?

[erichsh]

credible voice that is.....
www.vietnamveteransagainstjohnmccain.com

Posted by bgc20886

What a riot! Here''s their sole "credible voice":

"A former Vietnamese Communist Party official is claiming Sen. John McCain was "quickly singled out for softer treatment" as a POW because "he was the son of an American admiral."

Yeah, that''s it. One "former communist official", and you guys lap it up. But wait, it gets better:

"Vietnam Veterans Against John McCain was formed to dispel the myth of "Straight talkin%u2019, principled, maverick war hero" - We have professional television directors, advertising consultants, and national organizations who are working with us to launch this national project."

Yeah, everyone but Vietnam veterans who could actually back up the outrageous garbage being slung against McCan by the way-out-there-lefties.

[condumbism]

If Obamas A Celebrity, Whats McCain?

A 3rd Bush term. NO THANKS!

[erichsh]

erichsh,

McCain is deserving of respect for his service and sacrifice in the war. I''ve never bought into the trashing of his service just as I never bought into the trashing of Kerry.

Posted by realpatriot1

To the extent you''re not trashing McCain''s military record, you''re in the minority - and a small one at that. And as far as your assertion that McCain should have taken a decidely far-left standpoint on weapons inspections in Iraq (at the same time that most every Democratic Senator did not) in order to meet you definition of "Maverick" - that argument doesn''t hold water, either.

[Gary Kempf]

imprisonkarl

EXCELLANT!!!!!

[erichsh]

mccain is no war hero, maybe to a person who never served a day in there life in the military, mccain is a S.HIT BAG for using his POW status!

Posted by McOilCorp

Kerry saluted and "reported for duty" at the Democratic National convention. Why don''t you make fun of Kerry for doing the same thing - and then go away.

[mcoilcorp]

mccain is no war hero, maybe to a person who never served a day in there life in the military, mccain is a S.HIT BAG for using his POW status!

[realpatriot1]

erichsh,

McCain is deserving of respect for his service and sacrifice in the war. I''ve never bought into the trashing of his service just as I never bought into the trashing of Kerry.

That doesn''t give him a free pass on his politics. He may be a Maverick by Republican standards, but that reputation has always been a bit overdone by his friends in the media.

A true Maverick would''ve utlized their war time credentials to demand that the President allow the UN to finish its inspections so that we only went into Iraq if we absolutely had to(which we didn''t) and did so with a strong and broad based alliance. That''s what our troops deserved. A true Maverick would''ve asked more questions as to post war planning and why we were ignoring the advice of Gen. Shiseki that we would need 200,000 troops to occupy Iraq. A true Maverick would''ve wanted to know the plan for Afghanistan once those troops were diverted to Iraq.

[tawpdawg111]

Reality is settling in. (EVIDENCED BY OBAMA''''S slide in the polls) November should prove
IT''''S NO TIME FOR an OBAMA quake!''''

Posted by mydiatribe at 09:55 AM : Aug 04, 2008
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My friend,

For you and yours the reality will settle in the evening of Nov. 4 when we tally the only poll that matters.

That is when it will dawn on you that the huge crowds Barack draws is not because of some mysterious, perceived "rock star" status...... but because his thoughtful words convinced John Q Public that he will be the ANTI-BUSH. Every stupid blunder now replaced by a deft leader who RARELY gets such an opportunity in the modern age. We should thank our lucky stars or The Lord Himself.

God protect him. AMEN!

[erichsh]

OK, let us exclude McCain''''s service and consider only what he has done since that period.

Posted by ibsteve2u

Are you acknowledging that maybe McCain actually WAS a war hero and served his country honorably? If you do, you''ll take the wind out of the sails of the McName-callers and "McCain is a VietCong traitor" crowd - which is basically everyone else posting here but me.

Up until about the time Obama was hoisted up the flagpole by the media/liberals (sorry for the redundancy), McCain enjoyed a well-deserved and well-documented reputation as a "maverick" within his own party. Even the NY Times endorsed him - that is, of course, before he won his party''s nomination. Then, predictably, they and everyone else in the MSM turned against him like a pack of starving rats. McCain has taken prominent - and not always popular - principled stands on hot-button issues like the Iraq war, immigration, and campaign finance reform. He''s been a ranking member of the Armed Services committee for 20 years.

[imprisonkarl]

BREAKING NEWS . . . THIS JUST IN . . .

Crawford, Texas Dairy Queen To Be Site of Bush Presidential Liberry (AP)(Reuters) Employees revealed that the popular restaurant will display all six of the coloring books which the president has finished during his nearly eight years in office at a corner booth, right next to the Larry Craig Men''s Room and the *** Cheney Ladies''s Room.

A tabletop jukebox and condiment holder had to be removed to make way for the collection, a worker said. In additon, a trashcan dedicated to Karl Rove will be located near the booth and restroom facilities. "It''s the least we could do to honor Mr. Rove''s contributions to the country," a proud resident beamed.

The manager of the restaurant refused comment, citing executive privilege.

[missingamerica]

And if they''re not making fun of his service, they''re making fun of his age, or the very fact he was shot down in the first place. Take issue with his politics all you want, but to substitute issues-oriented debate with baseless, low-balled, slimy personal denigration and juvenile name-calling is just disgraceful.

Posted by erichsh at 12:22 PM : Aug 04, 2008

OK, let us exclude McCain''s service and consider only what he has done since that period.

What, pray tell, stands out beyond McCain''s divorce of his first wife after her accident, his involvement in the "Keating Five", and an earlier failed run at the Presidency - a run that was characterized by so many stances that he has since disavowed in the name of political expediency???

Although I see it argued everywhere, I cannot for the life of me understand how Republicans can claim that Obama is characterized (in their perception) by the ABSENCE of any record and simultaneously DEMAND that America favor McCain due to the PRESENCE of McCain''s bad record!!!

That is like arguing that a person who has not murdered anyone is worse than a murderer because the former lacks experience at murder!!!

[erichsh]

Being a POW for 5 years does not qualify anyone to be president. Consider what the man went through under the best circumstances in a POW camp. Trauma, terror,torture and plain old fear have certainly left scars on him both physically and mentally. These scars never go away, that is what terrifies me should mccain become president.

Posted by armydog2

No, armydog2, if anything it makes McCain even more qualified to be president. Between his personal suffering, and the fact that even now McCain''s own son is serving in Iraq, McCain knows better than anyone else the personal nightmare of warfare. That includes every last liberal name-caller on this website - and me, too.

McCain has repeatedly said he hates war - and based on what he''s been through, I find it hard to believe he feels otherwise.

[mcoilcorp]

If Obama''s A Celebrity, What''s McCain?

a *** burglar

[josephpenn]

For a great answer to this article, please visit josephpenn.blogspot.com

[josephpenn]

For a great answer to this article, please visit josephpenn.blogspot.com