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Paris Hilton Tosses Tiara Into '08 Ring

Attention, America: Paris has spoken. Paris Hilton, the blonde, doe-eyed celebrity thrust into the presidential campaign in an ad by Republican candidate John McCain, issued a tart rebuttal Tuesday, albeit in a scantily clad, tongue-in-cheek kind of way.

Last week, McCain launched an ad comparing Democratic rival Barack Obama to Hilton and Britney Spears, suggesting Obama was no more than a celebrity candidate unready to lead the nation.

Hilton initially shied away from the debate over the ad and its effectiveness. But she responded Tuesday with a spoof on the comedy Web site Funny or Die.

"Hey America, I'm Paris Hilton and I'm a celebrity, too. Only I'm not from the olden days and I'm not promising change like that other guy. I'm just hot," Hilton said, speaking as she reclined in a pool chair in a revealing bathing suit and a pair of pumps. "But then that wrinkly, white-haired guy used me in his campaign ad, which I guess means I'm running for president. So thanks for the endorsement white-haired dude."

"I want America to know that I'm, like, totally ready to lead," she said.

She then discusses energy policy, and suggests a hybrid of McCain's offshore oil drilling plan and Obama's incentives for new energy technology.

"Energy crisis solved! I'll see you at the debates," she said.

McCain campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds said Hilton appears to support his candidate's "all of the above" energy solution.

"Paris Hilton might not be as big a celebrity as Barack Obama, but she obviously has a better energy plan," Bounds said.

The 24-year-old heiress memorized her entire monologue for the video spoof, Funny or Die's content director said.

Co-founder Adam McKay came up with the concept for the mock ad starring Hilton, which has received over 3 million views since it was posted Tuesday.

"Adam thought it would be really funny to get Paris to respond to the John McCain ad that featured her," Funny or Die content director Amy Rhodes told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "Adam contacted Paris directly, and she agreed to do it. He wrote the sketch. And she really, really loved it."

Rhodes said Hilton was not compensated for appearing in the video "because she decided she just wanted to do it for fun."

Hilton's mother, who with her husband donated $4,600 to McCain's campaign earlier in the year, has said McCain's ad is "a complete waste of the country's time and attention at the very moment when millions of people are losing their homes and their jobs."

McCain's ad uses footage of Obama's reception by Germans during a recent trip to Berlin to dismiss him as just another celebrity. Obama's campaign has criticized the ad; McCain has defended it as humorous.

Hilton's rebuttal includes plenty of humor at McCain's expense.

An announcer calls him "the oldest celebrity in the world, like super-old, old enough to remember when dancing was a sin and beer was served in a bucket," and asks, "but is he ready to lead?" Hilton's spoof also intersperses images of McCain and Yoda from Star Wars and the cast of television's "The Golden Girls."

You can watch the video below:


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