"Honestly, I think we should just trust our president in every decision he makes and we should just support that, you know, and be faithful in what happens." -- Britney Spears on CNN in September 2003.
"On the transcendent, the most important issues of our day, I have been totally and completely in support of President Bush" -- Sen. John McCain in July 2005 on "Meet the Press."
DETROIT -- Britney Spears, pure celebrity, and Sen. John McCain, prisoner of war turned celebrity and now pure politician, are entwining in their servile support of President George W. Bush and beyond.
Spears -- in spite of her occasional lapses into public nudity, hair scalping, substance abuse and general madness -- still claims to uphold the conservative Southern values of her native Louisiana and the fundamentalist morality of the rapture wing of the Republican party, ground McCain groveled to claim.
Even with their vast age difference and social calendars, Britney and the Republican presidential hopeful wrap themselves in the same old-time religion and political agenda. They can both count on Republican Mel Gibson's celebrity support network.
So given those deep and abiding bonds, how could McCain so callously throw Britney under the train, lumping her with Sen. Barack Obama, a Democrat, adding yet another public disgrace and humiliation to her troubled life?
The answer is easy: McCain's ruthless, Karl Rove-inspired quest for the White House -- by the way, he's pledged to still call it that -- and his willingness to say or do anything to get there means political kinfolk like Britney are expendable. Sorry, Britney, you were convenient and sure to stir up emotions in McCain's thought-threatened campaign.
The same goes for Paris Hilton, the wacky, vacuous and often clothing-challenged heiress. She too made an unauthorized cameo appearance in the McCain ad juxtaposed with images of Obama.
McCain and his brain trust failed to mention Hilton's grandfather, William Barron Hilton, is a longtime supporter of Republican candidates and causes, and he has already kicked $53,400 into McCain's political war chest. Rick and Kathy Hilton, Paris' parents, gave $11,600 to the McCain campaign.
But McCain didn't mind tossing Paris into the same superficial celebrity tub with the godless Obama. This is the McCain who was to bring "dignity" to the campaign.
The ad begins with the crowd noise of 200,000 people in Berlin gathered to hear Obama's speech and flashes of Britney and Paris. The female narrator says in faux solemn tones, "He's the biggest celebrity in the world," a dubious claim. Then we hear the people chanting, "Obama, Obama," and the narrator saying, "But is he ready to lead?"
McCain wants us to know Obama is popular in Europe, hoping such a distinction will curse him. It's ironic that Britney and Paris would have been among a few in the crowd requiring a translation for Obama's fine speech.
The prime message is that Obama is nothing but a celebrity and his appeal is rooted in his star status. McCain is suggesting those drawn to Obama care nothing about his views -- especially his call for an end the Bushevik empire McCain clings to -- and are only consumed with his personal magnetism.
McCain -- like Sen. Hillary Clinton before him -- just can't understand why people find Obama uplifting and his words inspiring. When asked about the ad he approved, McCain said, "What we are talking about here is substance, not style." Sure, John.
McCain, comfortably wallowing in Rovian muck, then lectured, "Campaigns are tough, but I'm proud of the campaign we've run. I'm proud of the issues we've tried to address with the American people. All I can say is, we are proud of that ad." McCain has become all pride, no dignity. It's sad.
It's laughable that Republicans would try to make celebrity an issue. This is the party of song-and-dance man George Murphy, who became a senator from California; the party that sent Sonny Bono to Congress; the party of body builder turned screen superhero and now California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger; and the party of the ultimate product of Hollywood decadence, Ronald Reagan, who used his silver screen and boob tube celebrity to create a political career.
At least Obama's celebrity came from politics, not the tinsel-town fabrications that built so many Republicans' images. McCain's claim that he's seeking substance as he evokes Britney and Paris shows a candidate and campaign that are hollow and silly.
Devoid of anything new to offer and stuck with the legacy of the worst presidency in American history, McCain and the Republicans can only peddle fear and try convince the American people that Obama is different and therefore unfit.
Obama noted the Bush-McCain failure to provide "real answers to the challenges we face." Then he set off a phony furor when he added, "So what they're going to try to do is make you scared of me. You know, he's not patriotic enough. He's got a funny name. You know, he doesn't look like all those other presidents on those dollar bills, you know. He's risky."
The Republicans squealed like stuck pigs: RACE CARD! RACE CARD!
McCain's campaign manager, Rick Davis, served up the sanctimonious slop, saying, "Barack Obama has played the race card and he played it from the bottom of the deck."
Although less than artful, Obama spoke the truth. McCain is not a racist, but there is no doubt many Republican operatives -- including Karl Rove, the GOP grand strategist -- want to exploit racial divisions. They do it every chance they get and they see Obama as prime pickings.
The false rumors he is Muslim, the lie that he doesn't put his hand on his heart for the Pledge of Allegiance and the ridiculous jab that he doesn't always wear a flag lapel pin are all part of a campaign to portray Obama as different and therefore to be feared, and his race fits into those slurs.
At the Texas Republican convention, some delegates were spotted wearing buttons asking, "If Obama is president, will we still call it the White House?"
In his first ad for the general election, McCain was hailed as "the American president Americans have been waiting for." What's that all about?
How many Americans know this would-be American president was actually born in land long considered part of Colombia? Are we really waiting for a South American president?
Panama broke off from Colombia in 1903, with U.S. gunboats enabling the secession. The illegal imperial aggression was simply a way to seize the territory to build the Panama Canal.
The United States carved out the Canal Zone, declaring it sovereign U.S. territory in order to protect the investment in the strategic shortcut between oceans. McCain was born on Aug. 29, 1936, at the Coco Solo Naval Air Station in the Canal Zone, where his father was stationed at the time.
If Rove was working on the Obama campaign, McCain would be labeled a dangerous foreigner with ties to the Colombian drug cartel.
How can we trust someone not born in America? Only his celebrity will save John McCain.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | Aug. 5 2008 |