Howie Kurtz at WaPo: McCain's Ad Formula Employs Lowest Common Denominator

[jefferson_dem]

McCain's Ad Formula Employs Lowest Common Denominator

By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, August 1, 2008; A04

RACINE, Wis., July 31 -- In a celebrity-driven culture that has left little space for John McCain, the Republican presidential candidate has decided to go tabloid.

By featuring Paris Hilton and Britney Spears in an attack ad against Barack Obama, the senator from Arizona has risked charges of silliness to draw attention to his frequently overshadowed campaign. And on one level, it has worked: Television, with its love of pop culture, has replayed the spot hundreds of times, and the NBC, MSNBC and Fox morning shows had aides to McCain and Obama debating it Thursday.

At the same time, analysts questioned what message McCain was sending by interspersing footage of his Democratic opponent before a huge crowd in Berlin with that of two socialites famous for their irresponsible antics.

"I don't get it," said Ken Goldstein, a professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. "Is it valid to go after Barack Obama on inexperience, being a bit glib, perhaps even a bit arrogant for doing the European tour? Absolutely. But you just sound dopey when you put Paris Hilton in an ad."

Shanto Iyengar, a professor of political science and communications at Stanford University, said McCain needs "to come up with a more affirmative narrative for his candidacy -- Why is he running? What does he stand for? -- before going after Barack Obama." But he added: "McCain has lost the free media contest over the past couple of weeks; he's desperate to make the news, and controversial attacks are more newsworthy than boilerplate positive ads."

The commercial, which calls Obama "the biggest celebrity in the world," reflects frustration with the sizable imbalance in media coverage, with the senator from Illinois featured in recent weeks in People, Us Weekly and Rolling Stone and on "Access Hollywood." Unable to compete on that playing field, McCain operatives have taken to mocking Obama's global fame.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/01/AR2008080102965_pf.html