New McCain Attack: Barack's Really Popular!

Update: Huffpo's Ben Mishkin points out something I didn't notice; 3 major outlets were on the call today, and they were buying the frame, if not the picture.

The McCain campaign has come up with one of the weirdest campaign ads I've ever seen, and it's the culmination of the GOP's counter-intuitive strategy to mock someone for being better than themselves.

This one is called "Celebrity," and it prefaces several false or misleading attacks by showing just how universally Barack Obama is admired, while trying to diminish that by juxtaposing images of Paris Hilton and Britney Spears:

Announcer: He's the biggest celebrity in the world.

But, is he ready to lead?

Is there any chance that someone watching this might think, "Maybe he's the biggest celebrity in the world because he's ready to lead."

It's an almost parodic extension of other praisedowns, like "He's too smart," or, "Go ahead and vote for him, if you're into hope and whatnot." The tactic might work if the McCain campaign had anything of substance to back it up. Instead, they throw this in next to appeals for more drilling, and lies about Obama's tax policy.

The McCain campaign also sent out a memo, and held a press conference call in support of the ad. I was the first question this time, although they misidentified me as Fox News' Major Garrett.

Let's get the lies in this ad out of the way. When they say Obama wants to "tax electricity," what they mean is cap and trade, something which McCain also supports.

As for the drilling, the best case I've heard is that it might reduce prices by a few cents, decades from now. The distinction between foreign and domestic ooil is false, since it is all sold on the global market.

Here's the audio from the press conference call:

Click To Play

Tommy Christopher: What would be the most and least amount of effect that the new drilling would have on gas prices over the nex year?

Rick Davis: On the drilling question, it depends on which economist you talk to...There are a number of different studies...that show that if we are able to begin renewed exploratory activity and drilling on the offshore, it will reduce the price of gasoline at the pump.

Tommy Christopher: But by how much, and when?

Rick Davis: I'm not prepared to peg that..I can steer you toward different (independent) economic analyses of that...Look, we haven't promised a specific drop in oil prices, but we think it's something that would be part of an overall plan to do that. (The Lexington Project.) In a couple of months, people could be putting those drills down, to much longer term.

I'll let you know when I get those reports, but to say that we could be "putting drills down" within a couple of months is extraordinary. All estimates I've heard are that it would take years to get any benefit from new drilling.

Tommy Christopher: What is it that makes Barack Obama a celebrity and John McCain not a celebrity? Is it just name recognition? Popularity?

Rick Davis: I'd love to think that John McCain is a big international celebrity, but he's not...We see him more as a global leader than a global celebrity. (By contrast) Barack Obama's own trip to Europe, the focus on media, the focus on events and activities is much more something you would expect from someone releasing a new movie than running for President. (His strategy is) to create a fan base around the world that allows him to get a lot of media attention, and allows him to avoid the important issues of our times.

The problem is, Obama did discuss the issues with world leaders, and he did engage in substantive work on the trip, so when the McCain campaign talks about "focus," it isn't Obama's focus, it's the media's.

John McCain has done exactly what Obama has done, but nobody paid attention. This ad, and this conference call, are McCain's way of holding his breath and stomping his feet.