So, did you hear McCain compared Obama to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, apparently in an effort to paint him as a pretty but vacuous celebrity instead of a serious politician? Here’s Paris’ response:
(Go on, click it — you may be surprised. God knows I was…)
See more Paris Hilton videos at Funny or Die
I don’t know about you, but that clip fills me with a killer case of cognitive dissonance. Who knew anything that sensible could ever come from her beglossed lips? I know, of course, that this material was surely written for her, but still… she actually sounds as if she knows what she’s talking about! If nothing else, she reads from the teleprompter better than McCain or our current Fearless Leader…
According to what I heard reported on the radio yesterday, she wasn’t reading from a teleprompter. Supposedly she memorized the whole thing. Pretty impressive if you ask me.
Wow… I never would’ve guessed her memory still worked after all the drugs.
People seem to be forgetting . . . she’s an ACTRESS. Even a bad actress can play the role of a smart woman for 30 seconds.
Forgive my cynicism, but I am also of the belief that this was written for her, so while I like the content of what she said (and, ironically, it roughly mirrors both candidates current positions on energy policy), I remain unimpressed with her cognitive abilities.
Remember, Anne – “memorized the whole thing” doesn’t mean “did it in one take.”
Also, it bugs me a little that she’s tacitly passing this off as her thought/opinion on the matter, when it seems much more likely that her agent heard her name in the media, and thought up a way to exploit it for some more free Paris Hilton(TM) publicity.
Which (to round out this stream-of-consciousness comment) was exactly John McCain’s point in the first place…
Well her solution is more along the conservative route than the liberal one… Interesting…
“See you at the debates, bitches.” Classic
However valid McCain’s observation that Paris Hilton is a vapid, brand-name celebrity, I still don’t see the analogy to Obama. Is anyone claiming that Obama is passing off someone else’s thought/opinion as his own?
Brian, consider the source of this video: FunnyOrDie.com. It was obviously intended as a joke, with the gag turning on Hilton’s reputation as a complete numbskull. Anne and I were just continuing to play with that idea, not genuinely revising our opinion of her intelligence. (Although I do suspect there might be more going on upstairs than she lets on. Not that I’m any kind of fan of Ms. Hiltons — I find her pretty obnoxious under most circumstances — but honestly, how could anyone be that dumb?)
Cheno, I posted this because I thought it was funny, not to spark a serious debate, but I will say that “her” solution doesn’t seem conservative so much as a pragmatic compromise, something our politicians have largely forgotten how to make. (I’m sure my take on how that happened is different from yours, so we won’t go there.) Yes, she talks about increased drilling, but notice she stresses limited drilling with strict environmental oversight. That doesn’t sound much like what conservatives have been after for decades, which is a complete roll-back of environmental regulation. Thus, this solution would offer something both sides might be able to live with, i.e., more drilling for the right, but also some assurances for the left that the oil barons weren’t going to lay waste to everything in their zeal to increase their stock holdings. And finally, the tax incentives to spur the development of new technologies is a no-brainer regardless of your ideological side. Short of setting up a mandated, government-funded Manhattan Project (which isn’t such a bad idea, either, IMO), this is probably the only way to spur that kind of research anytime soon.
The way I heard it is the guys at Funny or Die thought it up and approached her to do it. They wrote the script and put it all together.
I personally think that Paris isn’t much more than a pretty face (and not all that pretty in my opinion), but thought this was a great response.
Robert, I think the McCain Campaign was attempting to brand Obama as, to use your words, a “vapid, brand-name celebrity” rather than a serious and thoughtful politician. In other words, a know-nothing who’s gotten where he is based on personal charisma and unwarranted attention from the media.
Does the McCain campaign think people are that stupid?? Oh, wait, I forgot: They really are that stupid.
I’m sure this is a case of personal perception, but I took McCain’s original ad to be saying that Obama is popular because he’s popular. In other words, it’s not his ideas that are generating his popularity, it’s the way the media flocks to him as a “celebrity.” The implication (at least to me) is we don’t want/need a President that’s popular for no good reason (the way Paris is popular for no good reason) – we’d rather have a guy who doesn’t draw 200,000 people to a speech, but gets stuff done.
If that’s indeed what they meant, then I gotta say – there’s some truth to it, although I think at this point, I’m hoping Obama’s celebrity is hiding his ideas on how to run the country. I’ll give him a pass until the convention, at which point, I want to hear ideas & issues, not glorious, JFK-like speeches…
I think Obama’s campaign is a rare case in our society: celebrity founded on substance. And I don’t think we need to wait until the Democratic convention to hear his ideas about real issues: he’s managed to keep these at the forefront of his public speaking in a way that few candidates (on any side) have done in recent memory. In fact, what ultimately persuaded me to move from Clinton to Obama was the way he maintained his focus on issues and his personal dignity despite the vicious, personal attacks and cheap rhetorical tactics that Clinton leveled against him. I see him doing the same thing now. At the end of the day, of course I would rather support a candidate who can get stuff done than one who can draw 200,000 people to a speech. But one who has the integrity and resolve to get stuff done and therefore can inspire millions–that’s a real leader.
I’ll grant that he’s not hot. Then again, neither is Paris.