Obama Fatigue

Will Barack's takeover of the airwaves lead to Barack fatigue? McCain tries to shape reaction with a return to the Celebrity theme that worked so well during the summer.

Madonna Rolls Out Adolph

The McCain campaign has done a wonderful job of turning celebrity support into a negative for Barack. Each endorsement, or criticism, from a Hollywood type, feeds the storyline of Barack as an empty suit - he's famous, but is he ready to lead? Madonna now falls into the trap set by the McCain campaign.

McCain campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds angrily condemned the segment of Madonna's concert in Cardiff on Saturday that appeared to draw a comparison between McCain, Hitler and Zimbabwean strongman Robert Mugabe.

"The comparisons are outrageous, unacceptable and crudely divisive all at the same time," Bounds said in a statement reported by Fox News.

Just another vile celebrity who is a friend of the Obamas. Is this the crowd we want to give the keys to the country?

"It clearly shows that when it comes to supporting Barack Obama, his fellow worldwide celebrities refuse to consider any smear or attack off limits."

Madonna's apparent swipe at McCain came during a performance of the song "Get Stupid", when the Republican contender's image was flashed up alongside images of destruction and global warming as well as Hitler and Mugabe.

Even as Madonna crudely compares McCain to Hitler, she glorifies the heroism of the untested, unproven Obama.

Towards the end of the song, pictures of Beatles star John Lennon, former US vice-president Al Gore, Indian Mahatma Gandhi and McCain's Democrat rival Barack Obama appeared.

Swinging Which Way?

It's a rare event when the polls agree, but the Saturday editions of the Gallup and Rasmussen daily tracking polls both show a statistical dead heat - with Obama up 1%.

One swing state that we're told will swing Democratic this year is Colorado, where the Democratic Convention commences in a matter of days. But the mood there has been swinging against Barack.

The race for Colorado’s Electoral College votes is about as close as it can be on the eve of the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Colorado voters shows John McCain attracting 47% of the vote while Barack Obama earns 45%. When “leaners” are included, it’s McCain by a single percentage point, 49% to 48%.

Another state that Barack is supposed to swing from red to blue is Virginia.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of the race shows Barack Obama with a statistically insignificant one-point advantage over John McCain, 46% to 45%. When “leaners” are factored in, it’s McCain with a statistically insignificant one-point edge, 48% to 47%.

It is also said that Nevada is becoming a blue state.

The race for Nevada’s Electoral College votes remains close, but for the fourth time in the last five months John McCain has a slight advantage. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey shows McCain attracting 45% of the vote while Obama earns 42%.

Economy Ad

A well-done new ad for Barack. Not responding to McCain's celebrity theme directly, but sidestepping it and looking serious on the economy. Smart.



ABC's Jake Tapper nitpicks the ad:

There's some pretty iffy stuff in there -- Obama has voted to send tens of
billions to Iraq, too, though quite obviously he has also voted against funding
the war as well. And oil moneys aside, that's a pretty remarkable suggestion,
that the Iraqis are living high on the hog and screwing the very US taxpayers
who are helping them.

He's right, of course. But the ad still works.

Fan Club

The McCain campaign isn't calming any on the "Celebrity" theme. The latest web ad is called "Fan Club."

Barack's Celebrity Attack

“For decades, he’s been Washington’s biggest celebrity. John McCain,” the new Obama ad says as McCain hugs Bush. “And as Washington embraced him, John McCain hugged right back.”



Barack's new attack ad answers McCain's celebrity theme by calling McCain a Washington celebrity, and linking that celebrity to business as usual. Effective?

Celebrity Redux

The McCain Campaign has a new spot, again asking if a guy who is nothing but a celebrity is the right guy to make president.

Feeling Hollywood's Pain

The LA Times reports that Hollywood finds McCain's new ad, likening celebrity Barack to other famous people, like Britney Spears and Paris Hilton, aggravating.

Just for a start, industry types say the ad is wrong: In the Hollywood lexicon, Obama is not a celebrity. He's a rock star. (Note to McCain strategists: That's the difference between Jessica Simpson and Bono.)

Ah. Now we get it.

Then there's the small inconvenience that Paris' parents, Rick and Kathleen Hilton, are supporters of McCain's Republican presidential bid. According to federal campaign records, they gave the maximum $4,600.

That's equally powerful.

McCain's latest attempt at discrediting his handsome, photogenic young rival particularly galls stars and executives with a memory, because only eight years ago, McCain was a fixture in Hollywood fundraising circles when he tried to raise money from the very people his ad now ridicules.

How disturbing.

At the time, dozens of people in Hollywood -- including Lear, Harrison Ford, Quincy Jones, Berry Gordy and Michael Douglas -- gave to McCain because they thought he was a Republican celebrity ď with a great personal story. And, dare we say, some celebrities, namely Warren Beatty, even became friends with the Arizona senator.

A confession, it seems, that they don't support people for good reason, otherwise they'd still be supporting McCain, whose great personal story hasn't changed. They're apparently expecting loyalty from the old flavor of the day, who they've abandoned for their newest favorite.

But the truth is most of Hollywood won't return McCain's calls nowadays because many of the stars and executives he initially impressed now believe the maverick stance they found so attractive was just a pose. Hollywood doesn't object to a good pose -- unless, of course, it doesn't work.

Barack = Paris

A new McCain ad calls Obama the biggest celebrity in the world - like Paris Hilton or Britney Spears.