So grumpy! You’d hardly recognize this guy as the man who played celebrity host on Saturday Night Live.Photo: Getty Images
After reading Alex Pareene’s brilliant takedown of the Hollywood/political complex, we were sitting around getting angry about John McCain’s ridiculous “Celebrity” line of attacks against Barack Obama. People love celebrities, we thought. In fact, it’s just a word that we invented to talk about people who are well-known or celebrated. To talk about the excitement surrounding Barack Obama (and his cheering fans) as though it is a bad thing is not only absurd, it makes an assumption* that voters are too stupid to understand the difference between different kinds of fame. To use an extreme example, the Bible is the most-purchased book in the world — and yet most people have little trouble distinguishing Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John from the likes of Dan Brown and J.K. Rowling. To think voters are incapable of making such simple value judgments is simply insulting. Aren’t presidential candidates supposed to assume the best of America?
Just as we were getting annoyed by all this, we read about how John McCain is angry with Madonna for using his image during her concerts in a video montage of what she views as the world’s ills (Adolf Hitler and Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe also appears in the segment). In response to Madonna’s perceived “attack,” his campaign issued the following statement:
It’s a disappointing and vulgar attack on John McCain, who has devoted his life to the cause of freedom and the fight against tyranny. But, it’s not surprising that Barack Obama and his fellow celebrities stick together.
So … celebrities are ridiculous and have no political weight, but it’s necessary to respond to a piece of video that plays during a pop concert? (We should also note that this concert also features film segments including the important socioeconomic commentary of one Ms. Britney Jean Spears.)
The best part? After careful consideration, the McCain camp decided that the best outlet to publish their rebuttal would be the Website for Us Weekly, the celebrity magazine.
John McCain Slams Madonna for Comparing Him to Hitler [Us]
The Obama Celebrity Cabinet [Gawker]
Earlier: Widespread Moans As McCain Compares Obama to Spears, Hilton
*Unfortunately, for all its patronization, this assumption may be correct.
