RNC Launches 'Obama Is A Celeb' Website

John McCain's "Celeb" ad, which he portrayed Barack Obama as an intellectually vacant pop star, made several members of the GOP recoil. Most notably, McCain's former campaign manager, Jeff Weaver, derided the spot as trivial and childish.

But Republicans believe they have a winning issue. And on Friday, the Republican National Committee showed no sign of slowing in its push to label Obama as vacuous celebrity.

The committee announced the creation of a new interactive Web site, www.WhoSaidItCelebrityEdition.com, in which users are presented a blind quote and tasked with choosing which celebrity (Obama and three others) said it.

The game does a decent job of furthering the Obama-is-just-another-celeb meme, primarily because the RNC cherry picks the shallowest, most nondescript quotes. For example: "I didn't expect it to come so quickly. It's been hard to keep up with. There's been articles in the papers that say I've got too big for my boots but people who know me say I'm just the same"? (For the record, soccer star David Beckham, not Barack Obama, is the author of that line). Or, "You have only a short period of time in your life to make your mark, and I'm there now." (George Clooney).

But one can easily imagine the Democratic alternative. It would probably look something like this:

Who said the following about the Iraq War: George Bush, Dick Cheney, John McCain, or Paul Wolfowitz? "There's no doubt in my mind that once these people are gone that we will be welcomed as liberators."

Comments

[Mike4Obama]

As much as I hate to give them credit, the RNC has found a niche for ROI with their recent marketing. They are making commercials so outrageous that are only targeting small markets and knowing full well the press will give them free publicity. They are maxing out there investments big time. This seems to be their defining strategy to counter Obama's financial juggernaut.

Hopefully, the Obama campaign capitalizes on this method too, and begins releasing adds in small markets, spending little, but making them just controversial enough the networks news stations will pick up on them and run with them for a couple days, free of charge.

Gobama.

[HopeandChange]

Brillian ad stategery. The MSM can't stop talking about this celebrity charge and therefore alot of undecided voters will see and hear about it through the MSM. It also proves McCain's previous charge of the media being in love with Barry. They are running to his defense on this as if they themselves have been insulted. Barry should realize, when the media creates you, they can destroy you.

[EinChicago]

The scary thing is this may well work. The trivial is teh most effective attack in general elections. Kerry did n't lose becuase of any deep, high brow policy issues. He lost because the GOP managed to portray him as an indecisive fop. Now they're doing the same thing to spin Oba-ma as a good-looking but shallow celebrity himbo.

This stuff works.

[Sylmason]

This trivial srat game is just a game,,,,,,­,,,,,,,,,,­,,,,,,,,,, it's an opportunity to place a picture of this black man with a white woman to scare up those poor, ignorant white people the count on every four years. These guys are sick sorry ass holes, yet it will not work.

[GuyFawkes]

Unfortunately, I agree with you. There are just enough stupid people in Ohio, Florida, Penn, and the south for this to gain traction. People vote on emotion, not nuanced issues. That's why the rest of the world laughs at us. Anyone who traveled overseas the last 7 years knows that.

I don't know if Obama's camp was caught flat footed by this. I'd be surprised if they were, since its right out of the 2000 and 2004 playbook, down to a T. But their response, "We don't react to everything they do", sounds an awful lot like the Kerry response to the Swift Boaters.

[JackND]

Don't get your hopes up.

[Darsch]

Kerry acts like a political tool... Obama does not. Won't work at all imho.

[CubFanHere]

No, EinChicago is right. Unfortunately this type of stuff does work. Remember, half of the population in the U.S. has IQ's in the double digits and 53 million people were dumb enough to vote for George Bush - the SECOND TIME AROUND. The GOP is playing to the lowest common denominator of intelligence, and unless Obama fights back and shows he's not going to take this kind of crap it could get very scary.

[levelshot]

Look at the GOP dumb-down-base and their talking points. They are all senseless, childish, & pointless. And a perfect example of their supporters is the 18yr old girl in the youtube video when McDork hands her the mic and she says says "O really scares me" and that's it! These are they type of slurpy mindless unconscious folks who can't think on their own two feet supporters the GOP want. You challenge any of them on real issues and they stare at you with punched-in­-the-face-­drunk or a jerkface look and quickly turn it back to b.s. talking points. A colleague of mine is a hard noise conservati­vefreaksho­w and he's always emailing senseless garbage about O and democrats. Every chance I get him on the phone I challenge him on the issues such as taxes, gas and other policies that have destroyed this country and he can't hold his own. So they resort to tossing in the air "O or the Dem's are going to raise our taxes." This is the case will all of them and it's inexcusably sad they know other than comparing a candidate to celebrities.

[debrouillard]

I cant believe this GOP thugs. Cameron Diaz,George Clooney have IQs higher than that of almost every GOP leader. Certainly higher than that of J ohn M c Cain. so in effect,they are simply acknowledging that Obama is smarter than thier man. plus wasnt Ronald Regan a celeb who eventually ended up a republican president? I really dont know what they are aiming at,with is bit of attack.

Some of the quotes really dont make any sense,its like saying who said "My name is.." Barack or Emminem? Every human being i know has said "My name is.." at one point

[LiberTLover]

Don't forget A rnold. Maybe he should rethink supporting McMetooMagoo.

[Troubledgoodangel]

I find Sen. Obama's "Ophrah quality" annoying and deceptive. A president cannot be a celebrity on a stage! If he is, there will be thousands of crooks out there to upstage him! The stage of a great president is his mind and heart, and how he is able to reach other hearts and minds! The other hearts and minds aren't "audience which applauds"! The hearts and minds of many rulers who may threaten the U.S. are hard like steal and cunny like snakes! You have to deal with them not in the "Ophrah style"!

[DeeKres]

Typical Rethuglicans. ABI...Anyt­hing but issues.

[politicalgenius]

HILARIOUS.­.. I love the acronym.

[readyfornewleadership]

I am frightened that the American people are stupid enough to fall for this.

[WoodyCPM]

You're right. They are.

[ABCD]

Me too.

[dillydawg]

Be afraid. Be very afraid, because to the Repugs know their target audience. They are bottom feeders.

[Cedman]

The American peple voted for Bush twice. Anyone with a brain could see he was 20 watt bulb in a coal mine. Year after year we see reports that rank American's far down the ladder in academic achievement compared to other democracies and our voter participation is always horribly low.

[Aabby]

Me too- God help us.

[eden4barack08]

What a bunch of losers! They can't come up with anything relevant.

[whiteboyblues]

And the GOP brand continues to tarnish itself another day. Shocker!!!

[normalkid0615]

burned!

I find it so pathetic that grown men are putting this stuff out there. I am 22 years old and this is too childish for me. Anyone over 22 who buys into this Obama is a celeb stuff is just ignorant.

[dejtemper]

This is a rip off of the MoveOn game - who said it McCain or Bush. It is an inept attempt to characterize Obama, and the people this works with would not have voted for him anyway.

[bygollymissmolly]

So, do you think we care? You and yours will be relegated to the category of insignificant in November. Get used to it, it's going to be that way for a l o n g time.

[bygollymissmolly]

Just when you thought that the GOP has acted as juvenile as possible, they have to go and prove you wrong. Do they really think that things like this are going to help their candidate?

[WoodyCPM]

Yes, they do. This is classic personality based politics. It's nasty and destructive and a total distraction. The kind of stuff the media gobbles up like hogs at the feed trough. It's good for ratings. Here's the catch. Your average American voter is conditioned like Pavlov's dog to respond to advertising, media images, news stories, memes, narratives, stories based on this nasty stuff. The airwaves and cable wires and satellite beams are saturated with this kind of ugly stuff. It excites us through appeals to our visceral, lizard brain, which is why advertising is so effective. To not be influenced by it requires genuine knowledge, actual thought, careful reflection, none of which your average voter is known to bother much with.

[libs = kooks]

It's actually hilarious, comparing O'bama to K-fed.

How iyou hippies managed to blow this election when sentiment towards the repubs is beyond me.



Buyers remorse of your messiah will set in 2 weeks after your convention.

Pelosi's excuse for not drilling is "saving the planet" will not sit well during this recess.


Your only saving grace would be Johnny "balls deep" E. will propose a new drilling technique to drill through his second america into anwar without disturbing the kariboooooo

[Dreamers101]

Buyer’s remorse hairball I think not!

NOPUMA – Pointless Unity for Miserable A$$holes

O BA’MA O BA’MA O BA’MA O BA’MA O BA’MA O BA’MA

[luvangelHussein330]

PUMA = Politicaly Unethical Misguided Anger

[JackND]

Are you trying to be HuffPo comic relief, or are you just HuffPo comic relief?

[Donnat]

could I get the English translation of this post?

[Peteyman]

Please, go away PUMA.

On second thought, I'm sorry I called you that

That would be an insult to all the other pumas.

(btw good work insulting the animal that you morons name yourself after.)

[hydenorhare]

"Who said the following about the Iraq War: George Bush, Dick Cheney, John McCain, or Paul Wolfowitz? "There's no doubt in my mind that once these people are gone that we will be welcomed as liberators­.""

Does it matter who said it if it's correct?

"The American troops were greeted as liberators. We saw it. It lasted very briefly, it was exhausted quickly by the looting."
"I think that the instincts that led to much that went wrong were good American instincts: the desire not to have too heavy of a footprint, the desire to empower Iraqis."

John Burns - NYT - on CNBC