As Britney would say, "oops, they've done it again."
On a McCain campaign press call today with campaign manager Rick Davis and adviser Steve Schmidt national political reporters skipped the issues and fell straight into the politics. The call was meant to introduce McCain's new television ad, "Celeb." It was the first time in more than a month that three major outlets asked questions during a McCain conference call. This was also the first one in weeks to focus on pure politics, the main topic under discussion being whether Barack Obama is merely a global celebrity or a genuine leader who is ready to be president.
CNN's Dana Bash asked perhaps the most relevant question of the three:
For example...when he went with Sarkozy, Sarkozy basically said, you know, "We look forward to you becoming the president," and as you mentioned, John McCain met with Sarkozy as well. So how do you square that with this idea that [Obama's] just sort of going and almost like he's releasing a movie?
NBC News' Kelly O'Donnell asked:
Can you tell us what polling, focus group work, research you've done on the issue of celebrity, presumptuousness, audacity and those kind of words and what it is that's leading you to believe that that has some traction as you put this messaging together?
ABC News' David Wright:
Why these particular celebrities for comparison, Paris Hilton and Britney Spears?
The new ad touches on energy prices and Obama's opposition to offshore drilling. AOL News' Tommy Christopher did ask about that part of the ad.
CNN, NBC, ABC? They chose not to question the campaign on the validity of the claims they were making about Obama's views on energy prices or whether McCain's position provides for a reliable energy future, but rather on focus groups and polling data and how Senator Obama compares to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. So, even if you don't know how John McCain will help us break our addiction to fossil fuels, you'll maybe learn why Britney Spears this week has moved to the center of presidential campaign politics.
