Opinion: John McCain compares Barack Obama to the original celebrity

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They went there.

John McCain‘s campaign earlier today emailed supporters a new minute-long video called ‘The One,’
which opens like a Hollywood trailer: ‘In 2008, the world will be blessed,’ giant letters promise. ‘They will call him, The One.’ It then cuts to shots of Barack Obama at his most messianic: ‘We are the ones we have been waiting for’ and the by-now standard photos of hundreds of thousands of cheering Germans. The spot ends with footage of a bearded and robed Charlton Heston in ‘The Ten Commandments’ parting the Red Sea.

In a week that has already seen the McCain campaign comparing Obama to Britney Spears and Paris Hilton, the new spot takes the, dare we say audacious, step of comparing Obama to the original celebrity.

On the campaign plane, McCain spokeswoman Nicolle Wallace defended the clip as just another harmless quip. ‘There is an important role for humor in political campaigns,’ she told reporters. ‘I think all of us would slit our wrists if there wasn’t.’

She also said the spot had a serious purpose: To buck up any McCain backers who may have been dispirited watching Obama dominate the news with his overseas trip and rally. The hope is to ‘make sure they understand that Barack Obama, who stands in front of tens of thousands, is not anything to be intimidated by,’ she said. ‘We’re proud we’re showcasing our candidate surrounded by workers.’

-- Nicholas Riccardi