I still think that the celeb ad will ultimately be ineffective, but I did some more thinking on why this spot--more than any released this election season--really bugs me. I watched the ad again, and saw the McCain camp's response to the debate proposal. A lot of folks claim that this strategy is a continuation of the Republican efforts to turn John Kerry into an effete flip-flopper. I guess--but it also seems to be of a lower order. At least calling someone a flip-flopper--no matter how dubious the charge--has some reference to policy and issues. Passive-aggressively describing Obama as a "worldwide celeb" is just an attempt to appeal to a sort of base sense of jealousy and xenophobia. It makes absolutely no comment on what an Obama presidency might look like. It simply says "don't vote for these guys because the rest of the world likes him." It really would be no different than Obama releasing an ad that said "John McCain fought in one failed war, no wonder he's backing another."
The new McCain strategy is a fascinating alloy of elitism and anti-intellectualism, and in that sense, perhaps no alloy at all. Still, the tactic derides celebrity--presumably because celebrity is achieved through popularity, not through doing anything "real," and then it asks people to vote on base prejudice toward people who aren't like them, not on issues. Consider this incredible quote from McCain henchman Rick Davis:
"Only celebrities like Barack Obama go to the gym three times a day, demand ‘MET-RX chocolate roasted-peanut protein bars and bottles of a hard-to-find organic brew—Black Forest Berry Honest Tea’ and worry about the price of arugula."
I read those words, and thought only of generic gangsta rappers ranting about "Keeping it real." All cultures have their essentialist brutes, and if anything radiates from Davis's statement, it's rank thuggism. It's contempt for "The Other" is only outweighed by its complete embrace of ignorance--"This guy shouldn't be president because he eats power-bars." The housing market is collapsing, Iran is pursuing the bomb, climate change is peeking over the horizon--and we are discussing power-bars and Honest Tea. Look, all campaigns do their share of unfair attacks. And at the end of the day, it's Obama's job to come back with a devastating counter. He's excelled at that all year. I expect him to do no less here. But--and I this will sound totally syrupy and naive--I really thought John McCain was a little better than this.
The Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons, and an Unlikely Road to Manhood 
He is better than this(well maybe) but the party isn't. He knows he has no chance at all to win except by following this strategy as it's the only one that riles the base up. I actually am sadistic enough to frequent right wing blogs and they've had contempt for him from the jump. Only now that he's throwing them red meat are they supporting him. He has to go this ignorant route, he just cannot win otherwise as the hatred for Obama on the right was not that palpable until they played the jingoist/xenophobe card.
what the celeb and "The One" ads says to me is:
Hey Undecided Voter, do you worship celebrity ? If not, maybe being an Obama supporter isn't for you. All those people who support Obama don't realize how silly and shallow he is (just like Paris and Britney!). But you can see it. You're not an Us-reading, E.T.-watching airhead, right? Right?
i think it's BS, but that's what i hear...
As a native of the DC-MD suburbs, I need to come to Honest Tea's specific defense here. The founders of Honest Tea are members of my congregation and started the business in about as American a way as possible, Seth brewing tea out of his kitchen. And he responded specifically to the elitism charge on their blog, with what I think is exactly the right riposte:
"I saw a blog that cited Obama’s preference for organic bottled tea as an indication that he had elitist tastes. I know there are always people looking for opportunities to throw the “E” word around, but there are few words I find more contrary to what Honest Tea stands for. In fact, I would argue it’s elitist to suggest that only rich or highly educated people should have an interest in healthy beverages. From our beginnings ten years ago, we have always strived to offer affordable organic and healthier choices for everyone. In fact, our original $1.19 price point was too low for our own good, especially when most of the competition was out there at $1.69 per bottle for non-organic tea. We lost lots of money in the early years, but we stuck to our lower price because we sold more tea, and we knew we were reaching more people. I know there are stores and restaurants that sell our tea for as much as $6.00 per bottle, but I can assure you that we don’t make any more money on those sales than the stores that carry it at $1.49!
In many ways, the deal we made with Coca-Cola will help ensure that we don’t become an elitist brand. If our tea is only available at higher-end stores, then the pricing and the venues help feed that elitist image. By contrast, if we’re sold wherever Coca-Cola is sold, then we’ve succeeded in democratizing organics. And that’s the kind of democratization all voters can endorse."
So Barack Obama has a favorite flavor of bottled iced tea and energy bar. Hoop-de-doo. Why is it that Republicans suddenly become so envious of success when its a liberal black guy doing the succeeding.
This doesn't bother me. Shit, John McCain buying five hundred dollar loafers with his second wife's money doesn't really bother me too much. But personally, I've had enough of the pot calling the kettle black over the past few years.
JKD, thanks for posting that message from Honest tea. I wish that the MSM would pick up that item.
Eugene Robinson makes his point here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/31/AR2008073102820.html?nav=emailpage
I hope that more in the MSM would have the courage to point this out.
I wonder if the Obama camp decided to play rope-a-dope against the Rove-McCain campaign? I wonder if they just decided to the Rove folks hit them with all these wild charges early. Take te high road, just to frustrate McCain and maybe trigger that legendar vicious temper.
Or if they'll take it for a while and then come out with a well disciplined hard hitting attack that will put McCain on the back foot just as the campaign heads into the debates?
Remember Obama and Axelrod know how to survive and prosper in Chicago hard ball politics. Rove won't be dealing with genteel Senators like Kerry & Gore. Obama may have been born in Hawaii, and may have grown up in Kansas but he sout' side Chicago in a lot of ways.
Passive-aggressively describing Obama as a "worldwide celeb" is just an attempt to appeal to a sort of base sense of jealousy and xenophobia.
I think this would be a much more powerful criticism if Obama didn't appeal to a base sense of jealousy and xenophobia every day.
Having just come from the store here in Minneapolis where I bought my wife "Black Forest Berry Honest Tea," and having passed through the aisle where the Met-Rx bars are displayed, I'm deeply disappointed.
Not one celebrity!! And I shop at this store every damn day!
Rick Davis, where are my celebrities? Unless you produce them (you have 24 hours), I will NOT vote for John McCain because I do not like being lied to.
You hear me Rick??
Gil writes: "I think this would be a much more powerful criticism if Obama didn't appeal to a base sense of jealousy and xenophobia every day."
Gil doesn't know what xenophobia means.
MoeLarryAndJesus writes: Gil doesn't know what xenophobia means.
Yes Gil does.
In Obama's "Race Speech" he said:
They've worked hard all their lives, many times only to see their jobs shipped overseas or their pension dumped after a lifetime of labor.
and...
It's that the corporation you work for will ship it overseas for nothing more than a profit.
This trade bashing is a mildly disguised appeal to xenophobia. There's no reason that having jobs replaced by foreign workers is worse than having them replaced by automation, unless you have an irrational bias against foreigners.
Obama appeals to this all the time, and he wants to make us all worse off by restricting trade and punishing companies that seek the benefits of trade.
MoeLarryAndJesus writes: Gil doesn't know what xenophobia means.
Yes Gil does.
In Obama's "Race Speech" he said:
They've worked hard all their lives, many times only to see their jobs shipped overseas or their pension dumped after a lifetime of labor.
and...
It's that the corporation you work for will ship it overseas for nothing more than a profit.
This trade bashing is a mildly disguised appeal to xenophobia. There's no reason that having jobs replaced by foreign workers is worse than having them replaced by automation, unless you have an irrational bias against foreigners.
Obama appeals to this all the time, and he wants to make us all worse off by restricting trade and punishing companies that seek the benefits of trade.
Sorry about the double-posting.
I swear I didn't click Post twice.
I just refreshed the page.