Campaigning Turns Pretty?

I'm sure many of you are probably thinking that today's blog title is an indication that all the candidates for our presidency have suddenly turned nice and are playing nice and are telling the truth and are agreeing to run a fair and honest campaign right? Well get out of your Utopian landscape and return to reality. No. The 'pretty' I'm referring to is the ad that perennial party-girl and reality show star Paris Hilton released this week in response to her image being used in ads by Republican Presidential nominee John McCain.

John McCain's ad, released sometime in the previous week (depending on your location around the country) equates Barrack Obama's popularity to being a 'star-of-the-moment' type of phenomena which is then linked with images of Paris Hilton and Britney Spears at various gala events. The implication being made by the ad is that Obama is just a fleeting star who is popular now but doesn't have the wherewithall to be a true and decent leader for our country. Though her parents have previously supported McCain, Hilton's mother made statements to the press that she was upset that McCain would use her daughter's image that way. Paris herself, not one to shy from any spotlight, siezed the opportunity and released her own ad in which she doesn't name the nominees but the implication is enough.

Hilton refers to McCain as the 'crinkly-haired old guy' and Obama as 'the guy for change'. In the ad, Hilton refers to McCain's age frequently by showing images of 'old people' from movies and television including "The Golden Girls" the Crypt-keeper and Yoda among others. She also takes a moment to put her own spin on both McCain's and Obama's proposed energy reform bills. Of course her solution (using the best of both worlds) is something else that will likely only see reality within the confines of a Utopian world (once again) or at least in speculative fiction books like the type written by Harry Turtledove or Newt Gingrich.

Though I'm not devout fan of Hilton myself, I think her creating this ad will probably do more for both candidates than anything they may be attempting at this time. The race for the White House is neck and neck and will only get closer until November unless one candidate makes such a huge faux pas that there is no recovery possible. Though the race is close in the polls, I've never been one to trust what they tell you. When you're sitting at home and a pollster calls to ask who you would vote for, you have to do nothing but vote over the phone. You don't have to wait in line and fill out forms or any such thing. Contrast that with voting in reality and you have to stand in line, show IDs several times, wait in line again and then cast your ballot. Most young people don't do that so even though the youth may be firmly behind a particular candidate, it doesn't mean anything if they don't go out and vote.

I'm also a big proponent of voting. You don't have the right to complain if you don't exercise your right to vote. If you have the right, it's your obligation to go out and vote. The sacrifices of so many lives in Vietnam was one of the main reasons that the voting age was eventually reduced to 18 so that people being ordered to fight in Vietnam could at least have the opportunity to choose what leader sent them there. It's telling when you have the largest voter turnout in California history to vote Arnold Schwarzenegger into the Governor's seat several years back. Though there is debate over whether or not he's a good leader for the state or not, he won on his platform but also because he was a celebrity. That's not to imply more votes would go to Hilton if she was even capable of being on the ballot but sad as it is to say or even think, if Hilton endorses one candidate or another, I'm sure there are many a love-struck guys out there who would run to the voting polls in November.

Hilton wisely doesn't show preference to either one of the candidates though it's clear she's lashing out at McCain for his use of her image as a flash-in-the-pan celebrity. Perhaps though the good to come out of her ad is that everyone will see how ridiculous and ill-conceived so many of these ads being put out by the real candidates actually are. Rather than pushing solutions or telling what they can do, the ads that are put out there are often meant to insult the opposition by offering snide remarks made by smug sounding announcers. It's a vicious campaign and since as long as I can remember, they've only been getting worse. I'm skeptical in my hopes for a cleaner campaign but who knows what will happen. I'm hopeful that if an airhead like Paris Hilton can make such a bold and thought-provoking statement then perhaps the candidates themselves will too.