Senator Barack Obama (D) of Illinois is not a pop star or hotel heiress either, but according to the McCain campaign he as something in common with Britney Spears and Paris Hilton.
"He's the biggest celebrity in the world, but is he ready to lead?" states the ad.
The message is simple; Barack Obama is more style than substance. The Senator McCain campaign hopes that by comparing Obama to the likes of Britney Spears voters will start doubting his readiness to be president.
Obama volunteers who gathered in San Francisco on Thursday find all of this amusing.
"Who in their right mind is going to make that connection and not laugh. Like, Obama is Paris Hilton?" said Mike Missiaen, an Obama volunteer.
However, for the McCain campaign, this is serious business.
"Bottom line, Senator Obama's words, for all their eloquence and passion, don't mean all that much," said John McCain.
The McCain campaign is trying to paint Obama as narcissistic, arrogant, and out of touch. Those are qualities they believe will turn off blue collar, small town voters. Bill Whalen is a Republican strategist and fellow at the Hoover Institution.
"McCain suggested the other day that you know Obama would rather win an election than win a war, that's a character shot. Today, he's saying he's a celebrity, that's a character shot, because what do we think about celebrities? They're too vain, they're too self-centered, they're too into themselves and they don't care about their fellow citizens," said Bill Whalen.
The ad started airing in 11 battleground states and is just the latest in a string of attack ads that even blamed Obama for rising gas prices. Wednesday, the senator fired back.
"I do notice he doesn't seem to have anything to say very positive about himself. He seems to only be talking about me. You need to ask John McCain what he's for and not just what he's against," said Senator Obama.
And now, the Obama campaign is fighting back on the airwaves too. Late on Wednesday, they released their own TV ad.
"Baloney. The low road. Baseless. John McCain, Same old politics, same failed policies," said Obama's ad.
One former McCain adviser called the new celebrity ad "childish," but some republicans welcome the new line of attack -- they say McCain is now driving the news, instead of reacting to it.
