Oh, Joe

I like Joe Lieberman. I do. And I've been defending him for a few years now, ever since he began his war-hawking ways and has become more and more conservative. Because I like him; but I'm starting to lose any idea of why I like him, and that's a bit of a problem for me. Especially when he defends political ads like this:

by saying, "To some extent the appearances of Paris Hilton and Britney Spears -people complain about it- they should just relax and enjoy it. The idea is to draw people into the ad. The point of the ad is really quite strong: Who's ready to lead America?"

Well, I'm sorry, Joe, but I'm not going to relax and enjoy it. Mostly because I think having Paris Hilton and Britney Spears -two fading stars who are now mostly referenced because of how far off the tracks they got, what with their drunk driving and panty-less flashing incidents, to name a few- detracts from the message of the ad; and is really just jerky. When I hear/see "Paris Hilton", I think "sex tape", "crappy show", and "Oh my god, is she really still a topic of conversation?" When I see/hear "Britney Spears", I think "institutionalized", "quickie marriage", and "Oh my god, is she still really a topic of conversation?" - though to be fair to Spears, she actually did something for years instead of just showing up on red carpets and acting like she deserved to be there. There is no question these two shouldn't be leading the nation!  

But that isn't what this election is about, is it? It really is about that second thing, that "Who's ready to lead America" thing. And no one, hopefully, will think that Barack Obama is even remotely comparable to Hilton and Spears. And their images being flashed up on the screen draw attention away from (a) Obama, and (b) why McCain should be president. They're trying to draw an allusion between two things that are lightyears apart. And it is insulting. Not to Spears or Hilton, but to voters in general and Obama in particular. Isn't this exactly the type of campaign McCain was going to stay away from? Didn't he vow to make it about the issues?

The ad actually contained some of that, once you got past the fact that it compared a self-made Harvard-freakin'-Law graduate to a woman who is heir to a tremendous fortune (and oh yeah, has a GED) and a woman who made it big by promising her to keep her virginity until marriage while dancing provocatively and singing songs about sex (because really, what else is "I'm a Slave 4 U" about?). Promising to not look into Off-shore Drilling (an issue in the ad I find extremely interesting considering McCain's recent reversal on the subject)? Raising taxes? These are items people could have an actual discussion about, though I contend that those who disagree about the off-shore drilling are ostensibly wrong. But Britney Spears and Paris Hilton? Really? That is what counts as raising the level of debate in this country and staying on the issues? Oh, Joe, you disappoint me by lending support to this utter dreck. And McCain, you disappoint me by approving of it.