Paris Sizzles in Summer

If you didn’t see it on the news tonight, check out Paris Hilton’s video response to her appearance in a John McCain ad earlier this week. You’ll recall the McCain campaign put in an almost subliminal shot of Ms. Hilton and one of Britney Spears in the commercial, aimed at equating Barack Obama’s worldwide celebrity status with theirs. Or, I should say, their TYPE of worldwide celebrity status, where what they’re really famous for is simply being famous, despite their less than stellar resumes.

In my blog post about the McCain ad earlier this week, I said the ad itself was less than stellar, and wouldn’t get the Republican much traction, mostly because it knocked his democratic opponent for being well-known and charismatic, not necessarily big negatives in a candidate for national office. (It should be noted there have been other interpretations of the ad by some bloggers and columnists, who found the quick shots of the two “sexually available” starlets a not-so-subtle message to voters clinging to the racist canard that powerful black men want to sleep with white women) That interpretation is certainly debatable, as was my contention that the ad would flop. It certainly got a lot of attention, and I was surprised at how many people thought McCain scored some points with it.

But what really surprises me is how good the Paris Hilton response is. She’s funny, she simultaneously makes fun of her image (“see you at the debate, bitches) while also turning it on its head (the proposed energy policy she flawlessly recites is actually better and more reasonable than anything I’ve heard from the candidates). And let me add one more high-minded analytical perspective: she looks totally, smokin’ hot.

I’m tempted to say that the Paris response is SO clever, it’s clear she didn’t have a lot to do with actually conceiving and producing it. But let’s keep this on the high road. It’s a tour-de-force by Ms. Hilton, who clearly has a better grasp of what her image is AND a sense of humor about it, than either of the presidential candidates have shown about themselves this week.