Yet another example of the media's abominable coverage of the presidential race: Look out, Obama's a celebrity!

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Desperate, pathetic, predictable. The GOP smear campaign against Obama, picked up by a media establishment all-too-willing to spew the latest talking points -- because it likes McCain, because it fears being branded liberal by the media-manipulating right, and/or because Republicans play the smear game so well -- is in full steam. And yet, with Obama so difficult to smear, at least compared to previous Democratic presidential nominees, there just hasn't been much to go on.

As usual, and perhaps more than usual (given how, even more than usual, Republicans lag well behind Democrats on the issues), the campaign against Obama, waged by both McCain and the RNC (i.e., the party itself) is simple: It's almost all straightforward character assassination: Obama is an elitist, and egotist, an opportunist, a black man with close ties to a dangerous anti-American black pastor, a terrorist-coddling Muslim, etc. You get the picture... and you've surely gotten it if you've paid any attention to the race so far.

And how is the GOP responding to Obama's successful trip overseas? By hurling new smears, of course. Obama the Europe-loving international jet setter, Obama the German, Obama the photo-op-loving opportunist who cares more about the people of Berling than about the suffering citizenry back home, etc. Again, you get the picture. It's not about what Obama said, nor even about how he was received, and certainly not about his statesmanship and leadership qualities, it's about spinning the superficial to make him look bad.

And as Le Politico's Carrie Budoff Brown notes today, the smear campaign has come up with a new spin on the superficial, a new smear: He's a celebrity! "McCain's camp launched its most forceful effort yet to define him negatively. It released a TV ad Wednesday describing Obama as the 'biggest celebrity in the world,' comparable to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, stars who are famous for attitude rather than accomplishments."

Oh, how terrible. And how wrong.

Obama may be popular, but his popularity is political -- it stems from his candidacy. And, in democratic politics, there's nothing wrong with being popular. It's how you win. He's popular, that is, because of what he stands for, what he represents, who he is, what sort of a person he is, his qualities and abilities, not because he's a celebrity. The smear has it backwards. Obama's popularity has made him a sort of celebrity -- but one based on substance. Other celebrities -- the Paris Hiltons of the world -- are popular only because they're celebrities, which is all that matters sometimes in our celebrity-obsessed culture.

No matter, though. The media, including Le Politico, are, to repeat, all-too-willing to spew the smears, usually under the guise of neutral reporting. And Brown's article is among the worst of the lot, a selective regurgitation of late-night talk-show jokes and McCain/GOP talking points. The first paragraph even quotes Karl Rove.

Yes, the media are just as desperate, pathetic, and predictable as the GOP smear campaign feeding it its lines.