I am in the unfortunate position this week of learning far more about Paris Hilton than I ever wanted to know. It seems that the heiress and unintentional pornography star feels she coined the phrase “that’s hot” which all the cool kids are saying. (Apparently I don’t know any cool kids.) But the only “hot” involved between Paris and the McCain team is that the Hilton family is a bit hot under the collar.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it seems that the new McCain ad criticizing Obama for being a celebrity has ruffled some unintended feathers. I, for one, quite liked the ad, but I hear whispers from the inner campaign staff that the phone was burning off the hook today with calls from Paris Hilton’s grandfather, William Barron Hilton (co-chair of the Hilton Hotel empire), furious that the McCain ad drew an unflattering comparison between Obama and his own granddaughter.
While it doesn’t come as any great surprise that William Barron Hilton and his son are Republicans, I will confess that I was unaware that they had donated large sums of money to the GOP in general and the McCain campaign in particular. They have also done some of the ground work in fundraising among their wealthy circle of friends. And now the phones are ringing in the McCain war room and the Hiltons are unhappy.
I previously told you how ridiculous the entire celebrity ad idea was, and now the law of unintended consequences has come calling. Most of us who got a passing grade in Snark Assessment 101 have taken the opportunity to toss a few brickbats at Paris during moments of boredom, but when a major party or presidential campaign takes that liberty, there can be consequences.
UPDATE: While I was preparing this piece, Shaun was already working on one of his own. Sorry, Shaun, and my apologizes to readers for the duplication of subject matter.