McCain Staff Compares Obama to Britney, Paris Hilton

Obama, who recently graced the cover of People magazine with his family, is featured in the ad alongside celebrities like Britney Spears and Paris Hilton.

"He's the biggest celebrity in the world," the ad's narrator says, showing a scene of Obama with an excited crowd of Germans who can't vote in the elections later this year.

"But, is he ready to lead? With gas prices soaring, Barack Obama says no to offshore drilling. And, says he'll raise taxes on electricity. Higher taxes, more foreign oil, that's the real Obama," the narrator says.

The 30-second spot, "Celeb," will run in Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin, as part of McCain's national ad buy.

"Barack Obama is the biggest celebrity in the world, comparable to Tom Cruise, Britney Spears and Paris Hilton," Rick Davis, Sen. John McCain's campaign manager, wrote in an e-mail to supporters.

"Only a celebrity of Barack Obama's magnitude could attract 200,000 fans in Berlin who gathered for the mere opportunity to be in his presence. These are not supporters or even voters, but fans fawning over The One," Davis wrote. "Like most worldwide celebrities, this status has fueled a certain arrogance."

Davis said in a conference call with reporters that the appearance in Germany was "something you would expect from someone releasing a new movie than running for president."

The McCain camp eagerly mentioned an opinion article in The Washington Post that described Obama as acting as if he were already president.