John McCain is winding up day three of his “Service to America” tour–a trip down memory lane aimed at what his aides describe as “reintroducing” the all but official Republican presidential nominee to the nation. The problem: for people who follow politics closely, McCain hasn’t said much, if anything, new this week. And for those who don’t know much about McCain… well, it’s unclear how many of those folks are actually paying attention. So far, the tour has been something of a highlight reel of old McCain speeches and excerpts from the senator’s 1999 memoir, “Faith of my Fathers”–a not so surprising development considering most people tend to tell and retell important moments of their lives. In conjunction with the speeches, the campaign has released web ads linked to the stops on the McCain tour this week, including his old high school in Virginia and his stint at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., where McCain spoke earlier today.
It’s all aimed at keeping focus on McCain at a time when all the action seems to be happening on the other side of the ticket. Yet it’s unclear if the strategy is working. McCain’s tour has gotten surprisingly little play on the cable TV networks, which usually give big time coverage to speeches like these, and in the major newspapers. But it’s a different story in the local media where, for example, McCain’s visit earlier this week to an airfield named after his grandfather made front pages and led the local news throughout eastern Mississippi. It looks like McCain will get the same treatment in Pensacola, Fla., where he’s set to speak later today about his early years in the Navy. (McCain underwent flight training at the Pensacola Naval Air Station in the 1950s.) More than a dozen local reporters from the region are on hand to cover the event, including the Pensacola News Journal, which has been running updates on its Web site about the event all day.
Of course, all that has been overshadowed by what has become the preeminent gossip of the day on the McCain bus. Nope, we aren’t talking about McCain’s remarks to Don Imus this morning, in which he admitted that he just started assembling “a list of names” of possible VPs and are “having them looked at.” (McCain’s aides quickly downplayed the senator’s remarks. “It’s still early in the process,” insisted Steve Schmidt, a senior McCain strategist.) Rather, we are referencing the news that Heidi Montag, the publicity-seeking villainess from MTV’s reality soap “The Hills,” had endorsed McCain. “I’m voting for John McCain,” Montag told Us Weekly. “I’m a Republican and McCain has a lot of experience.” Time’s Ana Marie Cox got McCain’s reaction upon arrival here in Florida this afternoon. “I’m honored to have Heidi’s support, and I want to assure her that I never miss an episode of ‘The Hills,’ especially since the new season started,” McCain declared.
What, pray tell, would Lauren think? Joking or not–and honestly, we really don’t know what to think–McCain’s unwitting entry into the Lauren/Heidi wars may have landed him some priceless publicity. Word has it that a freelancer for the celebrity news site TMZ.com is on hand for McCain’s event here in Pensacola in hopes of getting the senator to repeat–or, as The Hills cast might say, “re-enact”–his reaction to the Heidi endorsement.
