Answer: Free Media

Question: What was the enormous upside to John McCain's decision to compare Barack Obama with Paris Hilton and Britney Spears?

Still have doubts? Click here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and I could go on. Even counting those voters on vacation, what's your guess for the percentage of Americans who have heard that McCain compared Obama to Spears and Hilton? Now how many of those same people, not to mention you Swampland readers, can tell me what the Lexington Project is? Perhaps McCain should have called it the "Paris Hilton Project."

Of course, there is a downside to such obvious tactics--they are not exactly dignified or, um, presidential. But my guess is Crystal City slept quite well last night.

UPDATE: Per Jon Martin: "Beating out all the semi-porn videos and some Miley Cyrus riff, John McCain's 'Celeb' ad was the most viewed video on YouTube this week. The tally as of Friday at 4:15: 1,271,140 views. And one can only imagine how many more people saw it on cable and network TV."