McCain Decides To Compete In The Celebrity Arena-- Gets The Nod From Daddy Yankee And Half of Big & Rich (The Gay Bashing Half, Of Course)

"Can you sing 'Dancing Queen?'"

Today John McCain, apparently thinking he was about to get another $1,394,033 check from Big Oil and Gas, accepted the endorsement from "Gasolina" singer Ramon Ayala (p.k.a.- Daddy Yankee). McCain, an Abba fan, has also been endorsed by half of country duo, Big & Rich, John Rich, whose previous political foray was a vicious homophobic tirade coupled with an endorsement of McCain's then-rival, the hapless Fred Thompson. He's now recorded a catchy ditty called "Raisin' McCain," which tries helping McCain further exploit his POW experience in Hanoi-- one thing McCain doesn't need any help doing. In fact, right after accepting his endorsement from Daddy Yankee, McCain flew off to Hollywood for his 900th celebrity appearance on Jay Leno's show. There he again shamelessly played the "I was a prisoner of war" card to try to garner sympathy and take the spotlight off another in an embarrassing series of bumbling gaffes:

Leno: "For a million dollars, how many houses do you have?"

McCain: "Could I just mention to you, Jay, that, at a moment of seriousness. I spent five-and-a-half years in a prison cell. I didn't have a house. I didn't have a kitchen table. I didn't have a table. I didn't have a chair."

He then went on the sing to praises of the millionaire mobster and jailbird, his father-in-law, who's bootlegging business and Mafia connections bought McCain every single one of the 13 houses he owns.

Now Daddy Yankee, who isn't eligible to vote in presidential elections, is no Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige, Nas, or John Legend, all outspoken Obama supporters. But the endorsement certainly got some of the crazier extremists in the crumbling GOP coalition hopping mad. God only knows what Dobson and Company think of Daddy Yankee's family-unfriendly, sexually suggestive act-- and "Gasolina" is not about "drill here now," (unless you mean drilling in a... colloquial sense). But extreme right, out-of-kilter GOP blogger Michelle Malkin was howling at the moon when she saw McCain and Daddy Yankee together.

Can someone, anyone, in the McCain camp stop him from self-immolation? Can the open-borders GOP establishment drive a bigger wedge between the conservative base and the GOP ticket?

Last week, it was the RNC ad touting McCain’s shamnesty superiority over Obama. Today, it’s McCain goofily, stupidly, standing with Puerto Rican singer Daddy Yankee for the all-important reggaeton vote while teenagers squealed. Celeb-u-pocrisy, anyone? The singer, whose real name is Ramon Ayala, singled out McCain’s sponsorship of the shamnesty bill as the reason for his endorsement:

“He’s been a fighter for the Hispanic community and I know that, me personally, I’m choosing the best candidate, because he’s been a fighter for the immigration issues,” Ayala said. “So, for me, he’s the best guy to lead this nation.”

Desperately seeking a coolness boost, McCain lapped it up: “I just wanna say thank you, Daddy Yankee,” McCain said.