Race card smears US poll campaign

Things are not looking too good for Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate. He is currently lagging behind his Democratic rival, Senator Barack Obama, in US national polls and is often caught fighting for daily news coverage. The battle for the White House took an ugly turn with McCain accusing Obama of "playing the race card" after he commented that the Republicans would point out that he did not look like other US presidents.

That's not all. McCain has taken his negative campaigning to TV with advertisements accusing Obama of engaging in celebrity politics - comparing him to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears and mocking him as a messianic figure, amongst other things.

With race being brought in by McCain's campaign, it looks like it will remain a part of the build-up to the election. This is not healthy as it creates a distraction for the voters. Both candidates must understand that personal attacks are cheap and in no way do they address the Americans' concerns.