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Political attack ad savages Princess Leia

Wookiee Medal-gate: A sly video from "The Star Wars Show" calls out Leia's marriage to a smuggler, lack of royal blood and more.

Gael Cooper
CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The Totally Sweet '90s." She's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line.
Expertise Breaking news, entertainment, lifestyle, travel, food, shopping and deals, product reviews, money and finance, video games, pets, history, books, technology history, generational studies. Credentials
  • Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won "Headline Writer of the Year"​ award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.
Gael Cooper

So weary of political attack ads you're kind of rooting for Giant Meteor 2016? Here's one you'll actually enjoy, no matter which side you're on.

"The Star Wars Show," which posts new YouTube episodes every Wednesday, produced a slyly realistic political attack ad attacking Princess Leia's ambitions to become the first senator of the new republic. The video promotes Claudia Gray's ""="">new Star Wars novel, "Bloodline," which focuses on Leia.

The ad's techniques are familiar to anyone who's followed Earth politics in the last 20 years.

Criticize her background? CHECK! The ad notes that Leia "isn't even a real princess."

Claim she's not good for business? CHECK! The ad points out that she murdered an "entrepreneur" in cold blood. Well, yeah, but he was Jabba, and he had kind of enslaved her, so self-defense and all that.

Ah, the old family values attack. CHECK! Leia may talk a good game, but "she married a notorious scoundrel and spice trafficker."

And our favorite: She's not PC enough. CHECK! "Leia claims she's for alien equality, but why doesn't she think Wookiees deserve medals?" Can't argue with that. Down with Leia!