Republican presidential candidate John McCain has opened up a new line of attack on Democratic rival Barack Obama, labelling him a celebrity without the strength to bring change to Washington.

Mr McCain's campaign launched a new television advertisement to run in 11 states called "Celeb" that uses images of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton and Mr Obama's speech in Berlin last week to accuse Mr Obama of being all talk and little action.

"Is he ready to lead?" it asks.

At the same time, Mr McCain described himself as an independent-minded politician with a history of bucking authority and said Mr Obama has shown little more than strong speaking skills.

"The bottom line is that Senator Obama's words, for all their eloquence and passion, don't mean all that much, and that's the problem with Washington," Mr McCain said.

Mr McCain took direct aim at Mr Obama's chief selling point, that he represents change Americans are searching for ahead of the November 4 election.

"Senator Obama doesn't have the strength to speak openly and directly about he will address the serious challenges that confront America. How will he be strong enough to really change Washington?" he said.

Mr Obama's campaign dismissed Mr McCain's complaints as "baloney" and "baseless."

© Independent Television News Limited 2009. All rights reserved.