Now for some truly hard-hitting reporting.

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain took a minute on the campaign trail this week to thank his latest celebrity endorsement:

Heidi Montag of MTV’s The Hills!

(Sorry, this cracks us up too much not to post here)

“I’m voting for John McCain,” Montag, 21, said earlier this week. “I’m a Republican and McCain has a lot of experience.” To her credit, she also made a point of adding, accurately, that “I don’t think anyone cares who Heidi Montag votes for.”

John McCain’s dubious response to receiving Montag’s seal of approval:

“I’m honored to have Heidi’s support and I want to assure her that I never miss an episode of The Hills, especially since the new season started,” the Arizona Senator told Time, blatantly lying about watching the hit MTV show.

Seriously, his publicists must be working overtime these days, and for that we give them credit, but no one born in 1936 has heard of The Hills. That he watches every episode might be a bigger farce than his monopoly on patriotism.

If you thought this story would end right there, think again.

On Thursday’s MSNBC political talk show, Morning Joe, the first question host Joe Scarborough asked John McCain was about … Heidi Montag.

“She’s a very talented actress,” McCain said.

Too bad it’s a reality show, John. Unless that’s a subtle dig at The Hills, which is widely believed to be at least somewhat scripted. We have no idea why we’re trying to give McCain the benefit of the doubt, so we’ll stop.

He proceeded to list off other celebrities who have endorsed him, including actor Sylvester Stallone (portrayer of Rocky!). Really, John? You probably shouldn’t name-drop known steroid users who also get botox injections.