McCain Ad Ties Sex With Race

In today's trip to the swamp, the McCain campaign's latest attack video ostensibly targets the Obama's education plan. 

... Except, the issue serves as nothing more than a foil to intimate that Obama -- shown in the screen shot with a smarmy grin and his coat looking frumpy -- desires to sexualize the lives of young children.  More odious, however, it's also an example of the McCain campaign playing the race card, activating stereotypes of the black man -- seeming to gaze dreamily at something below (or shorter than) him -- as driven by sexual appetite. 

(screen shot: McCain for President)

Comments

[Roschelle]

If America falls for this bologna...the Extreme right could never chant the battlecry Country first ever again!

[shannza]

First, I have seen a bunch of the traditional news sources run stories on this ad, and print the Obama campaign's response, but there has been no fact checking. I have been emailing the writers and asking for verification of the (false) statements that were presented in the ad. I am going to start doing this more when I read articles that present either campaign's claim and "balance" it with the opponent's response, but not any context.

Sorry for the rant. As for this image. Obama is also looking down, which adds to the effect of him supposedly wanting to teach sex ed to kindergartners. It's an odd expression, one that I haven't seen in pics of Obama, and I think they are going for "keep this guy away from your family."

[donna]

What a bunch of crap. McCain ought to be ashamed of himself -- if he actually had any self left. Instead he's now just a creature of Rove and Schmidt.

Maverick my butt.

[g]

This is simply vile.

[truthseeker1949]

What next? Obama is Bristol's violater? These people will stop at nothing, and people think they're fit to be leaders of the free world? If they succeed, we'll all be lucky that the rest of the world considers the US a has-been country and will ignore us. Our only chance to gain world wide respect again is Obama, as his European-Middle East trip proved. Too bad Europe can't vote in this election. Are they, then, that much smarter than the average American?

[AlabamaYankee]

It looks to me that is skin has been darkened as well. This smear has it all.

[marysz]

This ad is sleazy, but it's sadly no surprise. But it just won't be as fascinating to the general public as the tawdry details of Sara Palin's personal life. She's de-sexualized Obama.

[BamaGuy]

This kind of ad by the Republicans is disgusting and evil - they are plumbing the depths. This is coming straight from Karl Rove and neo-con pals - this use of fear tactics and blatant lying (if you study history this is was what worked for the Nazi party in 1930s Germany). How do we fight this?

[KansasKowboy]

I hope I never hear Obama or Biden start off a crticism of McCain with "I admire his service but..." They have said it enough already and the McCain campaign has proved they it and McCain are not deserving of any more praise. Just start the criticism without the disclaimer.

[GeorgeF]

Yes to you all. Such ads remind to the Nazi-propaganda in the 30ies, which blatantly insulted their opponents of being in- anti-human. Rove has learned his lessons well - from Goebbels. It's frightening.
Latest polls showed a 70% accordance with Obama throughout Europe - possibly a contra productive fact for the US voter.

[zzyzx]

We should have never allowed cable TV into the hills of Tennessee and environs. It only awoke the sleeping beast of reactionary hatreds among the old bible belt and that vile backwardness spread over all of us. It is a raw fear and hatred of 'the other' that is a part of America we must clean up or slide back into the slime.

An interesting take on the Palin effect is on HuffPo:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/deepak-chopra/obama-and-the-palin-effec_b_123943.html

Sorry for the downer, but this stuff just depresses the hell out of me.

[Roschelle]

Phony outrage, lipstick, pigs and political spin. This is so unimportant. What has happened to America

[DennisQ]

This ad panders to low-information voters. It may be true that nobody went broke underestimating the public's intelligence, but it's also possible that this strategy may backfire. People who might otherwise vote for McCain might resent being talked down to the way McCain's ads do.

I notice that Obama has begun counterpunching along the lines of McCain thinks you're dumb. I'd like to think that approach will work. Whenever I meet somebody who's planning to vote for McCain because of his war record or God forbid, his character, that person's intelligence drops a few notches in my estimation. I haven't heard the high-road case for McCain's candidacy - have I just missed it? If it's true that Republicans haven't yet made that case at this late date, that fact is encouraging by itself. It means the low road is all they've got.

[Roschelle]

If you think all of this is bad...try caring for a racist.

[B.]

LOW DOWN and DIRTY. "That's what she said." (Oh no, I've been watching The Office too much.)

My first reaction is to laugh, because, now the you pointed it out to me, it's so obvious and kind of funny in it's simplicity.

What is amazing though, and scary to me is that people actually believe this kind of stuff. I mean, it works because it activates some fear certain people already have. Dang. Very clever and creepy, Republicans.

To anyone creeped out by this picture: please read people's voting records and stands on policy issues. That will take you out of scary fairytale land, (this picture reminds me of Little Red Riding Hood) and put you back in your adult mind.