Reading The Pictures: 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.

For more of the visual -- including the latest bomb from McCain, which blatantly ups the racial ante -- visit BAGnewsNotes.com.

(screen shot: McCain for President)

Comments

[Schipperke]

I'm just sick.. sick and tired of sleazy ads from the Republican candidates... sick and tired of lies from the Republican candidates, sick to my stomach from seeing this stuff repeatedly.
I guess it was inevitable that they'd try to incite the subliminal fear of black males that studies have shown is there in a large percentage of caucasian females. Some of us have reached a place where we can recognize it for what it is... ignorance... and get by it.. some of us haven't gotten there yet.
Somehow, it's essential that women come to see this knee-jerk reaction for what it is, a response built into us by prejudice, television, films and even books.. a false and ugly response that we have to defeat, each of us.
No one wants to talk about this... maybe some of us are ashamed to think about it... but we need to face it, talk about it, admit it.. and then throw this stuff away as the trash it is.
We women are being played for suckers by the Republican Party and it is about time we took the bul by the horns and told them NO!! Waste your money on sleazy stuff like this but WE aren't buying!!!!!

[proveit2me]

Now I see why the McCain camp doesn't like NBC- It's not Olberman or Mathews, it's the liberal bias of "To Catch a Predator"

[rgblue]

There's been a lot to get upset about regarding the behavior of john McCain and his campaign this year, but this is by far the most revolting, disgusting, sleazy piece of pus yet to ooze from the McCain camp.

It makes my skin crawl, to think of the sick perverted minds with their hands all over McCain and the Republicans.

[Rnactivist]

Since the majority of Americans get their "news" from the television this ad is an absolute disgrace. I hope Obama responds....he should do an ad called Mccain and Palins lies to Americans and then ask at the end...so why do we want wolves in sheeps clothing running our country....did we not learn anything from the past 8 years?

[Jnie]

Thank you for changing the "ID tag" on the Obama picture in Matthew Shaw's blog re sex education which included McCain's "take" on Obama's positions through a video ad. I see you chose to edit out my comments sent today about 5pm and now I see that the picture of Obama has been removed. Too bad the negative tag line created at Huff Post (used on the Obama pic) is now racing across the search engines on the web as a result of your initial posting.

[Cactusflower]

McCain is the most disgusting politician that ever lived. He may be one of the most disgusting human beings that ever existed, to come up with something this filthy. People of our country must recognize this man as someone who has no shame, no integrity, and someone who will hold his country hostage to fulfill his dream of becoming president.

Obama and his surrogates must hit McCain very hard and very fast. Every moment lost means several votes lost.

[deminmo]

If you want to feel patriotic spirit and take a break from
the real political scene, watch "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington".
Jimmy Stewert idealism.
Oh well, tommorrow realism comes back.

[deminmo]

Is anyone surprised that a man who called his wife the "c"
word, and offered her up to bikers at a rally for a "beauty" contest,
would do this? Or at least not stop it. If this is what some people
are looking for in their leader, then the country is in real trouble.

[Tulka2]

McCain's camp has no shame and no honor and they are willing to manipulate the worst of the most ignorant of us. Shame on them. Shame on us. The real problem is that half of America doesn't have access to cable news or computers. Hey, it's working for the fat cats.

[DLSteinhardt]

We must define the McCain-Palin campaign by the messages it puts out.

Period. (And no, that's not a reference to Gov. Palin as a Menstrual-American.)

[communitarian]

This sort of sorry attack on Barack Obama's intentions SICKENS me. It saddens me more that people who know better will pretend to believe absolutely ridiculous insinuations in order to justify their choice of candidate. I am a first-grade teacher. Unfortunately, many children are molested BEFORE they learn to read, and they need both the ability to stop the abuse, if they can, and the vocabulary to report it, if necessary. Must you have a six-year-old confide to you that her father "does nasty things" to her, or have known a six-year-old boy raped repeatedly before you believe in passing on appropriate knowledge about inappropriate activity? I'm from Massachusetts. I'm willing to believe that many conservative Catholic families would have preferred that their children had some power to prevent and/or report molestation at the hands of priests rather than to endure it. This is isn't about "Reading, Ritin' or 'Rithmetic," it's about protecting our children. McCain would rather kill a reputation in order to be president than live to tell the truth. It's trite to say it, but "Shame on him."

[foxbat]

The scariest part is when you take this a step further than the smear part. It's obvious, when you read the bill information, that there's a child protection issue at hand here. Combine the distortion that McCain is doing to this issue with what will happen under a Supreme Court that's loaded to overturn Roe v. Wade. Not only will we leave our kids at risk, but if something then happens to them via rape/incest there's no option to them or their families. If you take away the options, you should at least arm these families in the kids to do everything possible to avoid the initial problem.

[Tulka2]

You are right. The bill Obama participated in was an effort to educate children about unwanted touching at the kindergarten level. McCain wants this so bad. Why? So he can make this country better? I don't think so. The proof is in the pudding.

[jsinclair]

Disgusting.

As Republican senator Thad Cochran said, "The thought of him as president sends a chill down my spine."

He has neither the character, nor the integrity to lead this country.

And someone should find out if that photo is photoshopped. If so, it makes the image That. Much. Worse.

[stryker]

I know Obama's trying to keep out of the gutter in this election and talk about the issues facing America, but it's time to take the gloves off. It's time he used the Chicago politics. It's time he came out with a commerical that asks Americans how low will john mccain go. This latest garbage ad about Obama supporting sex ed for 5 year olds is the last straw. That and mccain's and palin's constant lie about her oppostion to the bridge, her record on earmarks, has to be hit and hit hard. Be interesting to see h ow many people come out sto see mccain now that palin has gone home under wraps. He has only drawn bigger crowds because she was with him. Funny how she is more popular with the repub base than he is.

[me4BO]

After OBAMA picked Biden as his running mate, McCain & Co. needed to come up with something(low-down and dirty, of course) to fight back at OBAMA's message. McCain was not allowed to pick the running mate he really wanted, so the "good ole boy" came up with Palin, although I would not be surprise if "good ole BUSH" didn't have a hand in this, one last dirty tactic before going out. Afterall, McCain and Bush are SO hard to tell apart...who's to say.
OBAMA and his SO well runned campaign can't stop THE MESSAGE of CHANGE at this point; too much at steak, like the well being of this great nation. Those republicans are at it again, same ole same ole. In 2000 BUSH & Co. stole the White House from under the noses of the american people and then in 2004 BUSH & Co. swiftboated Kerry, just as they are attempting to do with Obama now. With OBAMA stooping to the low level of those republicans, would be a BIG MISTAKE. As long as he is spreading his word of CHANGE regarding the polices the american people are Really interested in and make appearances to MI, OH, PA, just to mention a few, to let the people in those states who were hit the hardest with there jobs being sent elsewhere know that, with his CHANGE plan people will have for the first time in almost 8 years a true way in rebuilding their states, their lives, and their

[sealy]

Even in Chicago we don't get this low...
I'm from Chicago and have followed politics since the Kennedy election in 1960.

[fredric thegreat]

Of course this was photoshopped. Conservatives did it to 2 NY Times reporters last month by accentuating parts of the person's face, making them look a certain way subliminally. SHAME on John McCain. He will do anything to win, even employ the same tactics that were used against him in 2000 by w's people, the people that are now running his campaign. They owe him for being in w's butt the past 8 years. I'm sorry, but if there is a God, then this is not Christian behavior. All you Christians (myself included) should know this is not right. Jesus would never condone this kind of stuff. You are wallowing in the stuff Jesus would condemn. Good luck to you in heaven if you really support this kind of stuff. For shame, trying to bring a person down when he is caring for the oppressed and not the rich(like Jesus).