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)

Follow Michael Shaw on Twitter: www.twitter.com/bagnewsnotes

Comments

[RBN]

So, McCain doesn't support protecting kids from child predators?

[lakshmi9999]

ENOUGH! ENOUGH! ENOUGH!

VOTE OBAMA 2008!

[Donald Wolberg]

With friends like Mr. Shaw, Mr. Obama will have more enemies than he needs and I suspect this highlights the debacle that is becoming the Obama/Biden campaign. Mr. Shaw will only marginalize the campaign and bring out more of the extremist loonies than can only harm Mr. Obama. Mr. Obama has faltered badly, largely, I suspect, because he has become a reactionary, rather than a leader. He needs to get his campaign back on track, stop the personal attacks and have his alter egos stop ther attacks and just go away. Mr. Obama is best talking about issues, not marginal issues.

[pattyfish]

The media feeds this crap to the public like junk food.....

How about going after Palin with the fierce manner you went after Bill and Hillary....

[Archie1955]

Not providing sexual education to children results in the situation in which the Palin family are embroiled. If you provide the information to children in school they accept it as a rather disgusting procedure. In other words it's an intellectual process rather than an emotional or hormonal one. The children absorb the information the way they absorb their schoolwork. It does not rob them of their childhood because they are not interested in trying sex at that age and when they do become interested they have the information necessary to properly deal with it.

[JCPOK]

As an obsessive political watcher, I knew this campaign was going to be tough and I knew there would be some outlandish right-wing attacks against Obama coming from 527s and the like. I like to think of myself as the kind of guy that would not be surprised by any of these attacks. Yet, today I was surprised. Today I could not believe just how low and how dishonorable the McCain camp decided to go with the weird kindergarten sex ed ad. I'm thinking that right now there are a lot of people who knew John McCain and used to like the guy but won't any more. He did more than cross a line, he turned evil. In all my years, I've just never seen a politician knowingly misrepresent an opponent's record for the purpose claiming that the opponent is in favor of corrupting small children with sexually explicit material. That is sick and it is evil.

[gymbunnybee]

I love what Sen. Obama stands for and I am a strong supporter, but yesterday watching him on Olbermann's show I found myself getting a little annoyed with him for not using negative words against McCain/Palin especially when they were needed. He couldnt bring himself to say 'They are lying' even when Keith prompted him that this is what was happening. All Sen. Obama could muster was 'they are going beyond the truth/ stretching the confines of truth' and more unecessarily cerebral misses.

Sad to say he again gave the American people too much credit - thinking that his intellectual responses to the R's gutter-class campaign of lies and smears would override what an average american would override the effects of the outrageous ads being run by the Republican party.

I was willing him to use simple, strong words to explain what the R party has been doing, how they are liars and slanderers and what the Dems think of their campaign. He frustratingly kept going back to 'Average Americans know they're poorer etc etc' when the average American is only going to vote based on character and which candidate seems the least risky.

Sen. Obama needs to MAKE the next 2 months about character and expose McCain/Palin and their surrogates for the lying frauds they are.

[ReardenMetal]

The McCain "Education" ad is the most vile, gutter suggestion I've ever seen in a politics. Worst than the suggestion in '88 that Gov. Dukakis was an apologist for rapists. Worst even than the Harold Ford ad in '06 that hinted that the then unmarried congressman was luring white women in Tennesee into promiscuity. This ad not only purposely mischaracterizes the legislative measure, but does so in an attempt to offer the pedaphilic suggestion that Senator Obama intends to sexualize the lives of four and five-year-olds. Put simply, he is calling his colleague a pedaphile. What if his young daughters were to see this ad? Does any of the people who make this type of thing consider this amidst their grand pursuit for tactical advantage? I've always held a higher opinion of John McCain. I now know that Senator McCain has no shame, but now I am ashamed of him. You have let us down Senator.

[scorpioleidy]

When does the "honorable campaign" start?

[NJmikeV]

Like Dubya said "Fool me once shame on you. Fool me again .....er...umm....We won't get fooled again" America is tired of this Rovian crap.

Contribute (no matter how small). Volunteer. Write your editor. Call your TV and radio stations. Talk to your friends and neighbors. Get out the vote.

[attuned4news]

I think that just as McCain's campaign has made it their mission to bar media access to their VP pick, news outlets should make it their mission not to give exposure to these tawdry ads that seek to smear Obama.

Obama should confront these issues in a serious manner and address the American public. Remind the public that these tactics are all diversionary and the Republicans have resorted to a conveyor belt of stunts because they do not have a sound platform to run on. Tell the public that he's working for them and his origins compels him to uphold the family and family values as sacred. Implore Americans to trust in him because he will not steer them wrong. He has countless policy proposals to help resolve American hardships. He should describe them in detail and reiterate that the only thing McCain has to offer is to further denigrate his opponent.

The Obama campaign should run a string of the most contemptible anti-Dem ads, both new and old, and ask "Is this what you want from your president?" Add, "I respect you more than this." And "It's a pity he's resorted to the same tactics." Insert picture of McCain and anti-McCain love-child ad. "No lessons learned for McCain."

If Americans are so gullible in that they'd support a destructive, gimmicky faux-reform ticket that perhaps that's exactly what they deserve. McCain's tactics are so transparent.

[JavaCityGal]

The hypocrisy is astounding. McSame runs this dispicable ad claiming dispicable things about Obama, which in typical Repub fashion is a complete lie of course. And yet, McSame is all faux outrage of the "lipstick on a pig" statement which HE KNOWS had nothing to do with Palin. There is no maverick, there is only a shadow of the politican that McSame once was, he is now the epitomony of Bush/Rove lying, scheming and politics as usual. This whole election cycle I've known that McSame is Bush Part II, but now I'm beginning to think that he's even worse. Please go out and volunteer for Obama, donate money -- our country deserves better than this.

[TrooAmerican]

Since the bill being used as attack fodder by the McCain campaign was to protect yours, ours, mine, their children, the mere fact that McCain used it in a fraudulent context against the man that supported clearly defines the entire mcCain campaign and its candidates as being FOR child predators and abuse of children.
That should be the headline and news of the day.
Period.

[Defensor]

Willy Horton part two. You want proof that this country hasn't gotten over racism, here's the proof. The worst part of it is, you don't realize until you see the ad in still pictures just exactly what they did. It's nearly subliminal, and it's what the Republicans love to do. This time it's worse though; Willie Horton was made by a 527 group, this is the actual McCain campaign. They've gone lower than the 527's that lowballed Dukkakis and Kerry, and put their campaign's name and candidate's face on this obviously racist advertisement.

[Phoenixredux]

Call and write McCain's campaign office and web site, and urge everyone you know to do the same. He needs a grassroots lesson in integrity and personal responsibility. This is his "respectful campaign"? In light of his know-no-bounds sleaze, I can't follow his all purpose advice to "keep your sense of humor."