What are we to make of this new John McCain campaign ad, in which colorful countercultural degenerates prance through the opening frames, and, near the end, a still of Noble Older McCain is superimposed over footage of Hunky Younger Ex-POW McCain? The take-aways: (1) “Our world is dangerous … our economy in shambles.” (2) “John McCain doesn’t always tell us what we hope to hear” (our emphasis). (3) John McCain is a heterosexual and a maverick — and definitely not a hippie.

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