Thought Theater

John McCain's latest campaign advertisement is designed to convince voters to view Barack Obama as a young, arrogant, messianic elitist who isn't prepared to lead. In the following video, Charlton Heston's memorable portrayal of Moses is referenced to make the argument that Obama believes he's the chosen one.

Of course the McCain campaign is arguing that they're simply having a little fun and everyone criticizing the campaign just needs to lighten up. I see the ad as more of the same from a candidate and a campaign that has abandoned any semblance of civility in the hopes of poisoning the well before the electorate develops a taste for Obama that can't be extinguished.

In my estimation, the McCain campaign's unspoken message is that Obama is an uppity black man who doesn't know his place and refuses to wait his turn. Look, it's impossible for this election to avoid the issue of race. In the absence of Obama's skin color, one might be hard pressed to argue that the McCain campaign is doing anything more than capitalizing on Obama's occasionally lofty language.

That begs an important question. If a campaign chooses to manipulate a known bias in a segment of the electorate...knowing that they may be fomenting and fostering more of the same...does the end justify the means? Given that this strategy has been honed to perfection by George Bush and his minions, the answer seems apparent.

Unfortunately, one can also make the case that doing so simply perpetuates our problems. Truth be told, the kind of rhetoric we're witnessing will only reinforce the racial tension that usually simmers in silence...all the while looking for a triggering event to rear its ugly head.

The fact that men who want to hold the highest office in the land would willfully ignite intolerance suggests they view the electorate as little more than an inconvenient obstacle in their quest for power. Until voters refuse to reward this kind of behavior, we'll continue to be led through the desert by false prophets...looking longingly for the promised land.