McCain Campaign “Hangs” Obama?

Everyone knows political campaigns can get pretty ugly. It’s expected. But some are wondering if John McCain’s camp crossed the line with a recent ad attacking Barack Obama‘s tax policies.

As you can see, the shading of the commercial turns the word “change” into “hang,’ which could be read as a not-so-subtle suggestion and reference to America’s less progressive past. You know, the days when black men could be lynched for whistling at a white woman and the such. McCain’s camp didn’t deny the claim, simply saying, “We’re not even validating such an outrageous and preposterous claim with a comment.” A political type who apparently knows of these things insists McCain’s camp must have seen this, saying, “People spend hours and hours editing political ads, I really don’t see how this could go unnoticed by the editors.”

We weren’t sure what to make of this whole thing. Could someone really be so nasty – and that’s a perfect word – and racist to intentionally put the word “hang” over Barack Obama’s head. Perhaps it was a fade-in shot, we thought, but a look at the video proves that’s not the case. Even the female narrator’s use of “celebrity” Barack Obama versus “we” sounds insidious, as if Obama’s some roving beast looking to invade America’s picket fences. Those fences, of course, are traditionally white.

So you know what finally convinced us that the McCain camp did this deliberately? The commercial is called “Higher.”