Let He Who Is Without Advertising Sin...

...win the presidency?

Well, if that's the criteria, neither candidate would get it. Both candidates long ago abandoned any attempt at not running negative ads. I think there's no question that McCain has only recently returned to airing relevant, issue-focused ads again (after all the lipstick and primary school sex ed nonsense coming out of his campaign). Furthermore, I would be relatively confident in arguing that Obama had been running ads that were topical and relevant as well.

Recently, though, the Obama campaign has been down in the mud and "flexible" with the facts against McCain on a number of different issues. To start, here's a clip the Obama campaign started to run the day after 9/11...



Now, John McCain may have said those things, but I think the tone of the ad is a little mocking and unnecessary. But don't take my word for it - here's what Joe Biden had to say:

Asked by CBS's Katie Couric about an ad Obama released earlier this month mocking John McCain for not being able to use a computer, Biden criticized the commercial and suggested it had been aired without his knowledge.

"I thought that was terrible by the way," Biden said of the computer ad in an interview broadcast tonight on the CBS Evening News

Asked why it was aired, Biden said: "I didn't know we did it and if I had anything to do with it, we would have never done it."

Strike one.

Obama subsequently put out a TV and radio ad in Spanish on McCain's position on immigration. Here's what the ad says (as reported by The Trail):

"They want us to forget the insults we've put up with, the intolerance," the television ad's announcer says in Spanish as a picture of Rush Limbaugh appears onscreen with quotes of him saying, "Mexicans are stupid and unqualified" and "Shut your mouth or get out."

"They made us feel marginalized in a country we love so much," the ad continues. "John McCain and his Republican friends have two faces. One that says lies just to get our vote and another, even worse, that continues the failed policies of George Bush that put special interests ahead of working families."

The companion radio ad uses the same script as above and then continues: "Don't forget that John McCain abandoned us rather than confront the leaders of the Republican Party. Many of us were born here, and others came to work and achieve a better life for their families -- not to commit crimes or drain the system like many of John McCain's friends claim. Let's not be fooled by political tricks from John McCain and the Republicans. Vote so they respect us. Vote for a change."

Now, I'm not sure if you followed the Republican primaries (they weren't nearly as interesting as the Democratic primaries), but it's pretty common knowledge that one of the major points where John McCain parted ways with general Republican thinking was in his apparent support for amnesty for illegal immigrants. Here's the breakdown from FactCheck:

Limbaugh has been no friend of McCain and has attacked him repeatedly. He hounded McCain for his stance on immigration, among other issues. In January, Limbaugh said that a McCain nomination would "destroy the Republican party," and said he would vote for a Democrat over McCain. Limbaugh has attacked McCain specifically for being too friendly to illegal immigrants from Mexico, saying McCain "supports amnesty and open borders."

Strike two.

It's pretty clear that Obama and his campaign decided to take a few creative liberties with the facts on McCain and his support for immigration. Just as McCain went too far in trying to change the conversation from things that matter to voters to nonsense meant to get a rise out of Obama, Democrats, or the "elite, leftist media", Obama has gone too far in trying to tie McCain to Bush and the rest of the conservative establishment. And as recent poll numbers for McCain show, doing that too much can certainly cost you.