"All propaganda has to be popular and has to adapt its spiritual level to the perception of the least intelligent of those towards whom it intends to direct itself."

-Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf ("My Struggle"), Vol. I

From ThinkQuest:

Political cartoons often demean or mock groups based on stereotypes or prejudices. Although the purpose of these cartoons is undoubtedly different from the German anti-Semitic propaganda, many comparisons can be drawn between the two. Both, and all of this type of propaganda, use humor to make a point, and exaggerate stereotypes of the group it wishes to demean. Although this propaganda is rarely used heavily in wartime, in peacetime it becomes extremely important. Political cartoons very similar to those in Die Brennessel and other Nazi publications can be found in almost any newspaper or magazine published today.

From yesterday's press conference in Panama City, John McCain responds to a reporter's question about the negative campaign he is running: “I don’t think our campaign is negative in the slightest,’’ Mr. McCain went on. “I’m, we think, it’s got a lot of humor in it, and we’re having fun and enjoying it."

The use of humor, or rather what one person or group perceives as humor, has been used as both a political and a propaganda tool since the time of ancient Greece. It is one of the most powerful because it has the ability to coat a negative attack or smear against one's opponent with the veneer of a "good-natured" joke while subliminally embedding the message in the minds of the hearers. It is most effective when it implies or infers a smear or attack that plays directly to the hearers' prejudices which if overtly said would cause a backlash of negative reaction and thereby wind up damaging the attacker rather than the one attacked.

The McCain campaign has embraced this tool whole-heartedly in this election year more so than in any other election cycle because this year their opponent is black. And because of that unchangeable reality, the issues of race and racial prejudice are impossible to ignore or diminish or avoid. The problem that the McCain faces is how do they use those issues which are politically radioactive to the benefit of their candidate. They saw the perils involved their use during Hillary Clinton's campaign which caused a whirlwind of negative press when either Hillary or Bill (more ham-handedly than she) attempted to interject it into the primary race.

They have developed a rather simple formula for their negative campaign ads: Obama = black = other = foreign = non-American = dangerous. And so far, they have used this paradigm to produce these two political ads.

The Obama-as-"celeb" ad use of Brittany Spears and Paris Hilton had some scratching their heads as to its point. The campaign claims that the use of those two blond white women were meant to compare their vacuous "celebrity" to that of Obama's. But the real intent was to evoke the old Southern bugaboo of the black man hungry for white women. It wasn't the first time the Republicans have used it. They used similar imagery very effectively (he lost) against Harold Ford, Jr. in his senatorial fight in Tennessee in 2006.

Obama as "The One" ad with its biblical imagery is intended to present another aspect of his "otherness". This time the audience is not the bigot but rather the religious zealot. To the casual viewer, the ad comes across as a rather heavy-handed attempt at satire not very well executed. But once again there is more subtle almost subliminal imagery buried within. It is an imagery very familiar to those on the evangelical right...Obama as the Anti-Christ. They seem to be channeling Pastor John Hagee in this one. For an in depth analysis of this I would refer you to this piece at Daily Kos by Larry Madill.

Always remember, all political campaigns for the presidency are highly disciplined, carefully structured, extremely expensive organizations. Nothing, nothing is left to chance. The highly compensated operatives in the campaigns whose job is to create its advertising campaign are all pros who have been plying their craft for years. Every ad is a carefully choreographed blend of the images, every word of copy, and even the music. It can be stated without fear of contradiction that when John McCain says they're just having fun, fun has nothing to do with it. It is a deadly serious game.