This post is a response to the Contest in which Josh Marshall requested interpretations and a short translation of the new McCain ad by Let Freedom Ring, in which a young African-American man declares that he will not vote for Barack Obama (10/30/08, 12:27 p.m.) 

The goal of this ad is to allow racially prejudiced white voters to vote racially without feeling guilty.  It is very psychologically sophisticated, as it understands and employs defense mechanisms often used by such persons (who usually possess an authoritarian personality), which are projection and reaction formation. 

The ad has two aspects, message and messenger.  The message is that Obama voters, particularly African-Americans, are basing their votes on race, and race alone, ignoring character and other qualifications.  The implication to the racially prejudiced white voter is that therefore they are the racists, not you, and by voting against Obama on racial grounds you are not showing racism, you are actually opposing racism.  Joshua Marshall rightly points out that this is in incredible bad faith, but more importantly it fits perfectly with the defense mechanism of projection, in which one truly believes that one's own faults are present in others and not in oneself.  This defense mechanism is powerful and very prevalent because it prevents and protects against the emotions of shame and guilt.  One can see this defense mechanism operating very often in right-wing attitudes in a number of situations.  In this case it would allow prejudiced voters to vote against a candidate because he is black without feeling guilty. 

The other aspect of the ad is the messenger.  He is young, smart, probably biracial, and sympathetic to the aspirations of African-Americans.  In these ways, he is very much like Barack Obama himself.  The ad invites racially prejudiced white voters to identify with him in voting against Obama.  In doing so the ad tells such voters: "You are not reactionary racists with attitudes that should have died out a century ago.  No, you are young, hip, with-it, empathic to African-Americans, and post-racial, because you no longer base your votes on race, like those other people."  This is an example of the use of reaction formation, which is believing the exact opposite of what is true, going to the opposite extreme.  The ad even goes so far as to suggest that people who would vote against Obama on racial grounds are similar to Martin Luther King.

An important aspect of the ad is also what it does not say.  It doesn't say "Vote for McCain."  It says "Vote against Obama."  And it offers no reasons to vote against him other than race. 

BTW, I am a clinical psychologist and am writing a book on how and why value systems in societies change over time.