I've tried hard to steer clear of online political discussion this season. Today, though, someone sent me a link to the latest McCain ad that sent me over the edge.

For those who don't want to slog through YouTube, it starts out with the usual "Obama hasn't passed any significant education legislation" stuff, but it's also full of weird, distorted photos of Obama with a creepy smile, superimposed on photos of school playgrounds. Then it hits you with the kicker: Obama forced schools to give kindergartners comprehensive sex education! Before they could even read!

The ad suggests, through images and words, that there is some perverse desire on Obama's part to sexualize small children.

The legislation Obama voted for was designed to teach the difference between 'OK touch' and 'Not OK touch' to kindergarten students in an age-appropriate fashion. It was designed to help protect children from pedophiles, and to help them communicate to adults they trusted if they had been abused.

There are only two options, really. The first possibility -- strangely, the most charitable -- is that John McCain actually opposes protecting children from sexual abuse. The second, darker possibility is that John McCain just doesn't give a fuck. He's willing to lie to you, deceive you, call black white and call up down in order to convince you that his opponent is a bad, dirty man. And he's willing to lie when children are at risk. "My name is John McCain," he says as it fades to black. "And I approve this message."

To anyone who happens to be reading, I ask you to stop for a moment. Think of the people you know, the friends you've grown up with, the children of co-workers... You know. Think of the children. Do you know anyone who was inappropriately touched, sexually assaulted, molested, or in some way abused as a child? I know three, and that's just in my family and close circle of friends.

Pause for a moment, and think about that friend, that loved one, that niece or godson. Reflect on the fact that when John McCain sees someone trying to protect them, he regards it as an opportunity to attack.

Fuck you, John McCain.

Fuck. You.

Update: I've cooled down a bit, and the blinding, feral rage has been replaced by profound annoyance at the people who actually swallow this stuff. For those interested, there's a FactCheck article about the ad's inaccuracies, and a direct link to the bill in question for those interested in digging deeper.