HM...COULD THIS BE ANOTHER "DOG WHISTLE" EVENT?

McCain's new attack ad on Obama, "The One," has led some in the press to conclude that McCain might be sending a message to the Apocalyptic Fundies. So far, I only have 2 examples, one from TIME and the other from the WSJ.

An Antichrist Obama in McCain Ad?
Friday, Aug. 08, 2008 By AMY SULLIVAN / WASHINGTON

The Republican nominee's advisers brush off the charges, arguing that the spot was meant to be a "creative" and "humorous" way of poking fun at Obama's popularity by painting him as a self-appointed messiah. But even this innocuous interpretation of the ad — which includes images of Charlton Heston as Moses and culled clips that make Obama sound truly egomaniacal — taps into a conversation that has been gaining urgency on Christian radio and political blogs and in widely circulated e-mail messages that accuse Obama of being the Antichrist.

Conservative Christian author Hal Lindsey declared in an essay on WorldNetDaily, "Obama is correct in saying that the world is ready for someone like him — a messiah-like figure, charismatic and glib ... The Bible calls that leader the Antichrist. And it seems apparent that the world is now ready to make his acquaintance." The conservative website RedState.com now sells mugs and T shirts that sport a large "O" with horns and the words "The Anti-Christ" underneath.

I wonder how Sullivan knows what Fundie radio has been saying about Obama. That's an area of talk radio that I rarely listen to but it could be important to McCain, just as political talk radio is important.

McCain Web Ad Is Accused Of Linking Obama to Antichrist
By DOUGLAS BELKIN, STEPHANIE SIMON and SUZANNE SATALINE
August 8, 2008; Page A5
Wall Street Journal

In some swing states with concentrated pockets of fundamentalists and evangelical Christians, like Ohio, Pennsylvania, Colorado and Virginia, the ads could have particular impact. Suggestions that Sen. Obama is the antichrist have been circulating for months in Bible-study meetings in towns like Chillicothe, Ohio, where congregants compare his remarks and his biography with verses from the Bible.

I also wonder how the WSJ reporters know this much about Bible-study meetings in Chillicothe.