Like so many people with a post quota and an itchy publishing finger, I took a look at that McCain "The One" ad on Friday and wondered, Jesus, why would you want make an association between Barack Obama and The Messiah, even if it was in jest? Well, here's an interesting theory:

[The ad] isn't targeted to you or me. It is designed to galvinize a very specific group: Evangelical Christians of the End Times, Rapture-Ready variety. It is designed, more to the point, to scare the shit out of these people by insinuating that Barack Obama is the Antichrist. This is a particularly nefarious and crafty argument to make because it is the one context in which all the candidate's strengths—his smarts, his articulateness, his contagious smile and way with people—can become evidence against him. All these traits are associated in the Bible with the charismatic, popular, well-spoken man who is supposed to become the leader of the world and bring about the Tribulation.