Negative ads work . . .

says the CW of political campaigns, but one has to decry their use at every opportunity. McCain spent years doing the latter, and clearly has settled on doing the former as his only chance to counter the seeming inevitability of Obama. The latest web ad (see below) continues the recent trend. The visual juxtaposition of images from Obama's trip abroad with quick shots of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton reinforces the theme that Hillary Clinton tried to defeat Obama with: he's just a pretty face, an empty suit. And we can expect that it will continue the trend of the MSM, who supposedly love Obama, giving the ad much more penetration than it deserves -- like the ad falsely claiming that Obama didn't visit injured troops because he couldn't bring TV cameras, it is likely to get far more plays online and in free airings on the cable news networks than the McCain camp is going to pay for. (While I've been writing this, I've been proven right here and here, the top story on the Chicago Tribune website).