Thought McCain's sex-ed-in-kindergarten attack ad was bad? Check out this National Republican Senatorial Committee hit on Al Franken:
Uses ambiguous phrasing to suggest Franken is a sex offender? Check! ("Franken writes about committing rape.") Relies on discredited sources? Check! (The Daily News dismantled the New York Post's 2004 "body-slammed a demonstrator" story here.)
But the craziest aspect of the ad is its visual theme. "What the heck is up with that random wall-of-TVs motif?" I thought, as I watched it. The point of the strange motif becomes crystal clear at the end: It's intended to set up a trompe l'oeil shot that, while technically on the level, implies that Franken has been photographed behind jail bars. Classy.
--Eve Fairbanks