You really have to watch this to appreciate how committed the McCainiacs are to their scorched-earth policy for courting the dumb-dumb vote. An hour or two ago, the McCain campaign posted a new web ad that leaps even further over the top in its denunciation of Barack Obama than the "Celebs" TV spot from earlier this week.

"The One" casts Obama as a self-made messiah, misquoting in the same terms as lazy WashPost-er Dana Milbank the Obama remark about becoming a symbol (the accurate quote’s here) and throwing in an unauthorized clip of Charlton Heston as Moses in The Ten Commandments. "It should be known," the narrator intones at the start, "that in 2008, the world will be blessed. They will call him The One…"

It’s a close relative of "Celebs" in the distasteful, incredulous reaction it’s likely to elicit from bloggers and even mainstream pundits. Then again, like "Celebs," it’s not for that crowd. It’s for the more lumpen elements of the Christian extremist base. Who else is going to get worked up at the not just dubious but profoundly cheesy implication that Obama thinks he, like Chuck Heston, is capable of parting the Red Sea?

It’s stupid, coarse, dishonest and effective. As I said yesterday, Mark of Rove all the way.

Update: Ben Smith at Politico blogs Team Obama’s response: "sad… juvenile antics."

JohnMcCain.com: "The One" (1:13)