The new McCain ad [1] has reignited a controversy that I completely missed the first time around.

There is a growing fundamentalist belief that Obama is the antichrist [2]. They have scriptures to prove it. My favorite "proof" is that he comes from zip code 60606 [3]. I am not making that up. And these people are serious.

This has apparently been making the rounds for a while. It even has a Snopes page [4], where the "rumor" is deconstructed in a scholarly manner, with a straight face as if it's something that MIGHT be possible.

Now, if someone is unhinged enough to believe in the Antichrist, Armageddon, and the Rapture, it's not much of a leap to conclude that Obama is The One. And that's exactly what analysts say the McCain ad is about.

If you tune your lizard brain to the right frequency and study the ad [5], you can hear Karl Rove's dog whistle. It is carefully engineered to trigger deep-rooted, pathological fears and hatred implanted through years of religious indoctrination and programming. It has all the code words and imagery. It's not even that subtle, but I guess you can't be too subtle with the intended audience.

It's hard to say what's more ridiculous -- that people believe this stuff, or that McCain would target these voters and welcome them as his core constituency. But I guess you have to dance with who brung you.

It might backfire, though. Because when the Antichrist appears, there will be 42 months of peace, 42 months of war, and then the Rapture (or something like that, I have a hard time following). And this is exactly what some Believers want. In their mind, a vote for Obama is a vote for the Rapture so we can all go to Heaven.

OK, then.