I know that it's possible to infer cynicism on the part of McCain and the GOP with respect to the North Carolina race-baiting ad. But I don't share that cynicism and believe McCain is sincere in not liking or appreciating this kind of politics. With a couple of exceptions (the South Carolina moment that McCain himself has regretted), McCain just isn't a Rove-style sleazebag. That's why his candidacy remains one that many of us alienated from the GOP in recent years still take seriously. Money quote:
"They're not listening to me because they're out of touch with reality and the Republican Party. We are the party of Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan and this kind of campaigning is unacceptable... I've done everything that I can to repudiate and to see that this kind of campaigning does not continue."
Good for him. If Republicans cannot win on the merits of their own policies and are reduced to the guilt-by-association racist smears on Obama, they deserve to lose.