Comments on: I can see clearly now, McCain is gone.

I can see clearly now, McCain is gone.

patr1ck — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:21:19 -0800

If it's too good to be true, it probably is. McCain Girls revealed to be a hoax by 23/6.com. [Previously]

By: patr1ck

patr1ck — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:21:47 -0800

I have to give them props, it was a pretty creative, hilarious, and well executed hoax.

By: patr1ck

patr1ck — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:25:46 -0800

Also, shoot, forgot again. Hat tip to Andrew Sullivan.

By: Dizzy

Dizzy — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:28:06 -0800

Hoax or no, they stole my heart. Write me back , sassy Mc-C babes!

By: chillmost

chillmost — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:28:48 -0800

Whoa. That's a real scoop you got there. Yawn.

By: ThePinkSuperhero

ThePinkSuperhero — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:34:55 -0800

I don't believe it! I won't believe it!

By: Stynxno

Stynxno — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:41:59 -0800

Shoot. That means my investment in 1000 Obama faced umbrellas is now worthless! I wonder if Rihanna is doing anything.

By: humuhumu

humuhumu — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:43:17 -0800

Possibly worth posting just for the opportunity to use that title.

By: basicchannel

basicchannel — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:43:33 -0800

Jon Benjamin made this? Coach McGuirk?!

By: oncogenesis

oncogenesis — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:59:23 -0800

Is this something I'd have to be a "maverick" to understand?

By: smackwich

smackwich — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:04:26 -0800

I don't really understand how it was a hoax. So they made the songs but they don't like john mccain? Sounds more like stupid to me.

By: quin

quin — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:08:58 -0800

Maverick: Lord... whatever I've done to piss you off... if you could just get me out of this and somehow let me know what it was I promise to rectify the situation.

By: JHarris

JHarris — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:10:51 -0800

A hoax? How so? The video made no factual claims. Who is the joke on? People who made fun of the song? No: It's still pretty worthy of ridicule. Maybe moreso now, since People who cheered them on? Who really did that? McCain's campaign? What, for expressing appreciation that someone would make a song about them? Random internet viewers? "Oh, those three silly women who made a homespun campaign video promoting John McCain weren't really intending to promote him. My worldview is shattered." All this seems kinda pointless, is what I'm saying.

By: JHarris

JHarris — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:12:26 -0800

(Please strike the "Maybe moreso now since" fragment from the record. I got distracted while editing that out....)

By: ThePinkSuperhero

ThePinkSuperhero — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:15:32 -0800

People who cheered them on? Who really did that? Me. I love those crazy ladies.

By: ericb

ericb — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:18:31 -0800

New York Times:

"The McCain Girls videos, which were posted on YouTube last month with no clues about their provenance, are clearly meant to be imitations of -- or parodies of -- the 'Obama Girl' videos, which themselves are parodies (right?). While the Obama Girl looks like a pinup and sings catchy tunes, the McCain Girls could not be confused with fashion models or pop music stars. Their first video, 'Raining McCain,' set to the tune of 'It's Raining Men,' was posted on YouTube four weeks ago. A sample lyric: 'In the 2008 election, the forecast calls for rain; the first time in history, it's gonna start raining McCain.' That video recorded more than 1.6 million views and earned mentions on CNN and on ABC's 'Good Morning America,' with people alternately mocking it and wondering who was responsible. The singers seemed intentionally bad, which led many bloggers and YouTube commenters to assume that it was meant to insult Mr. McCain. The liberal blog Eschaton put it this way: 'I believe the YouTube era begins the age when it is impossible to tell parody/irony/performance art from completely sincere product.' Drum roll, please: The creators of the McCain Girls turn out to be the comedy team behind 23/6, a five-month-old Web site owned by an affiliate of IAC/InterActiveCorp that parodies the news. The site, at 236.com, uses the motto 'Some of the news, most of the time.'"

By: ericb

ericb — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:26:12 -0800

A hoax? How so? The video made no factual claims. Who is the joke on?

"Indeed, the videos' makers say they were trying to tread the line between sincerity and irony. 'We wanted to parody the campaign-song phenomenon,' said Sarah Bernard, the president of 23/6. Because most of the so-called stars of YouTube are amateurs, the comedy site decided to take no credit for its creation. Jon Benjamin, a contributor to 23/6 who produced the 'Raining McCain' video, had watched some of the more earnest campaign songs online. Recalling one particular video, an elaborate choir production called 'Hillary4U&Me,' 'it just looked like somebody paid them money to do it,' he said. So that's what 23/6 decided to do: hire three women with acting and singing backgrounds to create a video for Mr. McCain. 'We were pretty amazed that after the video came out, people were confused as to whether or not it was real,' Ms. Bernard said. 'That's when I think we said 'Hey, can we actually pull off a hoax here? How long can we keep it going?'"

People who cheered them on? Who really did that?

"Many viewers called the videos cringe-inducing, but at least one person was receptive. 'I think they're wonderful,' Mr. McCain said on the Fox News Channel last week."

By: The Card Cheat

The Card Cheat — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:40:32 -0800

Metafilter: All this seems kinda pointless, is what I'm saying.

By: mattbucher

mattbucher — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:56:20 -0800

I was hoping that the McCain Blogettes were also a hoax ("We're actually Obama's kids/hangers-on!").

By: mudpuppie

mudpuppie — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:00:00 -0800

I just can't believe that the scandal scoopers referred to them as "musically inclined." That right there blows their credibility, in my mind.

By: meta_eli

meta_eli — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:30:54 -0800

Wait, huh? Someone thought that was a real approved-by-McCain ad?

By: Sys Rq

Sys Rq — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:47:29 -0800

Gotta say: Yeah, pretty pointless. If there is any intent at all behind these videos, it's probably only to exploit the ceaseless Primaries media coverage to boost the public profile of 23/6.com. Mission accomplished. Except, um, it's 236.com. Way to name a website, dummy.

By: box

box — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:50:39 -0800

Have you seen McCain's actual ads?

By: Sys Rq

Sys Rq — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:51:50 -0800

("Here Comes McCain Again" is pretty funny, though.)

By: boo_radley

boo_radley — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:58:41 -0800

Terrible, all around. Really, just bad. Not good at all.

By: the littlest brussels sprout

the littlest brussels sprout — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 17:01:33 -0800

So that's what 23/6 decided to do: hire three women with acting and singing backgrounds to create a video for Mr. McCain. Singing... in the shower, maybe? I guess if they were trying to act like amateurs, they nailed it. Well done, ladies. Well done.

By: piratebowling

piratebowling — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 17:55:43 -0800

the littlest brussels sprout, I think they were supposed to sound awful. Your complaint is like trying to dis the village people by saying they're "super gay," because, erm, it's sorta the point.

By: WCityMike

WCityMike — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 18:24:18 -0800

So that's what 23/6 decided to do: hire three women with acting and singing backgrounds to create a video for Mr. McCain. What?

By: DanielDManiel

DanielDManiel — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 19:02:13 -0800

I guess this means Jon Benjamin baby pranked us all. Sorry dudes.

By: EarBucket

EarBucket — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 20:55:54 -0800

box, my favorite McCain web ad is probably this one, in which we find out the story of how he learned to snitch on his classmates at prep school. It's like he's the headmaster of that school from Dead Poet's Society. Check out the anonymous, headless rock star!

By: delmoi

delmoi — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 21:49:57 -0800

box, my favorite McCain web ad is probably this one , in which we find out the story of how he learned to snitch on his classmates at prep school. Man, McCain's web ads are really bizarre. They really hammer home how old he is, and make those events seem so distant and hazy, like something I might remember from high school. The story in that video doesn't even make much logical sense to me. Unless he manages to completely flipflop on Iraq in the next three months he's toast.

By: dhartung

dhartung — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 00:37:50 -0800

Someone pulled a fake-out on McCain? I don't think that I can take it!

By: stavrosthewonderchicken

stavrosthewonderchicken — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 02:42:41 -0800

I'm not sure what's going on here, but I am pretty sure I don't like it.

By: Wolof

Wolof — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 05:36:09 -0800

I can't stand McCain On my window Bringin' back sweet memories (Now, like a window I ain't got nothing but pane)

By: EarBucket

EarBucket — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 05:37:20 -0800

Man, McCain's web ads are really bizarre. They really hammer home how old he is Not only that--the photos of young John McCain they're using don't look any different from the Ted Williams and Teddy Roosevelt pictures at the top of the ad. It looks like he went to high school back in the Great War.

By: Wolof

Wolof — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 05:39:04 -0800

The whole Precious Wilson thing on that — "And now like a window, I ain't got nothing to say" — pushes us into expanding levels of window lame.

By: ericb

ericb — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 07:28:45 -0800

What's with the trailing smoke in the McCain ad? "Come sit by Grandpa. Don't mind my pipe smoke. A long time ago, when I was your age ..."

By: mecran01

mecran01 — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 07:56:57 -0800

That McCain honor code ad is just strange, like a coded message sent to corporate criminals that if McCain is elected they can expect "forgiveness . . .and redemption." Is McCain trying to get himself some of that Obama-esque neo-messianic goodness?

By: Hugonaut

Hugonaut — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 18:01:26 -0800

All I know is between "I'm gonna go out let myself get absolutely John McCain" and Rambo's endorsement he's got my irony vote in the bag!

By: Locative

Locative — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 02:55:59 -0800

After finding myself absently singing "It's Raining McCain" for the last three weeks, I thought I was finally free of this. No longer.