McCain mocks Obama in a new video on Web

Even as Democrats and others slammed his TV spot comparing Barack Obama to Hollywood celebrities such as Britney Spears, Republican John McCain launched another Web ad yesterday mocking Obama as "the one," who, like the biblical Moses, will lead the people out of the wilderness and to the promised land.

It uses clips of Obama's speeches and comments to try to make the case that the Democratic Illinois senator is arrogant about his own talents and destiny. "We are the ones we've been waiting for," Obama says in one clip.

"He can do no wrong," the announcer says, sarcastically.

The ad ends by showing the scene from "The Ten Commandments" in which Charlton Heston parts the Red Sea. In the parting water appears Obama's quickly shelved campaign seal, which critics said looked presumptuously like the presidential seal.

"Barack Obama may be the one," the announcer concludes, "but is he ready to lead?"

Obama campaign spokesman Hari Sevugan responded in a statement: "It's downright sad that on a day when we learned that 51,000 Americans lost their jobs, a candidate for the presidency is spending all of his time and the powerful platform he has on these sorts of juvenile antics. Senator McCain can keep telling everyone how 'proud' he is of these political stunts, which even his Republican friends and advisers have called 'childish,' but Barack Obama will continue talking about his plan to jump-start our economy by giving working families $1,000 of immediate relief."

McCain, asked about the ad, which was e-mailed to supporters, told reporters in Florida, "We were having some fun with supporters."

In the latest salvo over that McCain ad, which called Obama "the biggest celebrity in the world," the Democratic National Committee posted a Web ad yesterday suggesting McCain is breaking a pledge to run a civil race.

The ad uses footage of McCain at a town hall meeting in Wisconsin on Thursday being asked about his past pledge to run a respectful campaign - then repeats his saying he is "proud of that commercial," juxtaposed with shots of Spears and Paris Hilton.

In a video message to donors last evening, Obama's campaign manager said they are responding in an inspiring way to McCain "taking his campaign into the gutter." David Plouffe said more than 200,000 people have given Obama money in the last week.

While McCain, with his string of attacks, wants to make the campaign about Spears and Hilton, "you want to make it about our future," Plouffe told donors in the message.

"I think John McCain has harmed himself in the last week," Plouffe added.