The Rovian tactics keep on coming. Yesterday, the McCain campaign unveiled an advertisement on the heels of Barack Obama's education speech. In it, the campaign claims Obama wants to teach kids about sex before they learn to read. Watch it below:

What legislation is McCain referencing? Illinois Senate Bill 99, a bill that never even came up for a vote in 2003. And why would Obama voice support for it? Perhaps because it could help protect children from sexual predators:

Barack Obama supports sensible, community-driven education for children because, among other things, he believes it could help protect them from pedophiles. A child's knowledge of the difference between appropriate and inappropriate touching is crucial to keeping them safe from predators.

What's worse, this isn't even a fresh attack; wingnut extraordinare Alan Keyes trumpeted this line during his 2004 senate run. Here's what Archpundit wrote at the time:

But there is a far more serious side to this–relevant sex education at that age also includes information about how to deal with good and bad touches. IOW, how to teach children to appropriately deal with people who want to touch them in personal places. AKA child molestation. This can be an important defense against child sexual abuse and is not in any way promoting sex-in fact it does the opposite–it can protect children from abuse.

With this latest attack, it's clear that McCain sees the culture war well as his only route to victory. As Josh Marshall writes, the crap the McCain-Palin ticket has peddled in the past week should disqualify them for high office:

All politicians stretch the truth, massage it into the best fit with their message. But, let's face it, John McCain is running a campaign almost entirely based on straight up lies. Not just exaggerations or half truths but the sort of straight up, up-is-down mind-blowers we've become so accustomed to from the current occupants of the White House.

(H/T Hilzoy)