It appears that the Obama campaign just released an attack ad that goes after John McCain for not being able to use email. The thing is, (a) McCain was an early Senate adopter of email, as a Google search can confirm via past media reports; but (b) His wife often has to type for him, because the lasting effects of tortures he received in North Vietnam's Hanoi Hilton have made it very difficult to impossible for him to tie his shoes, comb his hair, throw a ball.. or use a keyboard. Also easily available via past media reports. See Ed Morrissey for more.

As a low, stupid, counterproductive political trick, this one deserves a medal. What makes it even stupider is that aside from the ethical vacuum and research incompetence on display, there's a recent precedent that would have cautioned anyone with half a brain.

Up in Canada, Jean Chretien of the Liberal Party was Prime Minister from 1993-2004. If you've ever seen a picture, it looks like the guy is always speaking out the side of his mouth. That's because he is - a birth defect left him without hearing in one ear, and the effect on his face comes from Bell's Palsy. In 1993, the Conservative Party ran an attack ad that made fun of his mannerisms of speech and enunciation as undignified. Of course, it blew up on its creators like a bomb - and was especially damaging among swing voters, who drew the conclusion that someone was completely unready for prime time, and it wasn't "le petit gars from Shawinigan".