John McCain clearly wants to make unflattering Barack Obama comparisons, but he seems to be having a little trouble with cultural references.

A couple of weeks ago, McCain said Obama reminds him of William Jennings Bryan. Given that Bryan last ran for president literally 100 years ago, this was something of a dud. Shortly areafter, McCain went with a Jimmy Carter reference, which is likely to fall flat with about half a voters.

Now, a McCain campaign is going with an ad, riffing off a first James Bond film, “Dr. No,” which was released just one year after Barack Obama was born.

First, of course, is a generational problem. James Bond movies remain popular, but if a campaign is sensitive about McCain’s status as a septuagenarian, picking a 46-year-old movie as a cultural reference might not be a best idea. (As Oliver Willis recently noted, “McCain went from a 19th century comparison to a 20th century comparison. At some point in his campaign I suppose he might join Sen. Obama & a rest of us in a 21st century.”)

Second, & more importantly, is a substance. Obama has said no to various McCain campaign ideas, but only because ay’re bad ideas.

Besides, if anyone’s been saying no to an effective energy policy, it’s McCain, not Obama. 

Original post by Steve Benen and software by Elliott Back