Not a terrible ad but also not the best use of money by a guy who’s staring down the barrel of a huge fundraising disadvantage. It’s part of McCain’s “biography tour,” aimed at burnishing the Straight Talk brand and neutralizing Obama’s Messiah narrative with frequent reminders that Maverick is, after all, a bona fide American hero. Jesus vs. George Washington, in other words, which makes this the equivalent of the cherry-tree story. Is this really something that’s going to earn him votes, that he once had a teacher who told him it’s not okay to lie? It works as background, but it’s so schmaltzy and generic — even Obama could get away with an ad like this, notwithstanding his feigned ignorance about Wright and that questionnaire, although Hillary surely couldn’t — that it’s bound to be fade into noise, unless the left digs up a particularly egregious lie in his record and brings this back to make him choke on it.

Hit the “More” button after it ends and watch the one about his father and grandfather, too. That one’s got a better chance of sticking. Click the image to watch.

Update: If Obama’s thinking he needs a little George Washington on his own ticket, he could do worse than this.