Of the many celebrity campaign excrescences lately, this is the best example of something designed more to promote the people involved than their chosen candidate. Ostensibly it’s an ad to elect Obama but in reality it’s a reminder from Michael Moore and MoveOn that they’re still out there, doin’ their thing, even though both are now seven or eight years removed from peak relevance. Ace is probably right that the inspiration was Betty White (who, incidentally, is an Obama supporter, and who could have singlehandedly made this clip mega-viral by appearing in it), but the “cursing granny” shock gag is ageless. My first encounter with it was the cheesy yet underrated “Moving Violations,” which starred Bill Murray’s brother doing his best Bill Murray impression presumably because the producers couldn’t actually get Bill Murray. Same here with the fake Bettys, I assume. But that’s okay: Whether it’s Betty herself or a more generic elderly actress uttering the word “cockpunch,” the case for voting for Barack Obama is just as compelling.

I think it’s too late in the game for any ad to move the needle much, but I’d be curious to see the reaction of centrists in the 55+ crowd to this one.