pan...I do agreee with part of your title...."desperate" but in a very calculated way.
I think it is a desperate (and calculated) attempt by the McCain camp to move the discussion as far away from the issues as possible.
"This election is not about issues," said Rick Davis. "This election is about a composite view of what people take away from these candidates."
It is at the base of the Rick Davis (campaign manager)/Steve Scmidt (Rove protegee and senior adviser to campaign) campaign strategy for McCain.
Your OP feeds right into that strategy...good work!
added: I deleted the "unofficial" ad I had posted above since that would be playing into that strategy as well. I left the offical McCain ad up there because, IMO, that is one for which McCain should be held accountable.