The Rickroll Gets Political

The internet meme known as Rickrolling has finally come of age -- and spawned a sequel. At more than 6 months old -- an eternity in internet years -- it's proven more durable than most memes. Even Rick Astley himself is sick of it (according to a spokeperson, Rick's "done talking about Rickrolling") and a recent Firefox update includes a "Rickroll protection filter." The "Never Gonna Give You Up" video on YouTube has garnered more than 10 million views. For all intents and purposes, it seemed like the Rickroll had done its time, and the world had moved on -- Spaghetti Cat and the LOLrus had taken its place. It was time for the Rickroll to go quietly into that good night.

That was before the Barackroll hit the scene. And it must be seen to be believed.

In the tradition of the Rickroll, the Barackroll cannot live in a vacuum. Half the fun of the Rickroll was watching it be unleashed on people IRL -- people at basketball games, anchors on news broadcasts, even on unsuspecting Scientologists during protests. So it was only a matter of time before someone got Barackrolled in public -- and who could be a more natural target than his arch-rival, John McCain? Watch and be amazed!

(That's what you get for giving a speech in front of a bluescreen!)