So it turns out the McCain Girls are manufactured, a total hoax. Which is not too hard to believe, and probably good for the girls themselves, because anyone who makes up a YouTube song in support of John McCain needs serious help.

The McCain Girls are the product of the website 23/6, which wanted to make fun of the campaign-song phenomenon popularized in 2007 and 2008.

They hired three girls to sing a pro-John McCain spoof, “It’s Raining McCain,” then followed it up with an encore, “Here Comes the McCain Again.”

The McCain Girls: Not really John McCain fans. Phew.

The president of 23/6, Sarah Bernard, confessed to the joke, telling the New York Times that “We were pretty amazed that after the video came out, people were confused as to whether or not it was real. That’s when I think we said ‘Hey, can we actually pull off a hoax here? How long can we keep it going?’”

The candidate himself had lauded the McCain Girls, a trio of singing and dancing campaign supporters, are wonderful and entertaining. Given his flair for irony, whether he actually got the joke remains entirely up for debate.

On a related note, one wonders just how long the Republican nominee for president can keep up the similar fraud of his supposed patriotism.