NEW YORK—

Two ads were released today featuring Senator John McCain, but the candidate approved only one. The ad, “Leading” will air in Iowa and aims to play on the still-ongoing battle for the Democratic nomination:

“While Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama argue and fight with each other, John McCain leads.”

The commercial says that the presumptive Republican nominee will “fight against wasteful government spending,” advocates a gas tax holiday, and explains how he wants his health care plan to provide tax credits.

Click here to watch the ad:

The other ad is sponsored by MoveOn.org and is a scathing attack on McCain’s senior advisor, Charlie Black. Black has come under fire during the campaign for his lobbyist history, but today McCain was adamant that Black and campaign manager Rick Davis are no longer practicing lobbyists.

This week the McCain campaign instituted a new vetting procedure to find out if any employees have lobbyist histories, particularly if they have lobbied for any foreign governments. In recent days, three McCain advisors have left the campaign because of embarrassing revelations of work outside the campaign. Newsweek revealed that two aides had lobbied for the military junta in Myanmar in 2002 and just yesterday another staffer left because he was also working for a 527 group opposing the Democratic candidates.

The ad reveals Black’s lobbyist history and calls for him to resign. The commercial says Black “made millions lobbying for the world’s worst tyrants” and names some of them including Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines, Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire, and Jonas Savimbi of Angola—over very graphic images.  The ad was sent to Move On members and concludes with asking members to, “Call John McCain and tell him to fire Charlie Black,” and includes the phone number for McCain headquarters.

Click here to watch the ad:

Louisville, KY–

Joining his former rival today, Governor Mitt Romney also addressed the crowd of thousands at the NRA annual convention. Even though he did not share the stage with Senator John McCain he praised him and went after McCain’s democratic rival, Senator Barack Obama, “This is a person who has not stood with us on second amendment issues. He is a man who I’m afraid of who he would put in place a court. It would not be a court that would stand up for the issues that are so dear to us.”

He told the NRA members that McCain might not be perfect, but he’s right on the issues that matter to them:

“Now I know everyone here doesn’t agree with John McCain on every issue. I didn’t. I ran against him! But, I believe that he is right on issue after issue that counts. He is right about fighting global jihad. He’s right about winning in Iraq. He’s right about keeping government small and taxes low and he’s right about the constitutional rights that were put in our constitution by your founding fathers. Barack Obama is one of those liberals who thinks he know what the founders would have written if they were alive today,” Romney said, “And I prefer a president like John McCain who believes in the plain words they actually wrote. “

It would be hard to imagine that praise just over three months ago when they were in a bitter battle for the GOP nomination. For Romney’s address today he revived most of his stump speech that he gave on the trail—sticking with many of the same issues and stories that he told crowds during his campaign.

During his failed battle for the nomination, Romney tried to woo gun owners by saying he was a lifelong NRA member—instead it turned out that he had just had wielded a gun at some “small varmints.”

Louisville, KY–

Senator John McCain went to the National Rifle Association’s annual convention today to court gun owners—and go after his Democratic rival Senator Barack Obama.

McCain made an addition to his prepared remarks to respond to comments Obama made about the Arizona senator today:

“Earlier today, Senator Obama made a few remarks I would like to respond to. I welcome a debate about protecting America. No issue is more important. Senator Obama claimed all I had to offer was the ‘naive and irresponsible belief’ that tough talk would cause Iran to give up its nuclear program. He should know better,” McCain said, “I have some news for Senator Obama: Talking, not even with soaring rhetoric, in unconditional meetings with the man who calls Israel a ‘stinking corpse’ and arms terrorist who kill Americans will not convince Iran to give up its nuclear program. It is reckless to suggest that unconditional meetings will advance our interests.”

Obama’s attack earlier today compared McCain to President Bush and pointed to Bush’s “failed” policies abroad and went after McCain for supporting them. This back and forth all started yesterday when Bush spoke in front of the Israeli parliament and said that politicians that sit down to negotiate with terrorists are suffering from a “foolish delusion.”

Bush denied he was talked about Obama, but it started off a political firestorm which McCain addressed later yesterday. He went after Obama for saying he would sit down and talk with Iranian president Mahmoud Ahjmadinejad, which lead to the continued boiling over today where the Republican nominee-in-waiting went on to question Obama’s judgment:

“It would be a wonderful thing if we lived in a world where we don’t have enemies,” McCain said, “But that is not the world we live in, and until Senator Obama understands that reality, the American people have every reason to doubt whether he has the strength, judgment, and determination to keep us safe.”

McCain didn’t spare Senator Clinton either painting them both as wanting to limit the rights of gun owners, “Let’s be clear. If either Senator Clinton or Senator Obama is elected President, the rights of law-abiding gun owners will be at risk my friends and have no doubt about it. “

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Washington–

Political uproar boiled over when President Bush said that politicians who want to sit down and talk with terrorists to try and achieve peace are suffering from a “foolish delusion.” He said the comments while speaking to the Israeli Knesset on the 60th anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel.

Senator Barack Obama reacted calling it a “false political attack” against him, but Bush denied his statements were about the Democratic frontrunner.

On Senator John McCain’s Straight Talk Express, McCain told reporters that he believed Bush when he said he was not talking about Obama. But, used the question to rail into his Democratic rival questioning his foreign policy judgment:

“I think Barack Obama needs to explain why he wants to sit down and talk with a man who is the head of a government that is a state sponsor of terror that is responsible for the killing of brave young Americans and wants to wipe Israel off the map and denies the Holocaust,” McCain said, “That is what I think Senator Obama ought to explain to the American people.”

McCain said he believes in “peace through strength” and sitting down with the Iranian president only gives prestige to the regime. 

 The Republican nominee-in-waiting accused Obama of inexperience:

“It is a serious error on the part of Senator Obama that shows naivety and inexperience and lack of judgment to say that he wants to sit down across the table from an individual who leads a country that says that Israel is a stinking corpse, that is dedicated to the extinction of the state of Israel,” McCain said. “My question is what does he want to talk about?

Columbus, OH—
In a speech outlining what the country and world will look like during and after his presidency, Senator John McCain said he believes that the war in Iraq will be won and troops will be home by 2013:

“By January 2013, America has welcomed home most of the servicemen and women who have sacrificed terribly so that America might be secure in her freedom. The Iraq War has been won.”

This is the first time the presumptive Republican nominee has said that he hopes the war will end by the completion of his first term. He denied that he was setting a timetable for withdrawal.

“It is not a timetable. It is victory. It is victory, which I have always predicted. I didn’t know when we were going to win World War II, but I knew we were going win,” he told reporters aboard the Straight Talk Express. “Every conflict we have been in history I don’t know exactly when we were going to win, but we won and this one we are going to win and that will allow us then to bring our troops home with victory and honor.”

Days before the Florida primary on January 29, McCain accused Governor Mitt Romney of setting timetables for troop withdrawal. At the time, Romney believed it may have led to his loss in Florida.

In his speech, McCain went on to describe what Iraq will be like at the end of his term, “Iraq is a functioning democracy, although still suffering from the lingering effects of decades of tyranny and centuries of sectarian tension. Violence still occurs, but it is spasmodic and much reduced,” McCain said, “The United States maintains a military presence there, but a much smaller one, and it does not play a direct combat role.”

McCain also sees a future with no major terrorist attacks in America and sets the lofty goal of the capture or death of Osama Bin Laden.

His forecast: He sees the country experiencing “robust economic growth; “world food crisis has ended”; the country would be “well on the way to independence from foreign sources of oil”; the “southern border is secure.” He said he looks forward to the day when Congress sends him bills containing no earmarks–at all.

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BATH, SD — Hillary Clinton focused on agriculture at a farm in one of the final two primary states, blasting John McCain for supporting the president’s Farm Bill veto threat.

But she didn’t have much to say about the man she’s battling for the right to run against McCain in November - or the criticism President Bush seemed to be leveling at her Democratic primary opponent.

In Israel, Bush ridiculed those who would negotate with “terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along.” Calling the idea a “foolish delusion,” Bush compared such talk to the appeasement of the Nazis in 1939.

While the White House denies that the comments were aimed at Sen Obama, they’ve been widely interpreted as attacking his stated philosophy of meeting with foreign enemies of the United States, such as Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez and Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Democrats from Howard Dean to Joseph Biden have lashed out at Bush’s critique.

A Clinton spokesperson said it was unlikely that the New York Senator would do the same at this event, but promised a statement that would come down hard the president. The promised statement has yet to be released. In fact, Sen Clinton herself has criticized Obama for the same position — calling a promise of presidential meetings with dictators and despots without preconditions the height of naivite.

On the farm, Clinton tore into McCain for siding with Bush on vetoing the Farm Bill, saying “they’re like two sides of the same coin, and it doesn’t amount to much change.” And while she leveled some gentle criticism at Obama on health care and his “persuade Washington to come together” approach to ending special interest influence in government, she left his name out when criticisng opponents of her gas tax holiday, instead getting a bit defensive over opposition to the idea. “If you don’t have an answer to the problem, then keep your peace,” she said. “Otherwise, come up with your own answer.”

In general, the attacks on McCain are growing in frequency, while the attacks on Obama are delivered with less and less intensity. With even a 41 point win in West Virginia failing to change the game - and the Edwards endorsement of Obama stealing much of her thunder - even the Clinton campaign seems to have transitioned to a general election mode — but one in which her primary opponent is the Democratic nominee.

Obetz, OH–

After the Republicans suffered another stunning loss in a traditional GOP stronghold—this time in Mississippi, Senator John McCain admits he is worried that the rejection of Republican candidates will spill into the general election. He maintained that he is confident that his vision will bring him victory in November:

“We have to re-energize our base. We have to commit to being careful stewards of their tax dollars. We need to be committed to our environment and to make sure that we take the necessary steps to protect our nation and the globe. But, most of all as I said earlier stop the out of control spending. We committed again to be careful stewards of American people’s tax dollars and do it right and we’ve got a lot of work to do and I have a lot of work to do,” McCain told reporters, “But I have no delusions that this campaign will be a very difficult challenge.”

Republican candidate Greg Davis’ loss in Mississippi to Democrat Travis Childers in a special election yesterday sent shock waves throughout the GOP.

At the impromptu press conference, McCain also had to answer about his campaign’s connections with staffers that also happen to be lobbyists and their work with foreign governments. Last weekend two advisors left because of past work they did with the government of Myanmar and today the Wall Street Journal reported that campaign manager, Rick Davis’ lobbying firm hired a public-relations company to help improve the image of a Ukrainian political party. Former Russian president Vladimir Putin endorses the party—someone McCain is not shy at railing against on the campaign trail. McCain did not comment directly on Davis, but stressed that any new hires will be closely examined:

“People will be more thoroughly vetted. And we will make sure that is the case. We found out that these two individuals had represented that country and so they left and we will vet everyone very seriously and make sure that it’s not a repetition.”

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North Bend, WA–

Senator John McCain continued his “green” tour of the Northwest today with a stop in North Bend, Washington. He was clear that he wants to be seen as a progressive when it comes to curbing climate change, “I will be a President of the United States for the environment. I have a long record of advocacy for our environment and I’m proud of that.”

The presumptive Republican nominee stressed many of the points in his speech on global warming yesterday, such as the importance of cap and trade, the reduction of greenhouse gases, and the link between stalling climate change and protecting America’s national security.

McCain made a clean break with President Bush on the issue of the environment. He was not shy in describing his conflicts with the administration on this issue:

“The President and I have disagreed on this issue for many years. It isn’t a recent disagreement. Beginning in 2002 or 2003 I held hearings as chairman of the commerce committee and I took great exception to the testimony by administration officials on this issue,” He told reporters, “So there’s a long-standing, significant, deep, and strong differences on this issue between myself and the administration. . .”

The Arizona senator said he would be a better protector for the environment than either of his Democratic rivals because his proposal is “doable” and he has been involved in the issue for many years, “They have never, to my knowledge, been involved in legislation, or hearings, nor engagement on this issue. I have a long history,” McCain said, “I traveled around the world and seen the impacts of climate change on the world. I’ve held hearings beginning back after the 2000 presidential campaign.”

The Obama campaign was quick to respond hitting McCain with his own words, “While Barack Obama has brought Republicans and Democrats together around plans to raise our fuel standards and invest in renewable energy, John McCain’s ‘long history’ involves opposing countless measures to invest in renewable fuels and alternative energy technology.”

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North Bend, WA—

Even though he came to the Pacific Northwest to talk about the environment, Senator John McCain had to deal with a controversial endorser making news. McCain supporter, John Hagee apologized to Catholics today for offensive comments he has made. He wrote a letter to Bill Donohue, the president of the Catholic League for Civil and Religious Rights saying, “I want to express my deep regret for any comments that Catholics have found hurtful.” Donohue has accepted Hagee’s apology.

McCain has heavily courted the religious right, but flatly rejected many of Hagee’s more controversial remarks. Even with those repudiations the presumptive Republican nominee faced heavy criticism for seeking out the evangelical leader’s endorsement.

McCain denied having anything to do with brokering today’s apology, but that he appreciates the reconciliation, “I believe the fact that these two individuals came together is a laudable thing and a testimony to both individuals and their principles, which are Judeo-Christian values.”

He added that he hasn’t “endorsed everything that he said,” referring to Hagee, but that he saw the apology as helpful, “Whenever somebody apologizes for something they think that they did wrong then I think that that’s a laudable thing to do.”

The Democratic National Committee reacted to Hagee’s apology saying that McCain should renounce his endorsement immediately and issued a scathing response, “Now that Reverend Hagee is apologizing for his anti-Catholic comments, does John McCain think that Hagee should also apologize for his other comments?  If so, will he have the courage to say so publicly? Unless John McCain’s idea of being a new kind of Republican includes cozying up to radicals who compare women to dogs, hold racially insensitive fundraisers and call one of the worst natural disasters in our country’s history God’s punishment, he should renounce John Hagee’s endorsement immediately. Given John McCain’s history of putting political calculations ahead of his principles, we’re not holding our breath.”

Portland, OR–

Aiming to portray himself as the “greenest” Republican candidate for president in decades, Senator John McCain spoke today on climate change. He made the case that global warming is fact and without the limiting of greenhouse gases using free-market principals it will not just be the environment that will find itself in peril:

“Our economy depends upon clean and affordable alternatives to fossil fuels, and so, in many ways, does our security. A large share of the world’s oil reserves is controlled by foreign powers that do not have our interests at heart. And as our reliance on oil passes away, their power will vanish with it.”

McCain stressed that only the free-market system can help slow climate change, namely using a cap-and trade system:

“And we must do this in a way that gives American businesses new incentives and new rewards to seek, instead of just giving them new taxes to pay and new orders to follow,” McCain said, “The most direct way to achieve this is through a system that sets clear limits on all greenhouse gases, while also allowing the sale of rights to excess emissions. And this is the proposal I will submit to the Congress if I am elected president — a cap-and-trade system to change the dynamic of our energy economy.”

Cap and trade gives companies emission targets or caps and if they produce less emissions then they can trade the surplus. McCain set goals for emissions to be reduced by 60 percent below 1990 levels by 2050, “We will cap emissions according to specific goals, measuring progress by reference to past carbon emissions. By the year 2012, we will seek a return to 2005 levels of emission, by 2020, a return to 1990 levels, and so on until we have achieved at least a reduction of sixty percent below 1990 levels by the year 2050.”

In contrast, McCain’s Democratic rival, Senator Barack Obama has pledged to cut emission rates by 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.

The presumptive Republican nominee gave a swipe at President Bush for not doing enough to maintain the negotiations that lead to the failure of the Kyoto Protocols:

“I will not shirk the mantle of leadership that the United States bears. I will not permit eight long years to pass without serious action on serious challenges,” McCain continued, “I will not accept the same dead-end of failed diplomacy that claimed Kyoto. The United States will lead and will lead with a different approach — an approach that speaks to the interests and obligations of every nation.”

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