Barack Obama's two consecutive days of offense seem to have already paid small dividends: the McCain campaign feels compelled to defend their candidate's "maverick" persona.
While McCain's sucker-punch attack ads were the toast of the political commentariat last week, there was also much discussion of whether the Rove-style messaging would dilute the Arizona Republican's brand of incorruptibility and maverick honor.
That debate appears to be over, at least in McCain-land: the Senator seems to think his positive image could do with a bit of recapitulation.
Thus this ad, "Broken," which opens with the line: "Washington's broken. John McCain knows it. We're worse off than we were four years ago." It's notable for a word that doesn't appear anywhere: Obama.
In a press release tied to the ad, the McCain campaign provided numerous citations -- including a testimonial from consumer advocate Joan Claybrook, president of the Ralph Nader-founded Public Citizen organization. Still, the ad's claim that McCain is the "original maverick" seems a bit far-fetched, what with Republican Senate moderates like Mark Hatfield having already established a fine tradition before McCain ever entered the chamber.
Full script below:
ANNCR: Washington's broken. John McCain knows it. We're worse off than we were four years ago.
Only McCain has taken on big tobacco, drug companies, fought corruption in both parties. He'll reform Wall Street, battle Big Oil, make America prosper again.
He's the original maverick.
One is ready to lead -- McCain.
JOHN MCCAIN: I'm John McCain and I approved this message.
###
UPDATE: The Obama camp responds with a statement and a clip from a GOP debate in which McCain said the country was "better off" than it was "eight years ago" -- admittedly a different time frame than that in McCain's latest ad, but interesting nonetheless.
"Senator McCain wants Americans to forget that during the Republican primary, he said that Americans were better off than we were eight years ago, and that he thinks we've made 'great progress economically.' He wants us to forget that he's fully embraced the Bush policies he once opposed, and bragged about supporting those policies 'more than 90 percent of time.' The truth is, being a maverick isn't practicing the same kind of politics we have seen from Washington for decades, it isn't having a campaign run by Washington lobbyists, and it's certainly not promoting the same policies that have led America down the wrong path these past eight years," said Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton.
Here's the video of McCain saying America has been better off under President George W. Bush: