McCain Speaks Out Against Anti-Obama Ad
From CBS News' Andante Higgins:
John McCain says the North Carolina Republican Party's anti-Barack Obama ad is not the message of the GOP or his campaign. "I have pledged to conduct a respectful campaign and I've urged time after time various entities within the Republican Party to also do that," McCain said. "I sent them an e-mail again today asking them to pull down that ad. As is the obvious I can't dictate to them but I want to be the candidate of everybody."
The television commercial shows images and controversial comments from Obama's former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright. The narrator says, "He's just too extreme for North Carolina."
Obama said he expects the ad to be taken down, although some versions of it have already appeared online. "My understanding is that the RNC [Republican National Committee] and John McCain have both said that the ad is inappropriate," said Obama. "I take them at their word and I assume that if John McCain thinks that it's an inappropriate ad that he can get them to pull it down since he's their nominee and standard bearer."
McCain's plea doesn't appear to have had much of an effect. The North Carolina GOP announced today that they've made a statewide television buy to run the 30-second ad during 6pm newscasts starting Monday.