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Democratic Vice Presidential nominee Joe Biden told CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric today that he is "sick and tired" of the "phoniness" in criticism of his comment that it is patriotic for Americans with high incomes to pay higher taxes.

"There's been quite a brouhaha about your comment about paying higher taxes for those making $250,000 a year and over is the patriotic thing to do," Couric said to Biden while riding on his campaign bus.

As Couric noted, GOP vice presidential nominee Gov. Sarah Palin said in response to Biden's comment, "To the rest of America, that's not patriotism. Raising taxes is about killing jobs and hurting small businesses. And making things worse."

"How many small businessmen are making $1,400,000 a year average in the top 1 percent?" Biden responded. "Give me a break. I remind my friend John McCain what he said when Bush called for war and tax cuts he said, 'it is immoral, immoral to take a nation to war and not have anybody pay for it.'"

"I am so sick and tired of this phoniness," Biden continued. "The truth of the matter is that we are in trouble, and the people who do not need a new tax cut should be willing as patriotic Americans to understand the way to get this economy back up on their feet is to give middle class taxpayers a break. We take the tax cut they're getting and we give it to the middle class."

We’ve heard a lot about so-called “swift boating” in this campaign as it pertains to rumors and innuendo floating around about Barack Obama. Much attention has been paid to those e-mails falsely claiming that the presumptive Democratic nominee is a Muslim who refuses to wear a flag pin on his lapel, among other things.

In the latest attempt by the campaign to get out in front of these rumors, Obama yesterday spoke about his patriotism and will spend the run-up to July 4th discussing American values. The impetus for this apple pie approach seems rooted in the last presidential campaign. Not a few Democrats believe John Kerry’s campaign was sunk after he failed to aggressively counter allegations made about his military service by the shadowy Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.

Obama has insisted throughout the year that he would not make the same mistake. “I will never question the patriotism of others in this campaign,” he said in yesterday’s speech. “And I will not stand idly by when I hear others question mine.”

On the other side of the equation, John McCain and his supporters reacted quickly and angrily to comments made by retired Gen. Wesley Clark on “Face the Nation” this weekend about the candidate’s famed military experience. “I don’t think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president,” Clark said Sunday. McCain’s campaign spent a good deal of time yesterday condemning that comment and suggesting that Clark’s words were part of a strategy on the part of Obama’s supporters to denigrate one of McCain’s great strengths.

The dangers for both candidates are apparent, but also very different. Despite the phenomenal rise of a politician who was unknown just a couple of years ago, Obama remains a blank slate of sorts. The whispering campaigns are a tremendous threat to a candidate trying to convince many voters that his theme of change is not a threatening one and the issue of patriotism is the prism through which that conversation is taking place.

McCain finds himself in a position similar to Kerry’s in 2004. Four years ago it was a highly decorated Vietnam veteran-turned anti-war activist who found himself being questioned about various aspects of his service record. More importantly, the Kerry campaign made his service a defining part of the campaign. When those allegations went largely unanswered, it undercut what should have been a major strength. McCain too has sought to highlight his service, and his years spent being tortured as a POW as a primary focus of his campaign.

In a contest increasingly dominated by concerns about basic pocketbook issues like housing, energy prices and jobs, conversations about the Pledge of Allegiance and the Vietnam War might seem out of place. But the “swift boat” episode has taught campaigns that they can’t be too aggressive in answering even the most specious charges.

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Jonathan Martin at The Politico reports that a John McCain campaign aide was suspended today for sending out a racially-tinged Web video that calls into question Barack Obama's patriotism.

Soren Dayton, who works on McCain's political operation, distributed the YouTube link to the video on Twitter, but the link has since been taken down, Martin reports.

The video in question highlights some of the controversial statements made by Obama's pastor Jeremiah Wright, including his now infamous "God damn America" diatribe.

It also questions Obama's patriotism using a clip of the Illinois senator listening to the national anthem without placing a hand on his heart and a separate shot of him saying, "I won't wear that pin on my chest." (In an October Interview, Obama said he stopped wearing the American flag pin because it had become a substitute for "true patriotism").

But the controversial video doesn't stop there. It included racial overtones, using an archived shot of Malcolm X and showing a "60 Minutes" clip of Michelle Obama saying, "For the first time in my adult lifetime, I'm really proud of my country." Parts of the video were also set to the song "Fight The Power" by Public Enemy, an iconic hip-hop group known for its left-wing political activism and racially-charged lyrics.

McCain's communications director Jill Hazelbaker released the following statement:

"We have been very clear on the type of campaign we intend to run and this staffer acted in violation of our policy. He has been reprimanded by campaign leadership and suspended from the campaign."

The McCain campaign told CBS News that Dayton is a low-level employee who does not work on the communications side of the campaign.

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