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CBS News' Ward Sloane passes along word of an anti-Obama blast fax that just arrived into the DC newsroom. Here's what it said:

"Now isn't this something to think about! If Barack Obama would apply for a job with the FBI or with the Secret Service, he would be disqualified because of his past association with William Ayers, a known terrorist. If he is elected President he would not qualify to be his own body guard!"

There was no identification or trace on the fax.

As it turns out, the Web site PolitiFact recently looked into this allegation after receiving a chain email that made the same claim. The FBI and Secret Service did not comment on whether the claim was accurate, but the site spoke to outside experts to ascertain its truthfulness.

And their conclusion was that it is not true. Obama, the experts said, would not have to disclose his (relatively tenuous) connection to Ayers, since he was not a member of the former Weatherman's organization and did not engage in terrorist activities.

But the relationship could still come up in a background investigation...

Read full post…

The McCain campaign today unveiled a new 1-minute television ad, "Love." The spot casts presumptive GOP nominee John McCain as a man who served his country abroad while many of his peers were enmeshed in the upheaval of the 1960s at home.

It also paints McCain as a "maverick" not beholden to his party and takes a veiled shot at rival Barack Obama for his rhetoric about "hope."

The spot opens with shots of hippies enjoying what a deep-voiced announcer casts as the Summer Of Love.

"It was a time of uncertainty, hope and change," the announcer intones, as shots of young people – including a young couple kissing – grace the screen.

Then the background music grows stark, and an airplane is seen.

"Half a world away, another kind of love -- of country," the announcer says. "John McCain: Shot down. Bayoneted. Tortured."

The juxtaposition is reminiscent of McCain's criticism in the primary of Hillary Clinton for supporting a $1 million earmark for a museum to celebrate the Woodstock music festival: McCain quipped at the time, “Now my friends, I wasn’t there. I’m sure it was a cultural and pharmaceutical event. I was tied up at the time."

The ad continues with images of the young McCain as a prisoner of war.

"Offered early release, he said, 'No,'" intones the announcer. "He'd sworn an oath."

Then the spot switches gears to focus on McCain's political career.

"Home, he turned to public service," the announcer says. "His philosophy: before party, polls and self ... America. A maverick, John McCain tackled campaign reform, military reform, spending reform. He took on presidents, partisans and popular opinion. He believes our world is dangerous, our economy in shambles."

It closes by suggesting that Obama's uplifting rhetoric won't solve the country's problems: "John McCain doesn't always tell us what we 'hope' to hear. Beautiful words cannot make our lives better. But a man who has always put his country and her people before self, before politics can."

Watch it:

Barack Obama trails Hillary Clinton in most polls in Pennsylvania, but the Service Employees International Union is doing its best to close the gap.

The SEIU, which has endorsed Obama, is spending nearly $740,000 in the state "on staff and literature for a massive canvass of Pennsylvania," reports Politico's Ben Smith. (Per Smith, here are some details.)

Obama's fundraising advantage has allowed the Illinois senator to significantly outspend Clinton in Pennsylvania and elsewhere. On NBC's "Meet The Press" Sunday, Clinton supporter and Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell suggested that the former first lady is being significantly outspent in his state – but will still win.

"Anytime you're outspent 3-to-1, you can't be overconfident," Rendell said, echoing an analyist's finding last week that Clinton had been outspent by that margin on television ads in Pennsylvania.

"I'm saying that we will win this state, but we'll win it somewhere between ... 5 and 10 percentage points," Rendell added.

As expected, Barack Obama has secured endorsements from the 60,000-member Culinary Workers Union in Nevada and the Nevada chapter of the Service Employees International Union, the Associated Press reports.

With Obama having won the Iowa caucuses and Hillary Clinton taking the New Hampshire primary, Nevada's caucuses take on an added importance. The Nevada SEIU claims to have 17,500 members, and the support of both unions could be a boost to Obama in the Jan. 19th caucuses.

"The culinary union, representing hotel, restaurant and laundry workers in Nevada's casino industry, is the largest and best organized labor group in the state," AP writes. "It has the ability to steer thousands of voters to the state's Jan. 19 caucus and turn an already competitive three-way scramble for supporters into an all-out ground-level frenzy."

In a statement, SEIU Executive Director Jane McAlevey said this:

"Nevada is a caucus state, and as Obama showed in Iowa, organization of every precinct is key to winning. SEIU Nevada members from Reno to Elko to Las Vegas are ready to make a difference in this state for our candidate."

The endorsement means that SEIU unions in other states are permitted to work with their Nevada counterpart on Obama's behalf in the state.

*This post has been updated with news of the Culinary Workers Union endorsement.