McCain Claims Reagan Legacy

The CBS News Political Unit is tracking the campaign commercials of the presidential hopefuls. Jane Ruvelson analyzes the latest effort of Republican John McCain.

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The Ad: The McCain campaign has launched its newest television commercial, Reagan Conservative. The 30-second spot is running in California, the District of Columbia, New York, Ohio and Washington state.

Audio: McCain: "You can't turn on your TV without seeing an ad from the establishment trying to fool you about me. Here's some straight talk. I'm a proud Reagan Republican. I'll tear up the 44,000-page tax code that benefits special interests, stop the outrageous waste and pork-barrel spending that steals your money, use the surplus to secure Social Security, cut middle class taxes and pay down the debt. Give me your vote and we'll give you back your government."

Visual: McCain speaks directly to the camera, while the salient points of the audio appear on the screen: "Proud Reagan Republican," "Tear Up Tax Code," "Stop Waste and Pork-Barrel Spending," "Secure Social Security," "Cut Taxes," and "Pay Down Debt."

Fact Check: No inaccuracies.

The Strategy: Reagan Conservative is an undisguised attempt by McCain to link himself with the man who is both Republican hero, and impetus for the record Democrat crossover voting of 1980 and 1984. Though McCain shares the former president's ability to draw independents and Democrats, there has been considerable debate about just how "Reaganesque" his proposed agenda may be.

A day after the release of McCain's ad, Bush launched his own Reagan commercial, naming himself "the candidate with a tax cut called 'Reaganesque.'" The Bush campaign has blasted McCain for putting forth a "tax cut smaller than Clinton's" and declared any McCain-Reagan comparison "laughable." Meanwhile, McCain has stuck to his guns, arguing that his priorities of debt reduction and Social Security protection make him "the real fiscal conservative in this campaign."