McCain Ad Controversy?

Sen. John McCain is set to release his the first television ad of the general election campaign on Monday. The ad, titled "624787," will air statewide in New Mexico, neighbor to McCain's home state of Arizona and which President Bush carried by a small margin in 2004.

Now the Washington Post reports that the ad's last line is causing an online controversy. Some commentators find it to be an indirect shot at Sen. Barack Obama.

The script of the ad follows.

JOHN MCCAIN: Keep that faith. Keep your courage. Stick together. Stay strong. Do not yield. Stand up. We're Americans. And we'll never surrender.

ANNOUNCER: What must a president believe about us? About America? That she is worth protecting? That liberty is priceless? Our people, honorable? Our future, prosperous, remarkable and free? And, what must we believe about that president? What does he think? Where has he been? Has he walked the walk?

INTERVIEWER: What is your rank?

JOHN MCCAIN: Lt. Commander in the Navy.

INTERVIEWER: And your official number?

JOHN MCCAIN: 624787.

ANNCR: John McCain. The American president Americans have been waiting for.

JOHN MCCAIN: I'm John McCain and I approve this message.

The Post reports that the phrase "American president" is being interpreted by some as an oblique reference to the various controversies surrounding Obama: from his Kenyan ancestry; to the false allegations that he is Muslim; to the incendiary and anti-American remarks of his pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright. The whole line seems designed to counter Obama's, "We are the ones we've been waiting for." message. But does a candidate referring to himself as an "American" necessarily mean that his opponent isn't?

McCain's campaign has not commented, yet. But the campaign may welcome questions about the ad should they come. As the Democratic nomination battle drags on through the summer, the McCain campaign increasingly finds itself in a position where it has to generate free media coverage in order to breakthrough the media's focus on the Democrats. A controversy about an advertisement is tailor made for that effort. It would increase the ad's visibility, thereby highlighting McCain's military service record, as the ad intends. If the ad's last line wasn't a planned swipe at Sen. Obama, it could prove to be a very fortuitous coincidence for Sen. McCain.