McCain disavows independent ad campaign

John McCain today strongly disavowed a TV ad blitz in South Carolina, which is being financed independent of his campaign and is raising eyebrows because of his past opposition to such efforts.

The new Foundation for a Secure and Prosperous America was set up by McCain supporters, including adman Rick Reed, who so far have ignored calls from the Arizona senator for them to cease and desist. The ads, ostensibly about a bill in Congress to improve veterans' health care, shows McCain in flattering ways.

"I have long opposed the use of soft money by independent groups trying to influence elections," McCain, long one of the most prominent crusaders for campaign finance reform, said in a statement issued by his campaign. "It is a position I hold without reservation. Anyone who believes they could assist my campaign by exploiting a loophole in campaign finance laws is doing me and our country a disservice. I ask all of my donors and supporters, including Mr. Reed, to cease and desist immediately from supporting any independent expenditures that might be construed as benefiting my campaign indirectly. If you respect me or my principles, I urge you to refrain from using my name and image in any ads or other activities."

"I will not win this election, nor would I want to win it, by acquiescing in anyone's attempt to put my campaign before my principles," McCain continued. "I will run on my principles, my record, and my vision for our country, and I will trust the voters to make the right decision. I will never betray my trust to them or my own conscience for the sake of expediency, and I want all who support me to honor that commitment."

Republican rival Mitt Romney criticized McCain today, saying the foundation represented "an entire end-run on any effort to control campaign spending and offer transparency," the Associated Press reported.

"It is the height of irony that the author of McCain-Feingold now has his supporters raising, apparently, vast sums of money, well above the contribution limits that normal citizens see, to support his campaign," Romney said, referring to McCain's co-author of campaign finance reform, US Senator Russ Feingold, a Democrat from Wisconsin.