More hits on McCain from MoveOn.org

The antiwar group aggressively backing Barack Obama, MoveOn.org, has two new TV ads attacking John McCain -- one light and humorous, the other dark and foreboding.

The first shows McCain and President Bush attempting to dance, then singers, in a takeoff on the opening theme to the "Patty Duke Show" from the 1960s, say the two Republicans laugh alike, walk alike, and talk alike. The spot tries to drive home the Democrats' argument that a McCain presidency would be the equivalent of a third Bush term.

"You can lose your mind,'' the singers end the spot, "when cousins are two of a kind.

The second goes after Charlie Black, a top adviser to McCain, and his ties in his lobbying career to dictators in Angola, the Philippines, and Zaire.

The ad calls on McCain to fire Black -- and tries to highlight the number of lobbyists in the upper reaches of McCain's campaign. Several have resigned, and McCain instituted a tougher conflict-of-interest policy.

UPDATE: For his part, McCain began airing in the swing states of Michigan and Pennsylvania his ad promising to make taxes simpler and fairer, energy cleaner and cheaper, healthcare affordable, and corporate CEOs accountable.

“The contrast in this election couldn’t be demonstrated more clearly than today’s dueling ads by John McCain and Barack Obama’s chief supporter, MoveOn.org," Republican National Committee spokeswoman Blair Latoff said in a statement. "MoveOn.org issues an angry retrospective that undermines the importance of this election, while John McCain outlines his vision for the future of the country. It appears that Barack Obama and his supporters don’t want this election to be about who has the experience and judgment necessary to lead the country into the future.”