McCain touts 'love' for America

Barack Obama, who, at 46, is barely a Baby Boomer, has often said that the country needs to move beyond its Vietnam-era cultural divides and come together for the future. But the past -- particularly the Vietnam War -- holds great currency for John McCain, who makes clear in his newest TV ad that he intends to mine those very divisions for political advantage.

The new minute-long spot, which is both biographical and hard-hitting, highlights McCain's military service, namely his five and a half years in captivity as a prisoner-of-war in North Vietnam. The message is one McCain has hit before: While many of America's youth were partying at Woodstock, he reminds us, he was being tortured on account of his service to America.

"His philosophy: Before party, polls, and self, America," the announcer says.

But the ad, which McCain's campaign says will run on national cable and in key states, is also a sharp attack on Obama's rhetoric. "Beautiful words cannot make our lives better," the announcer says. "But a man who has always put his country and her people before self, before politics can."

And then the kicker: "Don't hope for a better life. Vote for one. McCain."