McCain plays on maverick theme

The latest TV ad from John McCain plays up his maverick reformer persona -- and tries to capitalize on the popularity of his new running mate, Sarah Palin.

The spot, titled "Original Mavericks," says that a McCain-Palin administration would take on both Republicans and Democrats to clean up the nation's capital.

"He fights pork barrel spending. She stopped the Bridge to Nowhere. He took on the drug industry. She took on Big Oil,” the announcer says. “He battled Republicans and reformed Washington. She battled Republicans and reformed Alaska. They’ll make history. They’ll change Washington.”

The ad glosses over that Palin supported the infamous bridge to a lightly populated island while she ran for governor in 2006, though she opposed it once in office.

But the spot, which is to air in battleground states, is part of a battle with Democrat Barack Obama over who would bring real change to Washington -- which every poll says that voters want.

UPDATE: The Obama campaign issued this response to the ad: “Despite being discredited over and over again by numerous news organizations, the McCain campaign continues to repeat the lie that Sarah Palin stopped the Bridge to Nowhere.  John McCain has voted with George Bush 90% of the time and he and Sarah Palin will continue Bush's economic policies, his health care policy, his education policy, his energy policy, and his foreign policy.  McCain and Palin will say or do anything to make people believe that they will change something besides the person sitting in the Oval Office.  That's the kind of politics people are tired of, and it's anything but change,” said Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton.