McCain stresses bipartisan appeal

After criticism for being too partisan in his response to the Wall Street turmoil, John McCain took a more bipartisan tack today in his stump speech in Missouri and in a new TV ad.

McCain did not criticize Democratic rival Barack Obama by name, but instead repeatedly cited Democratic president Harry S Truman as he spoke in Truman's hometown of Independence, Mo.

"Again and again, I’ve worked with members of both parties to fix problems that need to be fixed," McCain said. "That's how I will govern as president. I will reach out my hand to anyone to help me get this country moving again. I have that record and the scars to prove it."

In the 30-second TV spot, which his campaign said this afternoon will air nationally, McCain speaks directly into the camera about unity and very generically about his economic goals.

"What a week," McCain says. "Democrats blamed Republicans, Republicans blamed Democrats.

"We’re the United States of America," he says, almost channeling Obama. "It shouldn’t take a crisis to pull us together.

"We need a President who can avert crisis," McCain adds. "Put people back to work. Grow our economy. And move people from surviving to thriving. We need leadership without painful new taxes. That will make our country strong again."

Obama spokesman Hari Sevugan expressed skepticism about the new turn. “In the latest sign of his increasingly erratic campaign, John McCain is actually running an ad attacking behavior that he himself exhibited in blaming this financial crisis on Barack Obama. What a week indeed,” he said in a statement..

And that unifying figure was absent when McCain had a combative interview on Tuesday with the editorial board of the Des Moines Register in Iowa.

At some points during the hour-long session, he replied tersely. At others, he turned to sarcasm.

For instance, he was asked why he picked Sarah Palin as his running mate when she "doesn't have a lot of experience."

"Thank you, but I disagree with your fundamental principle that she doesn't have the experience," McCain replied.

When a questioner suggested that Palin's lack of experience worried voters, McCain said, "Really? I haven't detected that in the polls, I haven't detected that among the base. If there's a Georgetown cocktail party person who, quote, calls himself a conservative who doesn't like her, good luck. I don't dismiss him. I think the American people have overwhelmingly shown their approval."