In one campaign spot he accidentally pledges to wage a “dispirited” debate during this campaign and announces that he is a “conservative liberal Republican.”

UPDATE: It’s Rush’s fault(!); from his show:

RUSH: This is McCain in Richardson, Texas, yesterday, at a town hall meeting. MCCAIN: I’m a proud conservative liberal Republican — conservative Republican — hello, easy there. Let me say this. I am a proud conservative Republican, and both of my possible or likely opponents today are liberal Democrats. RUSH: Okay, a faux pas or what? (laughing) Wait. You haven’t heard what’s funny yet. If you’re laughing at this, you haven’t heard what’s funny yet. This morning on Scarborough’s show, PMSNBC, Willie Geist says this about what you just heard. GEIST: You heard Rush Limbaugh barking in his head, slipped up a little bit. Perhaps Freudian, perhaps not. RUSH: It was my fault, because I have been barking in McCain’s head. It was my fault. See, everything McCain does is caused by that damn Limbaugh.