A reader suggests the latest McCain ad is a sign that they’re getting ready to run against Obama, and that despite the fact that the candidate wouldn’t touch the controversies over Jeremiah Wright and Michelle Obama’s “proud of my country for the first time in my adult life” comments with a ten foot pole, the campaign will not be afraid to draw that implicit contrast:

Script For “624787″ (:60-TV)
JOHN MCCAIN: Keep that faith. Keep your courage. Stick together. Stay strong. Do not yield. Stand up. We’re Americans. And we’ll never surrender.
ANNCR: What must a president believe about us? About America?
That she is worth protecting?
That liberty is priceless?
Our people, honorable?
Our future, prosperous, remarkable and free?
And, what must we believe about that president?
What does he think?
Where has he been?
Has he walked the walk?
INTERVIEWER: What is your rank?
JOHN MCCAIN: Lt. Commander in the Navy.
INTERVIEWER: And your official number?
JOHN MCCAIN: 624787
ANNCR: John McCain. The American president Americans have been waiting for.
JOHN MCCAIN: I’m John McCain and I approve this message.
###

That last line is a little clunky. But I note this reaction from Ezra Klein: “This is, presumably, in contrast to Barack Obama, ‘the Kenyan Muslim President Whom Al-Qaeda Has been Waiting For.’”

Hey, pal, you’re the one whose mind went there and felt compelled to write it, not us.

This ad works, for this moment. It is aimed to reinforce the biography tour, and continues the effort at introducing McCain to those Americans who paid no attention to politics for the past year. In time, the campaign will require more issue-specific ads, but for now, this series of questions reinforces McCain’s strengths and probably implicitly raises doubts about Obama. What does Obama think about America? Does he think this nation’s people are honorable?

I mean, if we had never seen video of Jeremiah Wright screaming, “God d*** America,” would we see the same questions raised in this ad?