1. McCain is presented as moderate, not beholden to his party’s conservative wing, putting distance between McCain and Bush without having to say as much. Indeed, it is remarkable and speaks to a vast cultural swing in the last two years, that an ad paid for by the RNC praises McCain for “pushing” the party to recognize the reality of global warming. McCain is depicted as a realist, as opposed to Obama , who is attacked as reflexively liberal and beholden to the “environmental lobby.” The ad accuses him of voting party-line 97 percent of the time.
2. McCain is praised as a pragmatist who offers concrete solutions that are in tune with science, whereas Obama is described as an ideologue too busy vetoing sensible solutions for the sake of ideological/environmental commitments (”no to nuclear power” and to the gas tax) to propose his own plans.

The ad makes clear that the GOP sees energy as a winning issue for McCain. Hillary Clinton failed to win significant numbers in hitting Obama with the gas tax holiday in April, but the GOP clearly thinks McCain can be portrayed as proactive and flexible on the issue. It is also an issue with which to distance McCain from Bush, presenting the presumptive nominee as a moderate without angering the conservative base. In the wake of the Bush years, simply making clear recognition of global warming as a starting-point position seems forward thinking, the approach of a problem solver.

A second ad was also released Sunday by an independent pro-Iraq war group, Vets for Freedom. It features veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan or family members who insist the surge is working and that it is important to "finish the job."