Here’s the clip skipping right to the “meat” of it, when McCain mocks Obama for caring about the “health” of a pregnant woman:

Here’s the full clip:

Republicans and Independents who are less than thrilled with John McCain’s recent streak of nasty negativity can actually find common ground with the Democratic candidate that may surprise them. These are not rumors; they are factual statements that are supported. I encourage you to share them with your undecided and “on the fence” Republican friends and family.

1. Barack Obama supports gun ownership for self-defense and hunting. While he opposes the private ownership of semi-automatic weapons, he “is a strong supporter of the 2nd amendment and will not, as president, seek to interfere with an individuals’ right to own a gun for hunting and self-protection” (The Washington Post). Second amendment proponents may be dismayed that Obama supports banning assault weapons, but you must know that John McCain has ALSO indicated he would be open to banning assault weapons (OntheIssues.org).

2. 95% of Americans WILL receive a tax cut under Obama’s plan. To calculate your exact tax cut based on your income and filing status, visit here: http://taxcut.barackobama.com/. John McCain does not offer a tax cut for 95% of Americans, and instead supports sending Americans $5,000 to use toward purchasing their own, non-employer sponsored health care policies. For the average American family, a buy-in health care policy and medical co-pays and other medical costs can cost as much as or more than $5,000 a year, and many buy-in policies WILL NOT COVER pre-existing health problems, meaning anyone in your family with a chronic illness may not be able to have health insurance. Obama supports employer-sponsored health insurance, keeping your health care costs what they are today if you currently have employer-sponsored health insurance.

3. Bi-partisan economists overwhelmingly prefer Obama’s economic plan to McCain’s. As the Economist magazine found in a recent survey of academic economists:

Much of McCain’s plan, outlined today, emphasizes a capital gains tax cut, which is mostly irrelevant given that no one is making capital gains in the current economic climate.

4. McCain claims to want to reform the crooked and corrupt Washington political atmosphere, yet his running mate Sarah Palin violated Alaska state ethic laws and abused her power for personal gain in the firing of a state trooper. As the Dallas Morning News so eloquently put it yesterday:

“Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin claims the Troopergate investigation clears her of wrongdoing in the firing of her public safety commissioner, which it does not.

The state ethics panel investigation – a bipartisan effort started by a Legislature controlled by her own Republican party – found that though she was technically within her rights to fire the man, she violated state ethics law and abused her power in doing so.”

5. McCain’s stubbornness and temper are worrisome when it comes to delicate foreign diplomacy issues, as he has already refused to commit to meeting with a NATO ally, with one of the largest economies in Europe. The Washington Post’s PostGlobal reported:

“First [McCain] appeared not to know that Spain was in Europe, not Latin America, and to mix up Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero with the Zapatistas. Then foreign policy advisor Randy Scheunemann said McCain had indeed refused to commit to meeting with Zapatero. Spain is not only one of Europe’s largest economies, but it is a NATO ally with troops in Afghanistan. Perhaps McCain was tired. He certainly knows where Spain is: he is a U.S. Senator, after all, and he knocked out half the country’s electricity when his plane hit some power lines back in the 1960s.”

Just in from CNN’s Political Ticker:

John McCain is slated to raise questions about Barack Obama’s background and question the Illinois senator’s truthfulness at a rally in New Mexico later Monday, one day before the two White House hopefuls square off at the second presidential debate.

The comments, which come hours after Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin publicly questioned Obama’s patriotism while raising questions about his connections to onetime radical William Ayers, are among McCain’s harshest language to date on the campaigning trail and signal the campaign is ratcheting its attacks on the Illinois senator with less than 30 days remaining until Election Day.

“I don’t need lessons about telling the truth to American people,” McCain will say according to prepared text sent out by his campaign. “And were I ever to need any improvement in that regard, I probably wouldn’t seek advice from a Chicago politician.”

For someone who was a part of the notorious Keating Five scandal to levy attack after attack against an entire city is rich. McCain would have you believe that Obama was knocking back beers with Al Capone during prohibition for all his attacks against Chicago’s political scene.

First and foremost, Obama isn’t Mayor Daley or Rod Blagojevich; legislative politics in Illinois are a world away from Chicago’s City Council. Second, as someone who has worked in politics on a national level in Washington D.C. and currently works in politics in Chicago, I can tell you that the Washington scene is far more broken than the Windy City’s. Chicago politicians don’t smile and kiss each other’s asses; if they don’t like you or what you stand for, you know it. No mincing words. And Chicago’s residents are unabashedly opinionated about politics. You can spend 15 minutes in a cab and know exactly which taxes the cab driver is opposed to and which Aldermen he’d throw right out of his car if they attempted to catch a ride. God forbid people have a little PASSION about politics. Is that what McCain is so against?

Do you know why Bush won the 2000 primaries and McCain didn’t? Because Bush tore McCain down from a war hero to a coward and a liar. Do you know why Bush won the 2004 elections? Because he tore Kerry down from a hero to a coward and a liar. Now, McCain has employed the same tactics and individuals who destroyed him eight years ago and battered his so-called “friend” John Kerry, and he’s looking to take down Obama in the same classless, immoral way. Obama, on the other hand, poised and level-headed, doesn’t need to tear down McCain to look good to the desperate American people, starving for change. In fact, Obama looks so good on his own that the more digging McCain and Palin do, the better Obama does.

Sarah Palin made the mistake of insulting community organizers in her RNC speech more than a month ago. Now McCain is insulting an entire city in an effort to take down its “prince.” The Maverick may not want to “seek advice from a Chicago politician,” which is probably a good thing. We wouldn’t want any of our passion wasted on him.