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McCain Loses Two Key Staffers

Midterm Madness

After flip-flopping in hokey new ad.

"Complete the danged fence," John McCain says in the latest ad for his reelection campaign, as he strolls along the Mexican border with a sheriff. Unfortunately, the ad isn't just cheesy: Released last week, it's already generated a wave of criticism that may have forced two high-level campaign staffers out the door. McCain's campaign manager Shiree Verdone and part-time deputy campaign manager Mike Hellon both announced that they're leaving the campaign on Sunday, presumably on account of what many see as a blatant flip-flop in the advertisement. McCain's critics—including his main opponent in a hotly contested Republican primary, J.D. Hayworth—contend that the ad is a complete reversal of McCain's position on border control during the last presidential campaign, in which he was quoted as saying that he did not support "walls and fences."

Read it at Politico