by NPR Political Unit

John McCain is up with a new ad aimed at reinforcing his own brand as a maverick who is ready to fix the "broken" Washington system. (The ad script actually calls him "the original maverick." We can agree to disagree on that one.)

McCain has been hammered in the press for his recent spate of negative campaigning. This ad dials back the attack-dog tactics and aims to remind Independents of McCain's reputation as a free-thinker who stands on principle even if it means bucking the party line.

But despite the loud cries from the public for a civil campaign, this spot is unlikely to drum up as much attention as the McCain camp's more controversial efforts.

— Evie Stone

UPDATE: The Obama campaign's response after the jump.

 

"Senator McCain wants Americans to forget that during the Republican primary, he said that Americans were better off than we were eight years ago, and that he thinks we've made 'great progress economically.' He wants us to forget that he's fully embraced the Bush policies he once opposed, and bragged about supporting those policies 'more than 90 percent of time.' The truth is, being a maverick isn't practicing the same kind of politics we have seen from Washington for decades, it isn't having a campaign run by Washington lobbyists, and it's certainly not promoting the same policies that have led America down the wrong path these past eight years," said Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton.