In their second debate, John McCain proposed a plan that would involve the federal government buying bad mortgages from homeowners and refinancing them. The Obama campaign released this ad attacking the plan as a burden on taxpayers.

Obama TV ad "Tested:"

The McCain campaign has decided to move ahead with its attack on Obama for his association to William Ayers. Ayers is referred to as a "terrorist" twice in the spot. Presenting a very contrasting image of their candidate, the Obama campaign released a positive biographical spot, "Country I Believe In," which includes the word "America" three times, and includes references to Obama's grandfather, who fought with Patton, and his grandmother, who worked in a factory to help the American effort in World War II.

McCain Web ad "Ayers:"

Obama TV ad: "Country I Believe In:"

For anyone who needed a reality check, this article in Ad Age shows that there has been an increase in negative ads since the last election. "The McCain campaign's decision to turn 100% of its advertising messages to negative attacks on Sen. Barack Obama last week -- combined with the 34% of Mr. Obama's messages attacking Sen. John McCain -- means that negative ads this time are outpacing those of four years ago in the race between President George W. Bush and Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry."

Obama ad "This Year" Attacks McCain for His Attack Ads:

North Carolina, which has turned into one of the most closely contested battleground states, is the focus of this new Obama ad, which hits McCain on his support of tax breaks for companies that outsource jobs.

Obama ad: "Mills:"

LRC FLASHBACK: 1992 Clinton ad ties the first George Bush to outsourcing:

Two new independent ads offer emotional attacks on McCain. An Iraq veteran, speaking to McCain "vet to vet," attacks him for not supporting the GI Bill. In an ad from the group Health Care for America now, a woman fighting cancer attacks McCain on health care, the prime issue in Obama's recent ads.

Vote for Vets ad "McCain and the GI Bill:"

Health Care for America ad "John McCain: Not on Your Side for Health Care:"

Bob Barr, the Libertarian candidate, and former Georgia congressman who was a leader of the effort to impeach Bill Clinton and later became an outspoken critic of the Bush administration, has released this TV ad, calling for "Smaller Government, Fewer Taxes, and More Freedom."

A month before Election Day, the Obama campaign is outspending the McCain campaign on TV advertising by a three-to-one margin, according to this report in The Washington Post. Chris Cillizza writes "Obama's fundraising prowess has provided him a major leg up in the final month of the campaign that, when combined with the detrimental effects the focus on the economy has had on McCain, make it an uphill climb to victory for the Arizona senator."

The Obama campaign released another Spanish-language ad "Otra Vez Con Lo Mismo," which accueses McCain of caving in to pressure from opponents of immigration. This Chicago Tribune article looks at the focus on Latino voters in this year's campaign advertising.

Obama ad "Otra Vez Con Lo Mismo:"

Two new ads against Obama use the classic attack against the Democratic candidate as a dangerous tax-and-spend liberal. Curiously, the McCain ad incorporates its own rebuttal, with repeated footage of Obama saying "Folks are lying." The Republican National Committee ad "Trillion" accuses Obama of wanting to increase spending by a trillion dollars, asking the rhetorical question "Sound crazy? It is?" According to the RNC, the ad will run on TV in Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

McCain TV ad "Folks:"

RNC TV ad "Trillion:"

LRC FLASHBACK: In 1992, Bill Clinton turned the tax issue to the Democrats' advantage with this ad:

The Obama campaign used footage from the second presidential debate to continue the key focus of this week's advertising, health care, claiming again that McCain's tax credit plan conceals a hidden tax:

Obama TV ad "Taketh:"

On a day when Republican Senator Chuck Hagel's wife was due to endorse Obama at a Virginia campaign event attended by Susan Eisenhower, daughter of Dwight Eisenhower, the Obama campaign released this Web video of an Ohio Republican who talks about his support for Obama.

Obama Web video: "Republicans for Obama:"

Obama's new TV ad "Floridians Hurting" reiterates the campaign's main theme, tailoring the attack for the key electoral state.

National Basketball Association star Chris Paul, who plays for the Charlotte Hornets in the swing state of North Carolina, and was on the gold-medal winning team in Beijing, made this voter registration pitch for Obama:

Chris Cillizza in The Washington Post suggests that 527 groups are having less impact in this year's election than in 2004, leaving it to the official campaigns to raise controversial issues such as William Ayers and the Keating scandal. Cillizza speculates that "Although McCain and Obama have relaxed their initial opposition to the involvement of outside groups in the campaign, a series of attempts to organize efforts on the right and left have failed to get off the ground due to a lack of interest on the part of major donors to fund the efforts."

UPDATE: Some counter-evidence is provided by Evan Tracey, at the Campaign Media Analysis Group, who writes about four ads that have been shown 1,078 times.

The war of, and about, attack ads continues with duelling ads from the McCain and Obama campaigns on the day of their second debate. The McCain ad "Hypo" chastises Obama for making misleading attacks, saying "He promised better. He lied." (The ad charges that Obama is asking law enforcement officials to target anyone running attack ads against him, a story which has been discredited by ABC News). The Obama ad charges that McCain's attack ads are an attempt to change the subject from the economy. "It's time for a president who will change the economy, not change the subject."

McCain ad: "Hypo:"

Obama ad "The Subject:"

This 527 ad by the Service Employees International Union amplifies the Obama campaign's repeated attacks in the past few days on McCain's health care plans:

SEIU ad "Worried Sick:"

Bracing for an avalanche of attack ads from the McCain campaign, the Democratic National Committee released this Web ad with a montage of excerpts from McCain attack ads and footage of McCain (from the 2000 election) saying "Sooner or later people are going to figure out that if all you run are negative attack ads you don't have much of a vision for the future..."

Democratic National Committee Web ad: "Negative Attack Ads:"

The new John McCain ad "Dangerous" comes after news reports that his campaign is about the shift the focus of the advertising campaign to an attack on Obama's character and his readiness to lead. The rhetorical question "Who is Barack Obama?" promises to be the focus of many upcoming McCain ads. The charge the Obama made a comment criticizing the U.S. military in Afghanistan was made over the weekend by Sarah Palin. Shortly after the ad was released, The Wall Street Journal criticized the ad for taking an Obama quote out of context.

McCain TV ad "Dangerous:"

On Friday, October 3, the day that it was announced that 159,000 jobs were lost in the U.S. in September, the Obama campaign released a Web ad linking past statements by President Bush to similar statements by John McCain.

Obama Web ad: "Job Loss: The Price of More of the Same:"

As speculation heightened on Sunday, October 5, that the McCain campaign would intensify its personal attacks on Barack Obama, questioning his experience and integrity, the Obama campaign began an aggressive preemptive counterattack. This Web video, "Keating Economics," was put online in conjunction with the launch of a new website, Keatingeconomics.com, detailing John McCain's involvement in the Keating Savings & Loan Scandal. The ad is a 34-second preview of a full-length documentary.