In a June 23 article, the Associated Press asserted that Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign “promises to condemn any race-based political appeals” and noted that "[s]hortly before North Carolina's May 6 primary, the state Republican Party aired a TV ad linking Democratic candidates to [Sen. Barack] Obama, who was described as 'too extreme' because of his ties to the retired Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr." Writer Charles Babington went on to assert that "[t]he state party ignored McCain's repeated calls to kill the ad," but did not provide support for that assertion. Indeed, as Media Matters for America noted, while McCain pledged, “I'll do everything in my power to make sure not only they stop it but that kind of leadership is rejected,” according to North Carolina GOP chairwoman, Linda Daves, at no point did McCain call her directly and ask her not to run the ad. Moreover, as Media Matters noted, there were several ranking members of the state Republican Party who also had “official” roles in the McCain campaign or in the Republican National Committee, to whom McCain could have insisted the ad not run. Finally, on May 1, FoxNews.com reported that McCain said “he wouldn't have run the GOP ad, 'but I am not going to referee, I am just going to run my own campaign.' ” Further, in a June 12 article, the Boston Herald quoted McCain saying, “I can't be a referee of every spot run on television,” and described his comments as “a softening of his view on the negative campaign tactic” that “opens the door to a no-holds-barred five-month scramble.”

From the June 23 Associated Press article:

The McCain campaign promises to condemn any race-based political appeals. But it also insists it won't stand still for false charges of racism or for allegations merely aimed at preventing criticism of Obama on legitimate issues.

“Every word will be twisted to make it about race,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a McCain friend and adviser. When he and others confront Obama on issues such as national security and the economy, Graham said, it will have “nothing to do with him being an African-American.”

Obama adviser David Axelrod said the Democrat's campaign will be on high alert for code words or innuendo meant to play on voters' racial sentiments. “We're going to be aggressive about pushing back on anything that we feel is inappropriate or misleading,” he said.

It's not enough for McCain to say he cannot control independent groups airing racially charged ads on his behalf, Axelrod said, noting that the “Swift Boat Veterans for Truth” was independent of President Bush's campaign.

“We've seen this movie before,” he said. “And we're not going to be passive in the face of those kinds of tactics.”

Racially charged criticism of Obama already has surfaced in several states.

Shortly before North Carolina's May 6 primary, the state Republican Party aired a TV ad linking Democratic candidates to Obama, who was described as “too extreme” because of his ties to the retired Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.

Obama eventually ended his relationship with Wright, his longtime pastor who had been criticized for sermons in which he cursed America and accused the government of conspiring against blacks. The state party ignored McCain's repeated calls to kill the ad.