Richardson Leads Race To TV Ads

-- Jose Antonio Vargas

Martinez May Face an FEC Fine

Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) accepted nearly two hundred contributions that were in excess of legal limits and did not disclose last-minute donations during his 2004 campaign, according to an audit by the Federal Election Commission.

The audit, made public this week, found that 186 contributions totaling $313,235 had exceeded the $2,000 contribution limit in place at the time. It also found 109 contributions that should have been disclosed in the days preceding his primary and general election victories.

The FEC has not announced whether it will impose a penalty for the violations, though the audit notes that "enforcement action" could come later. Martinez could not be reached yesterday, but his campaign released a statement saying that he has "made changes subsequent to that election to ensure full and timely compliance with all campaign finance laws in the future."

-- Matthew Mosk

McCain Joke Bombs

At an event in South Carolina earlier this week, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was caught on video making a joke about the bombing of Iran.

In response to a question regarding how America should deal with the country, McCain referred to the Beach Boys' "Barbara Ann."

"That old Beach Boys song? Bomb Iran," McCain says in the video, which was posted yesterday on YouTube. "Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb."

McCain aides noted that the senator was making a joke to introduce a serious subject.

-- Chris Cillizza