McCain Gets a Third-Rail Shock

New Battleground Ads From AFL-CIO

John McCain said the way Social Security is set up hurts young workers. (Carolyn Kaster - AP)

The AFL-CIO will launch television ads today in six battleground states that take aim at separating John McCain's military service from his Senate record. The commercials' release is timed to coincide with the launch of the AFL-CIO Veterans Council -- a group designed to communicate with the more than 2 million union veterans and those serving in the military.

"Every vet respects John McCain's war record," Jim Wasser, a Navy veteran who saw combat in Vietnam, says in one of the spots. "It's his record in the Senate that I have a problem with."

Wasser goes on to detail McCain's support for spending $10 billion a month in Iraq, "just like Bush," and adds that he sided with the president "against increasing health benefits for veterans." As Wasser utters those words, a picture of a person who lost both legs is shown.

"People should let John McCain know," Wasser says at the ad's end. "His agenda is not what we need. Not now."

The ads will run on stations in Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin for the next three weeks.

"Our nation's veterans deserve much better than the failed Bush economy has given them," AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said of the new ads.

The AFL-CIO would not disclose the amount being spent on the buy, only that it is a "significant targeted buy."

-- Chris Cillizza