Just three days after his calamitous "green screen" speech, John McCain today released his first general election ad, one which may prove similarly damaging. Declaring "only a fool or a fraud talks tough or romantically about war," McCain invited Americans to revisit his still-jaw dropping "bomb bomb Iran" joke during an April 2007 town hall meeting.

As you'll remember, McCain in April 2007 famously responded to a question about when America would "send an air mail message to Tehran." Singing to the tune of the Beach Boys' hit "Barbara Ann," McCain laughed and broke into song:

"Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran."

McCain's war-is-fun antics didn't end there. As ThinkProgress noted, his campaign featured the song at subsequent events, playing "Barbara Ann" as McCain approached the stage. Asked about the episode at another campaign stop in December, McCain jokingly snarled to laughter from his audience, "no thanks for reminding me, you jerk." Despite his insistence that John Kerry apologize for his "botched" 2006 joke about military service, McCain with no sense of irony told critics of his "bomb bomb Iran" moment:

"Please, I was talking to some of my old veterans friends. My response is, Lighten up and get a life."

Of course, that was then and this is now. And now John McCain is asking Americans to join him in a moment of selective amnesia and forget his gests about igniting a regional conflagration with Iran.
McCain's new ad, titled "Safe," is yet the latest biographical journey in the Republican's general election run away from his president and party (video here). The earnest McCain intones:

"Only a fool or a fraud talks tough or romantically about war...I was shot down over Vietnam and spent five years as a POW...I hate war. And I know how terrible its costs are. I'm running for president to keep the country I love safe. I'm John McCain, and I approve this message."

Ultimately, rather than achieving his intended goal of creating space between himself and President Bush, McCain's sorry spot and even sorrier singing about Iran instead invites Americans to view him and the man he would replace as two peas in a pod. George W. Bush's own foolish belligerence, after all, includes "dead or alive," "bring 'em on," "I'm a little envious" and "kick ass." By drawing attention to his shockingly inappropriate - and irredeemably unpresidential - "bomb bomb Iran" embarrassment, John McCain is only confirming what more Americans are concluding every day. He's a fool and a fraud.
UPDATE: A reader recalls McCain's tough talk about Al Qaeda and his repeated promises to "follow Osama Bin Laden to the gates of hell."