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The purpose of the conference call I noted before was to preview McCain's "Service to America" tour, which the campaign is referring to internally as the "bio tour" that will introduce Americans to McCain's life story. It will start at McCain Field in Mississippi, where he will discuss how his ancestors have served in every major conflict in American history, with one of his distant relatives serving under George Washington. Other stops will include an Episcopal school in Alexandria, Virginia, where he will talk about his education and Annapolis, where he will discuss his time at the Naval Academy.

Some other notes:

-- Spokesman Steve Schmitt said the McCain campaign would not be playing up statements by Merrill "Tony" McPeak and Rev. Jeremiah Wright in the general election. Though he found the comments "disturbing," Schmitt said that, "We will be running the race, should he be the nominee, against Barack Obama, not against Barack Obama's advisers." He said the American people would "make a determination" about Obama.

-- Schmitt emphasized on several occasions that it would be a mistake to write off Hillary Clinton from the presidential race. Clearly, the McCain campaign wants to keep the Democratic race going for as long as possible. If the McCain team were smart, it would continue to attack Clinton along with Obama, to keep her as relevant as possible.

-- "When you look at what Barack Obama said yesterday, it should send a chill down the spine of every working American," Schmitt said. "Barack Obama obviously believes the rich in this country are those who make over $75,000 a year."

topics:
Education, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton