The McCain campaign is finally taking ownership of their attacks on Mitt Romney. The latest hit is on abortion, purporting to show Romney taking both sides of the abortion issue. Liz Sidoti reports for AP:

In the video, Romney says: "I have indicated that as governor, I am absolutely committed to my promise to maintain the status quo with regards to laws relating to abortion and choice, and so far I've been able to successfully do that. And, my personal, philosophical views about this issue are not something that I think would do anything other than distract from what I think is a more critical agenda" that includes jobs, education and health care.

Romney made the remark at a news conference on May 27, 2005, the same day he spoke of "respecting human life" as he vetoed state legislation that would expand embryonic stem cell research.

Read the rest at the link above. McCain's been sending about attack pieces against Romney for a good while now. The record is fair game, of course, although the above clip doesn't seem to match the McCain camp's claims about it. To assert anything based on that particular line smacks of desperation.

In a recent email, McCain blogmeister Patrick Hynes referred to Romney as "John Kerry Romney." This seems to me to violate Ronald Reagan's "11th Commandment" of "Do not speak ill of fellow Republicans." It's nothing but a gratuitous and personal insult.

Of course, those of us in battleground states in 2000 know only too well that McCain's campaigns always play down and dirty. They squeal like stuck pigs when anyone hits at them (including the insignificant upstate SC preacher in 2000, whose less than 200 phone calls made in one afternoon by himself, his daughter and son-in-law have assumed legendary status), even those unconnected with other campaigns.

I wonder why McCain is so worried about Romney - does he have his heart set on third place, and see even that slipping away? Is he determined to poison the nomination if he can't have it?

UPDATE: Apparently the McCain campaign has even registered an anti-Romney website. Ed Morrissey has more.