John McCain in Milwaukee on Wednesday

John McCain hasn't been in Wisconsin since February. On Wednesday, he's returning to Milwaukee.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

McCain plans to visit the Milwaukee area Wednesday to discuss his economic plans. Full details haven't been released yet, but his campaign said the event, at Bucyrus International, will feature two discussion panels with business leaders, academics and others on the topics of "Investing in People and Making Government Work Better," and "Spurring Innovation and Fostering Growth and Economic Freedom." McCain has scheduled a major economic speech Tuesday at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

This will be McCain's first visit to Wisconsin since the state's February primary and since he clinched the GOP presidential nomination.

Democrats have lambasted the trade deals that McCain voted for in the Senate, and accused him of offering a third Bush term on the economy.

Asked how his economic policies would differ from President Bush's, McCain said: "Spending, spending, spending. This Administration let spending get completely out of control. We mortgaged our children's futures and it led to corruption, and we presided over the largest increase in the size of government since the Great Society."

Asked about Obama's controversial comments Friday about voters in small towns who are bitter over job losses, McCain said:

"The comments were elitist and condescending, there's no doubt about that (to) anybody who reads them. Americans don't cherish their rights in the Second Amendment because of the economy. They don't cherish their right to go exercise their freedom of religion because of the economy."

...On political matters, McCain said he thought Wisconsin was winnable for him, but called it a "significant challenge." The state hasn't voted for a Republican since Ronald Reagan. But it was the closest state in the country in 2004, and, like 2004, is expected to be one of the most targeted "blue" states by Republicans this fall.

Asked which Democrat he expects to be running against in the general election, McCain said, "I don't know. It doesn't matter. I have no preference."

McCain really does have an advantage over Obama and Hillary.

While they tear each other apart, McCain can move forward. He doesn't have to go on the attack. All he has to do is respond to questions about the Dems' latest blunders.

He gets to play the role of the color commentator as the Dems do battle.
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Here's the text of a fund-raising e-mail from McCain Campaign Manager Rick Davis:

Dear Friends,

We've all said things that we've regretted. Sometimes they result from a mere slip of the tongue and sometimes they reveal deeply held beliefs that you'd rather not communicate to the world.

A few days ago, at a San Francisco fundraiser, Barack Obama described Americans who live in small towns or other areas that have experienced a loss of jobs as "bitter" people, adding that it didn't surprise him that they, "..cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

These words are revealing on a number of levels, and expose the out-of-touch beliefs to which John McCain offers stark contrast. Today, John McCain offered a different account of small town America:

"During the Great Depression, with many millions of Americans out of work and the country suffering the worst economic crisis in our history, there rose from small towns, rural communities, inner cities, a generation of Americans who fought to save the world from despotism and mass murder, and came home to build the wealthiest, strongest and most generous nation on earth.

They suffered the worst during the Depression, but it did not shake their faith in, and fidelity to, America. They did not turn to their religious faith and cultural traditions out of resentment and a feeling of powerlessness to affect the course of government or pursue prosperity. On the contrary, their faith had given generations of their families' purpose and meaning, as it does today."

These hard working men and women aren't "bitter". They love their country, their faith, their family and their traditions. They are the heart and soul of this country, the foundation of our strength and the primary authors of its essential goodness - Barack Obama should get to know them.

If Barack Obama is the Democrat nominee in the general election, the American people will have a clear choice between two different visions - Senator Obama's liberal, elitist philosophy and John McCain's faith in the small town values that continue to make America great. John McCain will not forget them or write them off. Neither should Barack Obama.

We are up against a large fundraising hurdle if Barack Obama is the nominee and we need your help now. Even before the general election begins, the differences are clear, we must do everything we can to make sure these beliefs don't make it into the White House....

P.S. - Barack Obama's belief that small town Americans are "bitter" exemplifies the differences in this election. We cannot allow this elitist philosophy to make its way into the White House. Please contribute today.

Obama really stepped in it at that San Francisco fund-raiser.

"Bitter" sticks.