WASHINGTON - Sen. John McCain - who knows a bit about nasty politics - said the 2004 race for the White House is the worst he's ever seen. "This is the bitterest, most unsavory campaign in the nation's history," McCain said. "And it's only going to get worse."

The Arizona Republican spoke to The Associated Press as the debate over John Kerry's and President Bush's Vietnam records disintegrated into a pool of mud.

McCain called on Kerry to condemn a new ad charging that Bush "used his father to get into the National Guard, and when the chips were down, went missing." The Massachusetts Senator promptly did so. "I agree with Sen. McCain that the ad is inappropriate," Kerry said in a statement. "This should be a campaign of issues, not insults." read on...