While most of the country was asleep, one man was ready to take that 3 am text message … John McCain. At 6:06 am ET this morning, Team McCain sent out its newest television spot, welcoming Joe Biden to the race — and reminding voters what Biden thought about Barack Obama just a few months ago:

ANNCR: What does Barack Obama’s running mate say about Barack Obama?

ABC’S GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: You were asked, “Is he ready?” You said, “I think he can be ready but right now, I don’t believe he is. The presidency is not something that lends itself to on-the-job training.”

JOE BIDEN: I think that I stand by the statement.

ANNCR: And what does he say about John McCain?

BIDEN: I would be honored to run with or against John McCain, because I think the country would be better off.

The latter quote comes fromThe Daily Show and answers a Jon Stewart question in 2005.  Stewart pressed Biden, who confirmed that he would have felt comfortable as McCain’s running mate.

The McCain campaign probably can’t believe their luck in Obama’s selection.  It’s a target-rich environment full of gaffes and bad policies.

I wonder what their “Hillary” ad looked like.  Maybe we’ll find out after the inauguration.

Update: Andrew Malcolm wonders about Biden’s “attack dog” credentials, too:

The McCain ad (no doubt they had ones prepared for several candidates) is called simply “Biden.” Why?

Because it features Biden himself talking about Obama (you might guess Biden once thought the freshman Illinois senator was not yet ready for primetime) standing right next to Obama, who was looking down his nose wordlessly during a Democratic debate last winter.

And the ad also features Biden talking about McCain; Biden says he’d be honored to run with or against a John McCain. Is it possible the two of them could have an elevated, respectful civil debate over the future of our foreign policy? Can a presidential candidate do that with an opposing vice presidential candidate, who’s supposed to be the attack dog?

Think we’ll be seeing a good deal more of this kind of contrast in the coming weeks?