If anyone doubted that John McCain would target disaffected Hillary Clinton supporters, his new ad should convince the holdouts. The new spokesperson for McCain has some experience campaigning — she campaigned for Hillary and was an elected delegate for her in Wisconsin until she got a little too vocal about her dislike for Barack Obama:

I’m a proud Hillary Clinton Democrat. She had the experience and judgment to be President.

Now, in a first for me, I’m supporting a Republican, John McCain. I respect his maverick and independent streak, and now he’s the one with the experience and judgment.

A lot of Democrats will vote McCain. It’s okay, really!

Debra Bartoshevich made national headlines when she publicly announced her support for John McCain after Obama won the primaries. The Wisconsin Democratic Party kicked her out of the state delegation for her apostasy, which led to her offended appearance on a local TV station. In truth, the party had little choice but to eject her, and given the reception others have received in Denver, Bartoshevich may be better off in St. Paul instead.

I’d expect this to get some play during the Democratic convention itself. Team McCain says it will air in “key states”, but the timing of the ad’s release hints at heavy play this week. Having Bartoshevich make this pitch now underscores McCain’s willingness to fight for this election and getting creative and flexible in doing so.

Will this convince others to follow Debra’s lead? Eighteen million people voted for Hillary in the Democratic primaries. If McCain can capture 10-20% of those, this ad will be well worth it.