At a time of great uncertainty in the economy, millions of Americans of all ages, working and retired, are worried about their economic future -- before and after they retire. That's why voters want to know more about John McCain's plans for Social Security.

It turns out, they won't get them.

John McCain, whose support for privatization of Social Security is well known, refuses to provide the details of his plan because it would, according to one senior adviser, "politicize the debate."

Consider McCain campaign senior adviser Taylor Griffin’s description of his candidate's plan for fixing Social Security:

"The history of the Social Security debate has taught that too many specifics, especially during a presidential campaign, has polarized the debate," he said of the program that McCain called "an absolute disgrace [that's] got to be fixed."

Will he contrast his plan to that of his opponent? "Sen. McCain believes this is so important that we do not politicize this debate during an election season."

This explains why John McCain's "Jobs for America" economic plan is only thirteen pages and economists widely criticized as thin on the details. It is not that John McCain wants to hide his massive tax cuts for the rich, and massive corporate tax breaks, he just does not want to politicize the debate.

And really, who needs to discuss policy details in a presidential campaign? John McCain doesn't want to cause a distraction from talking about Britney Spears and Paris Hilton -- you know, the things that matter.

John McCain's "Low Road Express" garnered quite a few headlines across the country for the campaign's dishonest and dishonorable attacks rife with factual inaccuracies:

Seattle Post-Intelligencer: "'Straight Talk Express' takes the low road"

Of late, sadly, McCain is saying goodbye to all that. The once bullish optimist is starting to come across as a churlish naysayer.

McCain's presidential campaign is evolving into nonstop attacks on Sen. Barack Obama, salted with distortion and innuendo. After years as a media darling, the candidate has taken to complaining about his opponent's press coverage.

What's happened?

Dallas Morning News: "Editorial: McCain off the mark in over-the-top ads"

Mr. McCain's tactics certainly aren't new to politics. But such negativity is disconcerting at this early date. The summer months usually afford presidential candidates the opportunity to delve into issues and ideology.

The bewildering debut of the politics-meets-Paris Hilton ad suggested that the clock suddenly had struck October.

Mr. McCain does voters a disservice by creating a caricature of his opponent instead of explaining their many differences on issues. Even some Republican strategists are troubled, saying that Mr. McCain appears to be swinging wildly.

Find the facts the McCain campaign continues to distort at LowRoadExpress.com.

We released the following web ad highlighting John McCain's pride in his widely-panned advertisement that features Britney Spears and Paris Hilton.

In that same Q&A, John McCain claimed his campaign is talking about the issues:

"What we're talking about here is substance, not style."
-- John McCain

According to John McCain, Britney Spears and Paris Hilton are "substantive" issues in this campaign.

While he takes his campaign down the low road of "childish" television ads with dishonest and dishonorable attacks, Senator Barack Obama is talking about the issues that matter, like energy prices, and turning around the sluggish Bush/McCain economy after eight years of failed policies.

John McCain says the "fundamentals" of the economy are strong. But, in the real world, 51,000 Americans lost their jobs last month as the jobless rate hit a four-year high. Associated Press:

The nation's unemployment rate climbed to a four-year high of 5.7 percent in July as employers cut 51,000 jobs, dashing the hopes of an influx of young people looking for summer work.

The numbers for July continued the troubling effects of Bush/McCain style economic policies.

July's reductions marked the seventh straight month where employers eliminated jobs. So far, this year, the economy has lost a total of 463,00 jobs.

Young people are heading back to the classroom in a few weeks, but many of them will be doing so a little lighter in the wallet than in the last sixteen years, as the economic downturn kept many of them out of work this summer.

This year, however, fewer of them were able to find work, the government said. The unemployment rate for teenagers jumped to 20.3 percent, the highest since late 1992.

Like George Bush's economy? Hire John McCain. He's too busy talking about Britney Spears and Paris Hilton.

Meanwhile, Senator Barack Obama is talking about what's on the minds of Americans: how we can turn our economy around.

New Yorker, 2/2/02:

McCain comes from the military aristocracy-he's John Sidney McCain III, the son and grandson of admirals, third-generation Annapolis-but New York is outside that group's ambit, so he can think of a trip there as a country boy's sojourn in the big city. It added to the little-boy feeling that McCain takes an unconcealed pleasure in being fussed over, which he had been, and in mingling with celebrities, which he had done." [...]

"On the way, McCain reminisced about his evening in New York. 'Bette Midler was great last night,' he said. 'Tony Bennett was marvelous. Natalie Cole did that thing where she sings the duet with her father on a screen. Joel Grey sang "Yankee Doodle Dandy." I loved what Bette said about Rudy Giuliani.'"

Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) appeared in court to plead not guilty and asked that the trial be held before the November general election.

Prosecutors say the Alaska Republican accepted more than $250,000 in house renovations and gifts from contractors but didn't disclose them on Senate financial records.

Stevens' legal team asked the judge to move the trial to Alaska, where the senator has been a political patron since before statehood. Attorney Sullivan also asked that the trial date be speeded up to give Stevens his day in court before the Nov. 4 election.

The trial is scheduled for September 24.

In California, word broke last week that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is attempting to slash the pay of 200,000 state workers down to the federal minimum wage of $6.55 an hour.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger plans to sign an executive order next week that will reduce pay for more than 200,000 state workers to the federal minimum wage of $6.55 per hour to preserve cash in the midst of a month-long budget standoff, according to a draft copy of the order obtained by The Bee.

$6.55 an hour to pay the rent, keep the lights on, gas up their cars and feed their families. For some perspective, in college at the University of Arizona, I worked 40 hours a week on $7.85 and struggled to pay a modest rent along with all the bills, and I did not drive a car then, either. Gov. Schwarzenegger expects families to survive on $262 gross pay per week?

Democrats across the state are fighting this attempt to thrust the burden of the California budget onto the shoulders of 200,000 state workers with massive cuts.

Controller John Chiang, Speaker of the Assembly Karen Bass, Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, and twenty-seven members of the California congressional delegation led by Rep. Hilda Solis are leading the fight to stop Arnold from shifting the budget burden onto 200,000 state workers.

What is John McCain's idea of running a "new kind of campaign"? Tap former Bush/Cheney '04 staffers and proteges of Karl Rove to run a negative campaign reliant on fabricated charges, blatant distortions and dishonest attacks.

John McCain blew his three-month head start after the primaries and is now using desperate and dishonest attacks.

Exxon Mobil posted the largest quarterly profit in U.S. history, reports the Associated Press.

Lifted by record crude prices, Exxon Mobil says its second-quarter earnings rose nearly 14 percent to $11.68 billion, the biggest quarterly profit ever by any U.S. corporation.

The world's largest publicly traded oil company said Thursday its net income for the April-June period came to $2.22 a share, up from $10.26 billion, or $1.83 a share, a year ago.

John McCain's approach to energy? Billions in tax cuts to companies like Exxon Mobil combined with offshore drilling that, by his own admission, would not provide any real relief at the pump. Maybe he's gunning for a 60 second standing ovation from oil executives?

The only thing that makes oil executives cheer more than record profits? John McCain changing positions on offshore drilling. Watch:

Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), known in online circles for his description of how the internet works, was indicted on seven counts by the Department of Justice. New York Times:

Mr. Stevens, 84, was indicted on seven counts of failing to report income. The charges are related to renovations on his home and to gifts he has received. They arise from an investigation that has been under way for more than a year, in connection with the senator’s relationship with a businessman who oversaw the home-remodeling project. [...]

Prosecutors say Mr. Stevens, who referred to his home as “the chalet,” accepted goods and services worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, ranging from an outdoor grill to extensive home remodeling and architectural advice. Not only did Mr. Stevens fail to report the items on his Senate financial disclosure form, as required, but he took active steps to conceal the receipt of the goods and services, the indictment says.

Update: Sen. Stevens resigned from two committees.

Oil executives flooded John McCain's campaign with cash after his mid-June reversal on offshore drilling. The remarks, delivered in front of oil executives in Texas, received a boisterous applause.

Watch the video, "Gusher."

Obama for America and the DNC are set to unveil a $20 million effort to register and mobilize Hispanic voters. Washington Post:

DNC Chairman Howard Dean said the sum is unprecedented for a presidential campaign and represents a show of Democratic confidence that Latino voters could prove pivotal in states including New Mexico and Michigan. [...]

Targets will include Florida; Western states such as Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico; and Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan, industrial battlegrounds with sizable Hispanic populations. The money will be spent on niche advertising and other outreach, along with mobilization efforts aimed at identifying, registering and turning out new Democratic voters.

Over the weekend, the campaign held a training session in Las Vegas to teach local organizers how to canvass Hispanic communities. A similar forum will be held soon in Florida, Dean said, and sessions in other states are in the planning stages.

These efforts do not bode well for John McCain. His team says "we've already been doing all that." Whatever it is they are doing, it is not working at all.

Although Republican rival John McCain represents Arizona, a state with a strong Hispanic presence, Dean cited a poll last week by the Pew Hispanic Center showing Obama's approval rating with registered Latino voters at 66 percent nationwide, compared with 23 percent for McCain.

In a report [PDF] released by the Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General and Office of Professional Responsibility, the political hirings and firings by Monica Goodling "violated both federal law and Department policy, and therefore committed misconduct, when she considered political or ideological affiliations in hiring decisions for candidates for career positions within the Department."

TPMmuckraker noted a few of the questions Goodling asked applicants:

Tell us about your political philosophy. There are different groups of conservatives, by way of example: Social Conservative, Fiscal Conservative, Law & Order Republican.

[W]hat is it about George W. Bush that makes you want to serve him?

Aside from the President, give us an example of someone currently or recently in public service who you admire.

Why are you a Republican?

Goodling also refused to hire an applicant because he was married to a prominent local Democrat.

The candidate's wife was a prominent local Democrat elected official and vice-chairman of a local Democratic Party. She also ran several Democratic congressional campaigns. The candidate was at times a registered Independent and at other times a registered Democrat. Notwithstanding the candidate's outstanding qualifications and EOUSA senior management's desire to hire him, Goodling refused to approve the detail.

Republican family values!

John McCain abandons position on affirmative action:

Republican presidential candidate John McCain said Sunday that he favors a proposed referendum in Arizona that would ban affirmative action, reversing a position he took a decade ago.

It's the latest example of McCain changing positions that had once put him at odds with conservative Republicans, including his new proposals to extend President Bush's tax cuts and expand offshore oil drilling.

In 1998, McCain described an anti-affirmative action effort in his home state as "divisive." On Sunday, McCain backed a proposed amendment to the Arizona Constitution that would ban "preferential treatment" on the basis of "race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin."

If you missed Senator Barack Obama's speech in front of 200,000 waving American flags, and chanting "Obama!" or want to watch it again -- check out this video!

Last month, John McCain spoke in Ottawa, Canada, but this afternoon, he attacked Senator Barack Obama for delivering a speech in Berlin to 200,000 waving American flags and chanting "Obama!"

In his interview with NBC's Kelly O'Donnell, which will air on NBC's Nightly News tonight, McCain questions whether Obama should have given a speech in Berlin before becoming president.

"I would rather speak at a rally or a political gathering any place outside of the country after I am president of the United States," McCain told O'Donnell. "But that's a judgment that Sen. Obama and the American people will make."

However, on June 20, McCain himself gave a speech in Canada -- to the Economic Club of Canada -- in which he applauded NAFTA's successes. An implicit message behind that speech was that Obama had been critical of the trade accord. Also, McCain's trip to Canada was paid for by the campaign. [emphasis added]

While John McCain's press office was blasting Senator Obama's preparation for the possibility of a transition to an Obama administration, John McCain was defending the move.

BREWER: And I know the McCain campaign is also responding to the news that Barack Obama has already set up a presidential transition team, the team that would go from one president to the next. And McCain’s statement reads “Before they’ve even crossed the 50-yard line the Obama campaign already dancing in the end zone with a new White House transition team. The American people are more concerned with Barack Obama’s poor judgment and readiness to lead than his inaugural ball.” Is this a theme that the campaign is going to push, that Obama’s getting ahead of himself?

AIGNER: Well that was actually, the statement that you just read was from a spokesperson for the campaign. John McCain just sat down with NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell just an hour ago and she asked him about the transition team. And he said of course every campaign once you get to this stage, and you’re on the verge of securing your party’s nomination at the convention, you begin to think of how you transition to the presidency. McCain said that he, himself, was already of course working on policy and political proposals to they could hit the ground running. He’s spoken with his advisors about how exactly they would enact those proposals and enact the policies that are important to him. Although he said that on a specific staff level and on an organizational level, they might not be stepping up to the place where Obama’s stepping up. He said the American people will have to decide whether that’s presumptuous or not. [emphasis added]

John McCain says one thing, his campaign does another. Seems to be a pattern this election cycle.

In the now infamous interview between CBS' Katie Couric and John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee apparently believes the war in Afghanistan, where the 9/11 attacks originated, is not a "major conflict."

Couric: Sen. Obama also told me, Sen. McCain, that the money spent on those additional troops, on the surge, might have been more effective had it gone to Afghanistan or even to a better energy policy in the United States. What's your response?

McCain: The fact is we had four years of failed policy. We were losing. We were losing the war in Iraq. The consequences of failure and defeat of the United States of America in the first major conflict since 9/11 would have had devastating impacts throughout the region and the world. [emphasis added]

According to John McCain, the war in Afghanistan doesn't count as a "major conflict." That explains why the Bush/McCain policies of ignoring Afghanistan and diverting resources to Iraq have led to the major problems we currently see there after nearly seven years of war.

Senator Barack Obama, however, advocated for a stronger American commitment to Afghanistan. Additionally, in his speech in front of nearly a quarter million Berliners today, Senator Obama called on Europe to commit more to the fight in Afghanistan, the true central front in the war on terror.

Update: Here's the video:

Earlier this week, John McCain grossly misstated the timeline of the Anbar awakening as having taken place because of the surge, despite the fact that it started almost four months before the surge was even announced.

Reporters peppered John McCain with questions about his factually incorrect timeline in the cheese aisle of a Pennsylvania supermarket. McCain attempted to explain that up is down, the sky is green, and he did not jumble the timeline of events.