J.D. Hayworth’s Drudge Ad Irks John McCain

It’s pretty early into the Republican primary campaign between Sen. John McCain and former Arizona Rep. J.D. Hayworth. But two things are already clear: McCain and his staff don’t like Hayworth much — and Hayworth may well spend the rest of the campaign trying to poke McCain in the eye politically, just to provoke a reaction.

On Thursday afternoon, McCain aides blasted out a press release that at first seemed a little cryptic. The text:

PHOENIX, AZ — U.S. Senator John McCain’s re-election campaign today released the following statement by Senate Republican Whip Jon Kyl calling on ex-Congressman J.D. Hayworth to immediately apologize and take down his new online ad insulting Senator McCain running on the Drudge Report:

“Ads like this have no place in the Republican primary, and J.D. Hayworth should immediately take it down and apologize.” — Senate Republican Whip Jon Kyl

Helpfully, McCain’s campaign included a link to the ad, which had, indeed, been running on the top of the Drudge Report for about an hour.

Read More: BY MIKE MADDEN, Salon