Click here to watch "Pump."

If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. Perhaps that’s the idea John McCain is borrowing as he joins virtually every segment of the media -- reporters, pundits and talk-show hosts galore -- in focusing on Barack Obama. Of course, McCain will only follow up to a point -- he’s blasting Obama on everything from Iraq to gasoline prices in a pair of new ads, one of which was released on the eve of Obama’s highly anticipated trip to the Middle East and Europe.

On Friday, the GOP candidate's campaign released "Troop Funding" (subscription), an ad that accuses Obama of flip-flopping on the Iraq war, and followed it up with another spot released today, "Pump" (subscription), that blames high gasoline prices on Obama's unwillingness to drill domestically. While the McCain campaign has released ads before that implicitly attack Obama, these are the first that mention his Democratic rival by name.

In "Pump," an announcer says that gasoline prices are high "because some in Washington are still saying no to drilling in America, no to independence from foreign oil." With a large crowd chanting "Obama! Obama!" in the background, the announcer asks, "Who can you thank for rising prices at the pump?" The ad then takes a direct hit at Obama's "hope" and "change" mantra by concluding: "Don't hope for more energy, vote for it. McCain."

"Troop Funding" highlights the fact that the Democratic nominee hadn't been to Iraq in years -- a claim that expired after his visit there today. It also says Obama has "never held a single Senate hearing on Afghanistan" and "voted against funding our troops." These, the announcer stresses, are the "positions that helped him win his nomination." Capitalizing on charges by some that the senator flip-flopped away from his rigid stance on the war, the announcer charges that "now Obama is changing to help himself become president."