WASHINGTON, Sept. 14 (UPI) -- Former White House adviser Karl Rove said Sunday Republican U.S. presidential hopeful John McCain had gone overboard in some of his attacks on Barack Obama.
McCain has gone "one step too far" in his criticism of the Illinois senator who is the Democratic nominee, Rove said in an appearance on the "Fox News Sunday" program.
Rove said some of the Arizona senator's ads don't pass the "100 percent truth" test. He cautioned both major presidential candidates to be "careful" about the attacks they level against each other. He said Obama unfairly criticized McCain, a longtime senator, for being a Washington insider.
"They ought to -- there ought to be an adult who says, 'Do we really need to go that far in this ad? Don't we make our point and won't we get broader acceptance and deny the opposition an opportunity to attack us if we don't include that one little last tweak in the ad?'" Rove said.
Rove offered this advice to the Obama camp: Stop attacking Sarah Palin, McCain's vice presidential pick, and stop criticizing McCain himself.
"This is not about McCain," Rove said. "This is about reassuring the American people that Barack Obama's up to the job."
