McCain appears in New Orleans in April with Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal

Sen. John McCain’s online experience may be limited to email printouts he receives from staffers and occasional glances at “The Drudge Report,” but don’t let his crotchety voice and snow-white hair fool you. This man — or at least his campaign — knows a thing or two about manipulating the media.

Today, McCain will have you know that he is putting his country first more than anybody, including Sen. Barack Obama. In a statement released late yesterday, McCain’s campaign manager Rick Davis made the case that his candidate’s retooling of convention plans shows that he cares more about hurricane victims than the presidency. This, of course, is meant to contrast with Obama, who apparently hates America because he made campaign stops yesterday.

Throughout the day today, McCain’s campaign proclaims that their efforts will go toward ensuring the safety of those living along the gulf coast, even at the expense of political gain.

Using this tragic time for political purposes is unacceptable, and should not be tolerated. And by the way, our vice presidential candidate-you know, the one who detests sex-ed and stands on a soapbox full of abstinence-her daughter is 17, unmarried and a little bit pregnant.

The latest sneaky news dump out of the McCain campaign comes less than a week after they stopped the Obama acceptance speech raves in their tracks by announcing Palin’s selection the very next day.   Not surprising seeing as this is the same machine that made Britney and Paris legitimate conversation for political pundits.

As for the moral implications of using a hurricane you’re accusing your opponent of politicizing to slip incriminating news under the radar, the McCain campaign might say the American people on the gulf coast are suffering too much for us to be thinking about such frivolous matters. But maybe Davis’ criticism of Obama holds some water here. Maybe instead of staying out of the way, raising money and gathering volunteers, he should start talking louder about America and posing for some hurricane photos.