Contact: Press Office, 703-650-5550; www.JohnMcCain.com

ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 31 /Standard Newswire/ -- U.S. Senator John McCain's presidential campaign today released a new web ad. The ad, entitled "Character Forged by Family," focuses on John McCain's family history of service to our nation and the central role the family plays in the formation of our individual character and the character of American society.

"Character Forged by Family" is scheduled to appear on national news and information websites.

VIEW THE AD HERE: YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WXTobdyq_s; www.johnmccain.com/service/day1_webvideo.htm

Script For "Character Forged by Family" (1:24-Web)

ANNCR: The son and grandson of admirals.

His grandfather an aviator, his father a submariner.

They were his first heroes, and earning their respect has been one of the lasting ambitions of his life.

They gave their lives to their country and taught young John McCain lessons about honor, courage, duty, perseverance and leadership.

Lessons he didn't fully grasp until later in his life when confronted with challenges he never imagined.

The family he was born into, and the family he is blessed with now, made John McCain the man he is, and instilled in him a deep and abiding respect for the social institution that wields the greatest influence in the formation of our individual character and the character of our society.

Among the most important things children can inherit from their parents is a sense of purpose, and an aspiration to be part of something greater than their self interest.

And that is the honor we earn and the love we give when we work and sacrifice with others for a cause greater than our self-interest.

For John Sidney McCain, that cause has been our country.