Obama criticized MoveOn.org over its controversial ad.

(CNN) — Barack Obama on Monday seemed to take a direct swipe at MoveOn.org, the powerful liberal group which endorsed the Illinois senator's candidacy earlier this year and was at times instrumental to his organization in several key battleground states.

In a speech designed to combat charges he lacks patriotism, Obama sharply condemned organizations that use "these old, threadbare arguments" to level criticisms and specifically pointed to MoveOn.org's controversial newspaper ad last fall that attacked the top U.S. general in Iraq, David Petraeus.

Watch: Obama talks patriotism

"All too often our politics still seems trapped in these old, threadbare arguments – a fact most evident during our recent debates about the war in Iraq, when those who opposed administration policy were tagged by some as unpatriotic, and a general providing his best counsel on how to move forward in Iraq was accused of betrayal," Obama said.

MoveOn has not responded to Obama's comments.

The full page ad was published in the New York Times to coincide with Petraeus' appearance on the Hill last September to brief Congress on the progress in Iraq. Under a picture of Petraeus, a banner read, "General Petraeus or General Betray Us?"

Watch: New York Times takes heat for ad

The ad went on to allege the general was "cooking the books for the White House," and intentionally painting a rosy picture of the conditions on the ground.

Despite pressure from Republicans, neither Hillary Clinton nor Barack Obama formally repudiated the group for the ad, though both expressed criticisms. Clinton voted against a Senate resolution to formally condemn the group, while Obama specifically avoided voting either way on the resolution.

"The notion that we're wasting time debating about a newspaper ad, makes no sense," he said then. "So I didn't even vote on that vote, I just said I'm not going to vote on this. This is the kind of game playing that the American people are tired of."

MoveOn.org, which endorsed Obama shortly before the crucial Febuary 5 round of primaries, boasts more than 3 million members and has since conducted large-scale get-out-the-vote efforts and fundraising on the Illinois senator's behalf.

MoveOn is launching a massive anti-McCain ad campaign.

(CNN) – MoveOn.org announced Wednesday they are launching their massive television ad buy aimed at presumptive Republican nominee John McCain with a new spot tomorrow, the fifth anniversary of President Bush’s “Mission Accomplished” speech.

The 30-second ad, funded by the group’s donors and its political action committee, marks the start of the liberal advocacy group’s million dollar, month-long ad campaign aimed at the Arizona senator.

MoveOn will spend $160,000 to air the new ad — titled “Candles” — on cable as well as on broadcast networks in Iowa and New Mexico, where the McCain campaign is currently on the air without competition from either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama.

“MoveOn.org is attempting to smear Senator McCain just like it smeared General Petraeus. MoveOn.org is joining Barack Obama and the DNC in maliciously misquoting John McCain,” said Republican National Committee spokesman Alex Conant. “At nearly every event, Obama bemoans the ‘negative tone’ of politics, even while groups that support him are now running negative ads. Now, Obama should prove his rhetoric is more than ‘just words’ and stand up to MoveOn.org.”

(updated with MoveOn response after the jump)

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Clinton's campaign says it had nothing to do with the donors message.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — MoveOn.org, a grassroots powerhouse that supports Sen. Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination, launched a fundraising drive Thursday to counter Sen. Hillary Clinton's wealthy supporters.

Her supporters have recently argued with their checkbooks that superdelegates should vote their conscience at the Democratic National Convention in August.

MoveOn's drive sets up a face-off that illustrates the widening gap in the Democratic Party between some of its traditional financial backers, many of whom support Clinton, and a Netroots donor base that leans toward Obama.

Twenty of Clinton's major donors sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Wednesday that suggested they might rethink their support for the party's congressional efforts this cycle if Pelosi did not alter her publicly stated view that superdelegates should support the party's pledged delegate leader — a position that would be fatal to Clinton's presidential bid.

"We have been strong supporters of the DCCC," they wrote. "We therefore urge you to clarify your position on superdelegates and reflect in your comments a more open view to the optional independent actions of each of the delegates at the National Convention in August."

The DCCC — Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee — assists the party's House candidates.

A day later, MoveOn.org announced its fundraising drive to demonstrate its support for Pelosi's position

"It's the worst kind of insider politics — billionaires bullying our elected leaders into ignoring the will of the voters," wrote organizers in an e-mail to the group's members. "But when we all pool our resources, together we're stronger than the fat cats. So let's tell Nancy Pelosi that if she keeps standing up for regular Americans, thousands of us will have her back. And we can more than match whatever the CEOs and billionaires refuse to contribute."

Senior advisers to Clinton's campaign denied Thursday the campaign had anything to do with the donors' message to Pelosi.

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Damon and Affleck are part of a new MoveOn.org contest for Obama.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are teaming up for a new project, but this one probably won't lead to an Oscar.

The two actors are part of a new effort from MoveOn.org to create a television ad in support of Barack Obama's bid for the White House. The liberal group, which endorsed the Illinois senator last month, is asking its 3.2 million members to create a 30 second campaign commercial that "shows what inspires them about the senator's candidacy."

Damon and Affleck, along with film director Oliver Stone and singer John Legend, are among the panel of judges.

"After eight years of President Bush campaigning on fear and war, people are feeling hopeful again. They're eager to talk about what inspires them about our country — and Senator Obama leading it,” Eli Pariser, Executive Director of MoveOn said. “Since creative and grassroots energy has helped power Barack Obama’s campaign from the start, this contest is a great way to deliver that message of hope to voters in Pennsylvania and across the nation.”

In a statement, Affleck said the competition is "a chance for everyone, from aspiring filmmakers to armchair pundits, to raise their voices to put Obama over the top."

MoveOn says it will announce the winner before the crucial Pennsylvania primary which takes place early in April. It says the winning ad will air on national television but has not yet decided when. The winner will also win a gift certificate for $20,000 in video equipment.

The group held a similar competition in 2004, asking members then to create a "Bush in 30 Seconds" campaign ad. The organization received 1,500 entries in that contest.

MoveOn.org endorsed Obama Friday.

(CNN) — MoveOn.org, the liberal political action committee that claims over 3 million members, endorsed Barack Obama's White House bid Friday — the first time the group has made a primary endorsement.

The endorsement came after the group allowed its members to vote over the last two days on either Obama or rival Hillary Clinton. Obama overwhelmingly beat the New York Democrat, 70 percent to 30 percent.

“Our members’ endorsement of Sen. Obama is a clear call for a new America at this critical moment in history," MoveOn.org's Executive Director Eli Pariser said. "Seven years of the disastrous policies of the Bush Administration have left the country desperate for change. We need a president who will bring to bear the strong leadership and vision required to end the war in Iraq, provide health care to every American, deal with our climate crisis, and restore America’s standing in the world."

The group says it has 1.7 million members across the 22 states set to weigh in on Super Tuesday, and it is now actively recruiting volunteers on Obama's behalf. It also boast an impressive Get out the Vote campaign — in 2006 its members made 7 million calls on behalf of Democratic candidates.

"We’ll be able to immediately jump into action in support of Sen. Obama’s candidacy," Pariser said. "We’ve learned that the key to achieving change in Washington without compromising core values is having a galvanized electorate to back you up. And Barack Obama has our members ‘fired up and ready to go’ on that front."

The group previously made waves last September when it ran a full-page ad in the New York Times that asked of the top U.S. General in Iraq, "Gen. Petraeus Gen. "Betray Us?" The ad immediately drew outrage from members of both parties.

– CNN Producer Alexander Mooney

Watch Clinton's comments in an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – The Republican National Committee accused former President Bill Clinton Friday of engaging in “political payback,” after he condemned Republicans earlier this week for criticizing MoveOn.org’s pointed attack on Gen. David Petraeus.

"Why are the Clintons so invested in defending MoveOn.org?" RNC Chairman Mike Duncan asks in an e-mail fundraising solicitation "Well, remember what MoveOn.org's original purpose was? It was founded to attack any Republican who dared stand against the Clinton machine during the former President's impeachment and trial in the Senate for perjury and obstruction of justice."

"Not many people, even Democrats, dared to defend MoveOn.org in the wake of its attack on General Petraeus," Duncan added. "But if Bill and Hillary Clinton understand anything, it's political payback."

In an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper Wednesday, the former president said Republicans who condemned MoveOn.org for their recent ad in The New York Times attacking Petraeus are "disingenuous." He also highlighted a string of past questionable campaign commercials targeting Democrats, and suggested Republicans are acting hypocritically.

"These are the people that ran a television ad in Georgia with [former Sen.] Max Cleland — who lost half his body in Vietnam — in the same ad with Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein,” Clinton said. “That's what the Republicans did. And the person that rode to the Senate on that ad was there voting to condemn the Democrats over the Petraeus ad.

"I mean, these are the people that funded the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. And the president appointed one of the principal founders of the Swift Boat ads to be an ambassador," he continued. "But they're really upset about Petraeus. But it was okay to question [Massachusetts Sen.] John Kerry's patriotism on a blatantly dishonest play that had dishonest claims by people that didn't know what they were talking about."

A Moveon.org ad about Petraeus in the New York Times has generated a great deal of controversy.

(CNN) — The New York Times' public editor Sunday became the latest public figure to slam the paper over a controversial ad by MoveOn.org that criticized Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. general in Iraq.

Clark Hoyt, who analyzes the paper's coverage as the "readers' representative," wrote, "I think the ad violated The Times's own written standards, and the paper now says that the advertiser got a price break it was not entitled to."

The group, Hoyt wrote, paid $64,575, which is the paper's "standby" rate — meaning it cannot guarantee placement on a certain day. The group wanted it to run on Sept. 10, the day Petraeus testified to Congress about the state of affairs in Iraq, and it did, meaning MoveOn should have paid $142,083, he wrote.

In response, MoveOn announced that it was never told of the error, but that it will retroactively pay the higher rate — even though it believes the higher figure "is above the market rate paid by most" organizations.

The liberal advocacy group challenged former New York mayor and current Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani — who paid the same lower rate for his response ad — to follow its lead.

The Times said it had erred. Spokeswoman Catherine Mathis said the paper's earlier insistence that MoveOn had paid the standard rate was incorrect. "We do not, however, determine rates based on the political content of ads, and Times Company personnel did not review this ad until after the rate was accepted," she said. "Nonetheless, we made an error and were slow to respond when asked about it. We apologize."

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Watch President Bush condemn the MoveOn.org ad Thursday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – One day after the U.S. Senate unanimously approved a resolution condemning MoveOn.org’s “General Betray Us” ad and President Bush offered his own harsh condemnation of the group, the liberal advocacy organization said it is being flooded with messages of support from members of the U.S. military and their families.

And as of midnight on Thursday, MoveOn also said it had raised $500,000 from 12,000 individuals to support a new ad its running criticizing Republicans who blocked an effort to give U.S. troops more time between deployments to the Middle East.

“These folks have made sacrifices many of can’t imagine,” the organization stated in a news release. “Their charge to us was clear: keep speaking the truth about how President Bush and the Republicans have betrayed our trust.”

MoveOn has been a hot topic of conversation ever since it published an ad in The New York Times questioning the credibility of Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq.

– CNN Associate Producer Martina Stewart

Senator Barack Obama, D-Illinois

(CNN)—Democratic presidential candidate, Senator Barack Obama said Thursday, "I happen to believe that General (David) Petraeus has served this country honorably." But he also said he did not cast a vote in the Senate on Thursday condemning an ad from MoveOn.org that attacked Petraeus, because he thought it was a distraction.

Speaking at a campaign rally in Atlanta, Georgia, Obama said the Congress could better spend its time figuring out ways to care for returning veterans, and making education more affordable for American families. "The notion that we're wasting time debating about a newspaper ad, makes no sense," the senator from Illinois said. "So I didn't even vote on that vote, I just said I'm not going to vote on this. This is the kind of game playing that the American people are tired of."

Twenty Democrats in the Senate joined the Republicans in the 72-25 vote that officially repudiates the group's ad. Sen. Joe Lieberman, an Independent from Connecticut, also voted for the measure, sponsored by Texas Republican John Cornyn.

Senator Hillary Clinton of New York, also a candidate for the Democratic nomination, voted against the measure. She has been criticized by several Republican presidential candidates for not distancing herself from the ad.

Obama was introduced by former NBA star Dominique Wilkins, and the musician Usher at his rally Thursday.

– CNN Political Desk Editor Jamie Crawford

Clinton voted against a Senate measure Thursday that condemns MoveOn.org.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — The Senate overwhelmingly voted to formally condemn the liberal organization MoveOn.org Thursday for its recent publication of an ad questioning the credibility of the top commander in Iraq Gen. David Petraeus.

Twenty Democrats joined the Republicans in the 72-25 vote that officially repudiates the group's ad. Sen. Joe Lieberman, an Independent from Connecticut, also voted for the measure, sponsored by Texas Republican John Cornyn. (Related: Bush: MoveOn.org ad on Petraeus 'disgusting')

Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York, who has been criticized by several Republican presidential rivals for not formally distancing herself from the organization, voted against the measure.

As for the other 2008 Senate Democratic hopefuls, Chris Dodd of Connecticut voted against the measure while Barack Obama ofIllinois and Joe Biden of Delaware did not vote.

Republican National Committee Chairman Mike Duncan issued a statement highly critical of both Clinton and Obama shortly after the votes were cast.

“Senators Clinton and Obama need to decide whether they’re running for America, or running for MoveOn.org," he said. "If Clinton and Obama cannot bring themselves to take a stand against a vicious attack on the man leading our forces in Iraq, why should American voters believe they are capable of demonstrating the leadership we need in a Commander in Chief?”

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was also highly critical of Clinton, saying in a statement her vote raises questions over whether she would be a "credible commander-in-chief."

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Watch President Bush condemn the MoveOn.org ad Thursday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Bush on Thursday slammed last week's advertisement from an anti-war group that criticized the top military commander in Iraq and upbraided Democrats, saying they were skittish about criticizing the group.

Bush, at a press conference at the White House, was asked about his reaction to MoveOn.org's ad in The New York Times that "mocked" Gen. David Petraeus as Gen. "Betray Us."

The president called the advertisement "disgusting." The group and other war critics have accused Petraeus and the Bush administration of "cherry-picking" to make it seem that military success is being achieved in Iraq.

Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker, in reports to Congress last week, said they believe the U.S. troop increase, or "surge," has had successes, an assertion questioned by war critics.

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A new Giuliani ad says the former New York City mayor is MoveOn.org's "worst nightmare."

WASHINGTON (CNN) – The liberal advocacy group MoveOn.org announced Tuesday it is expanding its Iowa television ad attacking GOP presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani to national cable, a move that follows the former New York City mayor's release of a radio ad blasting the group and calling himself its "worst nightmare."

The MoveOn ad, which began airing in Iowa Monday, slams Giuliani for leaving the bipartisan Iraq Study Group after two months. The ad argues that he “has always been a big fan of George Bush’s war in Iraq. Yet when Giuliani had the chance to actually do something about the war, he went AWOL."

Giuliani's radio ad released Tuesday does not address MoveOn's claims, but instead calls the organization "the most powerful left wing group in the country" and says the organization is attacking the New York Republican because they “know Rudy is a Republican who can beat Democrats. And they know, no matter what they say, Rudy will never ever back down."

Soon after Giuliani's ad was unveiled, MoveOn announced it would expand its ad nationally on CNN. The organization also argued that the former mayor's ad "demonstrates that he can't answer the basic charge leveled against him: that he betrayed the public's trust when he went AWOL from the Iraq Study Group to take on high-fee speaking engagements.”

– CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney

Giuliani speaks with NASCAR Nextel Cup driver Kenny Wallace Sunday before the start of the Sylvania 300 auto race at the New Hampshire International Speedway.

LOUDON, New Hampshire (CNN) — Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani Sunday continued his defense of Gen. David Petraeus and explained to reporters why he launched his Web advertisement criticizing Sen. Hillary Clinton for not denouncing a MoveOn.org ad attacking him.

"[My] motivation was to stand up to her and to stand up for a very, very good general," the former mayor of New York City said. "What she did was just plain wrong. Sometimes there are things that are just wrong. It was wrong for her to attack the integrity of a commanding general in a time of war. It's not the right thing to do."

Giuliani's Web advertisement attacked Clinton and portrayed her position on the Iraq war as inconsistent and her remarks as disrespectful toward Petraeus.

The advertisement also denounced the liberal group MoveOn.org for their advertisement against the general and called on Clinton to do the same.

When asked by CNN if his advertisement would introduce more mudslinging into the campaign, Giuliani responded, "How come you're not asking that about MoveOn.org? Why don't you ask that about Hillary Clinton?"

"I didn't attack an American general," he added. "I am raising a point about an American politician, not about an American general and I think I have every right to do that."

Rudy Giuliani spent Sunday at the New Hampshire International Speedway for the NASCAR Nextel Cup-Sylvania 300. This was the second time the presidential hopeful attended a NASCAR event.

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MoveOn.org plans to escalate the political ad wars in an early primary state.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – After first sharply criticizing Gen. David Petraeus, MoveOn.org is now setting its sights on former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

MoveOn.org is planning to air a television ad in Iowa, which will focus on Giuliani’s “frequent absences” while working with Iraq Study Group, said a MoveOn.org spokesperson. Earlier in the week, the liberal advocacy group took out an ad in The New York Times attacking Petraeus, the top military commander in Iraq.

A Giuliani spokeswoman was dismissive of the new television ad.

“This is, after all, the same liberal group whose website compared President Bush to Adolf Hitler, the same liberal group that wanted no military response against the Taliban in Afghanistan in the aftermath of September 11,” the spokeswoman said.

The announcement of the new MoveOn.org television ad comes the same day Giuliani placed his own ad in the Times Friday rebutting the organization and attacking "the Democrats' orchestrated attacks on General Petraeus."

– CNN Ticker Producer Xuan Thai

The top political issues of the day are debated every weekday evening during Strategy Session in CNN's Situation Room.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — The debate gets heated in a special edition of the Situation Room's "Strategy Session." Watch James Carville, Democratic strategist and CNN contributor, and Terry Jeffrey, Editor-at-Large of Human Events, as they spar over the liberal advocacy group MoveOn.org, the political ad wars, and the war in Iraq.

Related: MoveOn.org moves from 'betray us' to 'betrayal' ad

Related: Giuliani blasts NY Times for MoveOn ad

The target of a political firestorm this week for its NY Times ad, MoveOn.org is launching a new TV ad next week.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Five days after MoveOn.org set off a political firestorm by publishing an ad in the New York Times attacking the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, the liberal advocacy group has set its sights on President Bush.

The organization announced Friday it is rolling out a new national television ad campaign next week accusing Bush of "a betrayal of trust."

"Before the surge, George Bush had 130,000 troops stuck in Iraq," states the ad's narrator. "Americans had elected a new Congress to bring them home. Instead, Bush sent 30,000 more troops. "

"Now he's making a big deal about you guessed it…pulling out 30,000," the narrator adds. "So, next year, there will still be 130,000 troops stuck in Iraq."

"[President Bush has] given us a sham draw-down plan — 30,000 troops by next July is not a plan to end the war," Nita Chaudhary, a spokeswoman for the organization said in a statement. "No one is fooled by this. It’s just a political scheme to provide cover for Republicans and run out the clock to the end of his term."

Absent from the television spot is Petraeus, who was accused by MoveOn in its now infamous "Petraeus or Betray us" New York Times ad of not being truthful in his Iraq report for political reasons.

The Times ad claimed Patraeus "will not admit what everyone knows: Iraq is mired in an unwinnable religious civil war." It also suggested that Petraeus' testimony was influenced by the White House.

Eli Pariser, executive director of MoveOn.org, told CNN the group wanted to move past Petraeus in the TV ad campaign and "remind people about the president's role in this as well."

And despite condemnation from members of both parties over the ad in the New York Times, Pariser says he has no regrets the organization placed it, saying, "We're happy it caused people to take a close look at the statistics."

Meanwhile former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a candidate for president, placed his own ad in the New York Times Friday rebutting MoveOn.org and attacking "the Democrats' orchestrated attacks on General Petraeus."

– CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney

Giuliani said Clinton, MovOn.org, and the New York Times should apologize 'for what they did.'

(CNN) — MoveOn.org's New York Times ad calling into question Gen. David Petraeus' testimony before Congress drew more Republican ire Thursday — this time over the price the non-profit political advocacy group paid for the full-page ad.

The New York Post, citing MoveOn.org, reported Thursday that the organization paid $65,000 for the ad, calling it a $116,000 discount from the Times' usual $167,000 price. That prompted a pair of GOP presidential candidates to complain.

Rudy Giuliani, campaigning in Atlanta, blasted the Times and demanded that the newspaper "give us the same rate, the heavily discounted rate they gave MoveOn.org for that abominable ad."

And on Friday, the paper published the former New York City mayor's ad that defends Petraeus' record and criticizes Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York, for her recent tough questioning of the general.

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Gen. David Petraeus listens to opening statements Monday before testifying at a congressional hearing.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, introduced a Senate resolution Tuesday condemning MoveOn.org's recent attack on Gen. David Petraeus in a New York Times advertisement. The move comes the same day the top U.S. general in Iraq is set to testify before key Senate committees.

The measure was offered as a nonbinding amendment to the transportation appropriations bill currently on the floor, and but was ruled “not germane” and will not be put to a vote.

Before the ruling, Senate Democratic Whip Richard Durbin, D-Illinois, gave a speech critical of the ad, calling it “a poor choice of words,” but he defended the group’s right to place the ad. He added that Democrats should not be held accountable for all the words and actions of anti-war groups.

The resolution follows a similar one introduced in the House Monday by Minority Leader John Boehner, who called the liberal advocacy group's advertisement "despicable" and said it should be "condemned by all members of Congress, including the Democratic leadership."

The ad in question displayed a large black-and-white picture of Petraeus with the caption "General Petraeus or General Betray Us?" Below the picture, the ad alleged the general would likely be untruthful in his testimony on Iraq for political reasons.

Several Democrats joined Republicans in condemning MoveOn.org's ad Monday, but the group’s executive director said he stood by it.

"Every major independent study and many major news organizations cast serious doubt on Petraeus' claims," said Eli Pariser, executive director of MoveOn.org Political Action Committee.”

– CNN’s Ted Barrett and Deirdre Walsh

Petraeus is to deliver a report on the progress of the troop 'surge' in Iraq this week.

(CNN)–With the long awaited Iraq progress report set to be delivered this week to Congress by General David Petraeus, and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, the Sunday morning political talk shows were full of debate about what the report may ultimately say.

On Monday, the liberal advocacy group MoveOn.org, is set to publish an ad in the New York Times that claims Petraeus is not giving an objective, independent view of the situation on the ground. The ad says 'General Petraeus or General Betray us? Cooking the books for the White House."

On ABC's 'This Week,' moderator George Stephanopoulos, asked GOP presidential hopeful John McCain what he thought about the attacks on Petraeus' credibility. "I know this man, and many people know this general. He's not going to allow politicization of the dedication and service that not only he is providing, but the brave young men and women under his command."

"He served his country with honor and distinction," the Senator from Arizona said, "and if we have to sink to that level to besmirch the reputation of a very fine and wonderful American, then I lament the level of dialogue. I hope that my Democrat friends will not be guided by move.org."

Over on 'Fox News Sunday,' moderator Chris Wallace asked Senator Dianne Feinstein about recent attacks on Petraeus' credibility. "Well, I don't think General Petraeus has an independent view in that sense," the Democrat from California said. "General Petraeus is there to succeed. He may say the progress is uneven. He may say it's substantial."

"I don't know what he will say," Feinstein said. "You can be sure we'll listen to it. But I don't think he's an independent evaluator."

Petraeus, the top American military commander in Iraq, will deliver a progress report, written by the White House, to Congress this week. Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador, will deliver his assessment on political progress there.

– CNN Political Desk Editor Jamie Crawford

Children take the spotlight in a new anti-war ad aimed at Republicans.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – A prominent anti-war group launched a new advertisement Thursday showing children in army uniforms. The ad is being used to attack politically vulnerable pro-war Republican senators in their home states.

"How long will Republican Senators keep us stuck in Iraq?" asks an announcer in the ad. "Should we start training our children now?"

By showing children in fatigues, the Campaign to Defend America, associated with the liberal advocacy group MoveOn.org, is aiming to illustrate the consequences of staying in what it calls "an endless civil war."

The ad is now being used to target Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Sen. Norm Coleman of Minnesota and Sen. Pete Domenici of New Mexico — all of whom voted for the war in Iraq and are up for reelection in 2008. The ad will air in both the senators’ home states and in Washington, DC.

"Mitch McConnell needs to put his vote where his mouth is," MoveOn.org Washington Director Tom Matzzie said. "It's September and the surge has failed. No more six-month free passes for Bush. The ad reminds people that McConnell and other Republicans are pushing an endless war in Iraq — somebody else's civil war."

The ads will air for the next ten days.  As for the amount of money being spent to air it, the group said it is spending $279,000 to air the ad in Maine, Washington, DC and Kentucky and another $230,000 in Minnesota and New Mexico.

– CNN Associate Producer Lauren Kornreich