John McCain’s efforts to blame his campaign tactics on Obama are becoming increasingly laughable.

First, he suggested back in August that Obama forced him to go negative by refusing his offer of a series of townhall debates:

Both men pronounced themselves thoroughly frustrated by the personal bitterness and negativism they have seen in the two months since they learned they would be running against each other.

“I’m very sorry about it,” McCain said in a Saturday interview at his Arlington headquarters. “I think we could have avoided at least some of this if we had agreed to do the town hall meetings” together, as he had suggested, during the summer months.

Then on Satuday, the Washington Post quoted McCain advisers again attempting to pin the blame on Obama for the vicious last-ditch character offensive that McCain is launching:

McCain advisers said the new approach is in part a reaction to Obama, whose rhetoric on the stump and in commercials has also become far harsher and more aggressive.

They noted that Obama has run television commercials for months linking McCain to lobbyists and hinting at a lack of personal ethics — an allegation that particularly rankles McCain, aides said.

Does anyone believe this?