Or not...

By GottaLaff

They spoke too soon:

The Republican National Committee and John McCain's campaign seized on the ruling and used it to frame Democrat Barack Obama as a radical liberal on the issue of gun rights, in the first step toward a media and advertising push in more rural battleground states that “highlights that Barack Obama is the most anti gun candidate in American presidential history,” according to RNC spokesman Danny Diaz.

Obama:

In regard to Thursday's Supreme Court ruling, the Obama campaign released a statement saying, "As president, Barack Obama will continue to respect the constitutional rights of law-abiding gun owners, and for voters who have concerns about this issue, they will find real comfort in Sen. Obama’s record. But when it comes to health care and energy and other economic issues that many gun owners care about, Barack Obama offers a fundamental change, while John McCain offers more of the same."

McCain v. Obama:

McCain was one of 55 lawmakers who signed a “friend of the court” brief opposing the D.C. gun ban. Obama, who did not sign the document, has refused throughout the presidential campaign to clarify his stand on the D.C. ban despite persistent questions from reporters. Obama has said in the past, however, that he supports an individual right to bear arms.

The Supreme's decision gets a response:

Harvard Professor Lawrence Tribe, an expert in constitutional law, said Thursday's ruling was the most politically loaded decision since the Bush v. Gore decision in 2000. It also marked the first ruling by the high court on the Second Amendment in U.S. history. The decision upheld an individual right to bear arms and, according to Tribe, “certainly undermines any categorical prohibition on weapons used for self-defense,” while still permitting restrictions on the categories of people who can own guns and “reasonable regulation.”

And here's the "spoke to soon" part:

The split 5-4 decision also thrust the issue of the court's composition into the campaign, as the next president may appoint as many as three new justices.

The McCain campaign immediately used the ruling to raise Obama’s more liberal positions on guns, reaching back to the presumptive Democratic nominee's voting record as an Illinois state legislator.

NRA’s chief lobbyist, Chris W. Cox:

"There are a lot of bitter gun owners who are looking to vote against Obama."

McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds:

“We will blast him about this ruling,” said McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds, as the Republican’s communication team prepared to organize a morning conference call to raise Obama’s prior votes on guns and challenge his silence on the ban. “It’s a hard contrast issue, and we are going to hit it out of the park.”

So much for "effectively [taking] the gun issue out of the fall campaign." Sigh.