John McCain is in Concord, N.C., this morning, delivering the stump speech he began using at the beginning of the week. While continuing to distance himself from the current administration, McCain's speech also now features the newest star of the campaign -- "Joe the Plumber."

"We had a good debate this week, and I thought I did pretty well, but let's have some straight talk: the real winner this week was Joe the Plumber," McCain said, according to prepared remarks. "Joe won, because he's the only person to get a real answer out of Senator Obama about his plans for our country. Congratulations Joe. That is an impressive achievement."

Noting the importance of North Carolina's 15 electoral votes, McCain called it "a must-win state on November 4th." The race there is currently a dead heat, with Obama leading by 1.2 points in the RCP Average.