The Republican National Committee and the McCain campaign are pouncing on the Obama-Ayers controversy with two new television ads that link Sen. Barack Obama with the Vietnam War-era radical, William Ayers, now an education professor. Until now, the Obama-Ayers link has been the subject of ads by third-party groups, or run exclusively on the Web. This marks a significant change in tenor as the GOP seeks to turn up the volume of attacks against Obama.

For background on the education ties that link Ayers and Obama, read EdWeek’s new story here.

The McCain ad states: “When convenient, he worked with terrorist Bill Ayers. When discovered, he lied. Obama. Blind ambition. Bad judgment.” The campaign said the ads will be broadcast nationally.

ThE RNC ad, which identifies Ayers as the leader of a “terrorist group” and says Obama’s first campaign was launched in his home, will run in Indiana and Wisconsin: