Democrats on Thursday highlighted what they see as Sen. John McCain’s weaknesses based on the results of swing state polling conducted by the Democratic National Committee (DNC).

DNC Chairman Howard Dean and Democratic pollsters said the presumptive GOP presidential nominee is vulnerable to charges he is not the independent voice he claims to be, criticized the Arizona senator for changing his position on key issues and claimed he is ignorant of the economy.

Dean argued McCain would have been a threat to compete for independent swing voters had he won the GOP nomination in 2000. Since then, he has changed on too many positions and tacked too far to the right to win their votes now.

“He has damaged his own brand dramatically since 2000,” Dean said. “Many of his wounds are self-inflicted.”

In recent days, Dean has stepped up his harsh rhetoric in attacking McCain while the two Democratic presidential candidates, Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) and Barack Obama (Ill.), continue to battle one another for their party’s nomination.

Dean has focused much of his criticism on McCain’s assertion that he would not be opposed to an American presence in Iraq for the next 100 years. “When you mention 100 years and Iraq in the same sentence [to focus groups], it doesn’t matter what John McCain’s qualifying statements are, it just killed him. It just killed him,” Dean said on Thursday.

McCain’s campaign and the Republican National Committee (RNC) have charged Dean and Democrats with distorting McCain’s statement, which they said was predicated on an end to U.S. casualties. They have compared a future U.S. presence in Iraq to U.S. troops in South Korea, Japan and Germany.

Amber Wilkinson, an RNC spokeswoman, said the DNC’s polling is clearly flawed and that McCain is viewed favorably because of his long history of service to the country.

“Howard Dean’s delusions aside, John McCain is widely respected for being straightforward and honest with the American people, and he has a lifelong and distinguished record of service that has warranted the admiration of voters from all walks of life,” Wilkinson said in a statement. “At the end of the day, Americans are going to elect Senator McCain as President because he has the judgment, character, and positive vision to strengthen our nation’s economy and win the war on terror.”

Pollsters Allan Rivlin and Cornell Belcher held four focus groups, two in Charleston, W. Va. and two in Minneapolis. They also surveyed 1,219 swing voters in 17 swing states. Dean and the pollsters declined to list which states were included.

All in all, Rivlin and Belcher said McCain faces a challenge since 76 percent of those polled think the country is on the wrong track.

Rivlin said the focus groups indicated voters are “really confused” because they are having a hard time reconciling their impressions of McCain 2000 with the current presumptive Republican nominee.

Dean said some of those polled brought up McCain’s age and questioned his health; McCain would be 72 if elected.

Dean insisted the DNC would not try to exploit this issue, but said Democrats would target a second view espoused by focus groups; that McCain has “old-fashioned views.”

The RNC’s internal polling, distributed at last week’s RNC state chairman’s meeting and obtained by The Hill, paints a different picture. Its numbers show McCain leading both Clinton and Obama nationally and picking up more independents and those crossing party lines.

Against Obama, McCain was the choice of 20 percent of the Democrats polled, compared to Obama’s 11 percent of Republicans. He also led independents with 48 percent.

McCain won 16 percent of Democrats polled to Clinton’s 6 percent of Republicans, and he led in the independent vote with 54 percent.