Good news from the presidential campaign trail this afternoon, via Rob Bluey at RedState -- Sen. John McCain has wholeheartedly endorsed an amendment sponsored by Sen. Jim DeMint that would impose a one-year moratorium on all pork-barrel earmarks:

“I absolutely would support such an amendment -- and abolish [earmarks] altogether,” McCain told conservative bloggers on a conference call this afternoon. “As I’ve said, I will veto any earmark project that comes across my desk.”

DeMint will offer the one-year earmark moratorium as an amendment to the Democrats’ budget proposal in two weeks when the Senate takes up debate on the floor. His schedule permitting, McCain said he would make the trip to Washington to vote for the measure.

“I really can’t tell you, traveling and campaigning now for many months, how dispirited the Bridge to Nowhere or earmark and pork-barrel spending was to our Republican base,” he said. “We lost in 2006 not because of Iraq but because spending got out of control.”

Republicans on Capitol Hill really should be following McCain's lead on this issue. He's going to be the anti-pork candidate from now until November, and if he wins, for at least the next four years, so now is the time for all Republicans to jump on the bandwagon.

Old pork-barrel habits die hard, of course, and I'm guessing that Sen. DeMint is going to get pressure from his earmark-addicted colleagues to drop his amendment and not put them in an uncomfortable position. But considering their record the past few years, they absolutely need to be in an uncomfortable position.

Americans for Prosperity -- and I'm sure every other taxpayer group in town -- is very much looking forward to Key Voting the DeMint amendment. It'll be a rare opportunity for taxpayers to see who truly wants to fix the problem, and who's just paying lip service.