I'm a minority here, but I think zero buzz would have been the smarter move. The election should be a referendum on Barack Obama. That's the only way we can win this. If it becomes a referendum on John McCain or George Bush or anything else (aside from maybe Osama bin Laden), we lose.
That's what the poll numbers suggest. There's a reason we lost Congress in '06 -- GOP branding is in the toilet. The question the public needs to ask is -- what's the alternative? This year, the alternative is an untested Chicago radical -- far too extreme for the country.
And that would give the game away, by making it Barack's to lose. The MSM would quickly play down and cover up any gaffe BHO made. And BHO could play kill-the-clock and win.
Only by getting the buzz away from Barack does McCain force BHO to get off from the same old boring stuff. And then the chance for a big gaffe gets stronger.
This is a referendum on how the two Pres candidates make decisions. And McCains VP decision is getting the buzz. He wins this round.