McCain is still recovering from his BAILOUT broken play.
See, his offensive director called the old, standard play—find a dispute, appoint himself middleman and the person who would bring the conservative base to reason, show up, and the MSM would hail him as politically correct Republican.
But the game has changed. He should have first realized this when John Kerry viciously backstabbed him despite McCain sticking up for Kerry against the Swift Boaters in ‘04. The Democrats sabotaged that meeting with the doofus Bush about the bailout and went in with a plan to declare Obama the healer and reasonable one. Which they put into play minutes after the meeting, MSM going along.
McCain looked like a tired, extirpated non-entity. Obama got a bump, but cooled, luckily, because branding himself as the leader of the bailout wasn’t so popular after all. McCain wasted another opportunity to separate himself from Bush on the bailout, at least question it openly, but failed, failed, failed.
He’s running an ineffectual ad about himself being for reform of Fannie, but people remember the bailout, not 2003. His ad is unimaginative, the usual dark shadowing and emphasis on images of black people to supposedly scare white people. He won’t highlight the Senators who are worse problems, because they’re his “friends”, he thinks.
He’s getting old. By another stroke of great luck, so is Obama. Worst choices for President ever to follow Bush II, the worst president ever.
You’re right, put in Palin.
McCain can now drop the whole "Maverick" title. It doesn't fit a go-along-to-get-along-lets-all-hold-hands-and-work-together man. He is NO Maverick...more like Festus from Gunsmoke or Deputy Barney Fife. Sarah Palin is more Marshall Dillon or Andy Taylor and McCain the 'sidekick'.