WASHINGTON -- Three months ago, Sen. John McCain made a calculated decision to begin painting a not-so-pretty picture of Sen. Barack Obama. Although Sen. Hillary Clinton was -- and still is -- battling Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination, McCain began preparing his case against the Illinois senator early on. McCain's advisers, like other observers, had concluded that Obama was the likely nominee and wanted to begin shaping Obama's image while the Democrat was still consumed with fighting Clinton. Defining one's opponent is a key task of any campaign, and simply put, McCain has had a long head start. As...