Politico on the McCain Campaign

Politico: Why McCain is going so Negative

I really do somewhat feel for John McCain. He was more or less unsuccessful at the national level as long as the "straight talk" rule stood. His high-mindedness in the 2000 election was brutally and savagely shown to be ineffective against a politician lots of money and no shame like George W. Bush. He is now more popular than he has every been (which reflects as badly on his supporters as anyone). This revelation is well-put in the above article. A few excerpts:

We recognize it’s not going to be 2000 again,” McCain spokesman Brian Rogers said, alluding to the media’s swooning coverage of McCain’s ill-fated crusade against then-Gov. George W. Bush and the GOP establishment. “But he lost then. We’re running a campaign to win. And we’re not too concerned about what the media filter tries to say about it.”

...

“Every day not talking about the economy, the war and how to fix a broken system is a victory for McCain,” said John Weaver, a former top strategist to the nominee who left the campaign last year. “They’re going to ride it as long as they can and as long as the mainstream media puts up every ridiculous charge.”

...

“If they don’t attack her [Palin], she’s going to go back to being the vice presidential nominee,” Nelson said of the Democrats. “And in the natural scheme of things, the focus will go back to McCain and Obama.”

This last point seems to be important, and is part of the reason I try not to talk about Palin anymore unless I'm asked (I have two days and counting). She is relevant because she reflects badly on McCain's judgement and character. If the focus can be brought back to McCain, I think he will drop back down to a more socially optimal level in the polls.