As John McCain makes one final attempt to turn the fortunes of his campaign around, he has chosen to make George W. Bush his newest target. Evidently, he's taken the message of Republican strategists to heart. This really is his last opportunity to turn things around, but nature abhors a vaccum. He's not alone out there. There are greater forces at work in this world that seem more than capable of preventing him for dislodging himself from the tar-pits of Bushworld.
In case McCain hadn't noticed, Barack Obama's back from Hawaii, and he hasn't lost a step. Upon hearing of McCain's efforts to put distance between himself and "the sitting President," Obama went quickly to work.
As CNN reports "The Illinois senator levied more criticism at opponent Sen. John McCain on Saturday, mocking the Arizona Republican by saying McCain is just
"trying to break with his president over the last 10 days after having supported him for the last eight years."
"He denounced the president for letting things get completely out of hand; that's what he said," Obama told a crowd in Reno, Nevada. "In fact, John McCain is so opposed to George Bush's policies that he voted with him 90 percent of the time for the first eight years. That's right, he decided to really stick it to George Bush -- 10 percent of the time.
"So, let's be clear. John McCain attacking George Bush for his out-of-hand economic policy is like Dick Cheney attacking George Bush for his go-it-alone foreign policy. What Joe Biden says: It's like Tonto getting mad at the Lone Ranger."
I don't know about the rest of you right now, but I can't help but feel extremely comforted by the fact that our candidate is so clearly in charge of this election. I've been prone to use lots of sports metaphors, especially boxing. In this case it's clear that Obama has McCain on the ropes, and he's not letting him off them.
The Republican's legs are weak. He can barely stand up. He's still throwing punches, but they're so dreadfully telegraphed that all he hits is air. Going into this final week, I can't help but think that McCan's going to be relieved to hear the final bell ring. He's more than ready to drag himself back to his own corner, knowing full well that the outcome of this match is already decided. There's little need to wait to hear the judges' scorecards. It's not a matter of whether or not he's lost this fight, but how badly.