It's fun to watch a Republican campaign as poorly run as McCain's. But it makes me wonder: what would I do if I were suddenly put in charge of his campaign? My first reaction would be to run it even further into the ground. You might think that's not possible, but like the man said, politics is the art of the possible.
But what if I were like the Alec Guinness character in Bridge on the River Kwai, and became strangely compelled to reconstruct the McCain Campaign. What would I do?
First of all, I would hold off on all attacks on Obama until the very end. For now, I'd try to horn in on his popularity by emphasizing McCain's positions that deviate, however slightly, from stale Republican ideology. I wouldn't have McCain run a "me-too" campaign, but rather a positive campaign that took great strides in not looking and feeling like a standard Republican campaign.
I would dispense with the attack of the day. I would ignore any of Obama's attacks. Obama will eventually quit attacking, for no other reason than it's unseemly to kick an old dog. Obama's campaign will get complacent and sloppy.
I would have McCain spend his time in conservative districts in competitive states, lavishing time and attention on conservatives. I would ignore independents for now. The goal would be that by October, have conservatives feel genuine affection for McCain, even though he's not giving them the red meat they want. This is a difficult task, but an absolutely necessary one for now. It's not good enough to get their reluctant support - he has to get them to truly like him.
For Vice President, I would pick Huckabee, who will be the prototype republican of the twenty-first century, the twenty-first century Reagan (BTW, I hate Reagan).
When October comes, hit Obama hard, with both guns blazing. Use the usual line of attack, that he's inexperienced and dangerous. Make it seem like he's going to take away your choice of doctors. Make it seem like he's going to let all the "terrorists" in Guantanamo go free.
Conservatives, who by this time like McCain, will now go completely ga-ga over him. They'll work their assess off for their friend who has finally found the old-time religion.
On the last two days of the election, I'd smear the hell out of Obama. Be racist as hell in those areas of the country where voters aren't completely repelled by such talk. Make insinuations about Obama's religion. Associate him with scary black people like Wright, Jackson and Sharpton.
If McCain does all of that, and he catches a few breaks, he could win the election. He would completely lose all self-respect (not that he's go a whole hell of a lot left right now). He would have no mandate, and it would be four years of the same.
This is a very risky strategy. If it backfires, he could end up with less than 100 electoral votes. But if he keeps up his current strategy, he will most definitely end up with less than 270.