Attack mode

Am I the only one disappointed to learn that Sen. John McCain might very well use this last month of the presidential race to attempt to sully the character of his opponent? If this strategy becomes reality, I would indeed be disappointed.

Such a strategy, I think, will not work. Instead, McCain ought to use the final four weeks of this fascinating 2008 political year to highlight where he and Sen. Barack Obama are different. The Wall Street Journal suggests this morning that McCain needs to tap into the frustration being felt across the electorate...and to make that anger work for him. This strategy would be more appropriate for a campaign that insisted that the negative approach to past elections was not relevant any longer. TIME magazine offers a similar assessment:

Time contributor Mike Murphy: 'McCain's best option now is to ditch the chainsaw and offer a scared and angry country what it badly wants: hope and leadership.'

For his part, Obama needs to counter-punch, and I suspect he will.

Let's see how this "go negative" approach manifests itself in tonight's second presidential debate, which likely will be a bit testy.