ÿþ<html> <head> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1"> <title>OnlineColumnist®.com: Putin Punishes Georgia</title> <meta name="generator" content="Adobe GoLive 4"> <style type="text/css"> .style2 { font-size: large; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial; } .style3 { height: 69px; } .style4 { font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold; } </style> </head> <body bgcolor="white" vlink="black"> <center> <table cool width="624" height="2719" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" gridx="16" showgridx gridy="16" showgridy> <tr height="79"> <td width="133" height="118" rowspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"><a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="110" width="62" src="images/discobolos.logo.transp.gif" border="0"></a></td> <td width="7" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="482" height="79" colspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="140"><img height="75" width="450" src="images/banner.GIF"></td> <td width="1" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" height="79"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="79"></td> </tr> <tr height="39"> <td width="182" height="39"></td> <td width="300" height="39" valign="top" align="left" xpos="322"><a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="14" width="267" src="images/divisionofNEW.GIF" border="0"></a></td> <td width="1" height="39"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="39"></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="624" colspan="6" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0" class="style3"> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="black" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="#99ffcc" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4"> <tr> <td align="center"> <div align="left"> <a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> HOME</strong></font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> &#8226; <a href="articlesindex.html">ARTICLES</a> &#8226; <a href="books.html">BOOKS</a> &#8226; <a href="teflon.html"> THE </a><a href="teflon.html">TEFLON</a><a href="teflon.html"> REPORT</a> &#8226; <a href="mailto:letters@onlinecolumnist.com"> REACTIONS</a> &#8226; <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">ABOUT DISCOBOLOS</a></strong></font></div> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr height="2"> <td width="133" height="2">&nbsp;</td> <td width="489" height="2576" colspan="3" rowspan="2" align="left" xpos="133" content valign="top" csheight="2573"> <p class="style2">McCain&#39;s Last Shot</p> <p><b><font face="Arial,Geneva,Helvetica">by John M. Curtis</font></b><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b><a href="books.html"><br> </a></b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b> (310) 204-8700</b></font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><i>Copyright October15, 2008<br>All Rights Reserved. </i></font>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="style4">W</span>hen GOP presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) sits at table with CBS News anchor Bob Shieffer for the last debate at Hofstra University tonight, he ll make his final pitch to undecided voters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>McCain needs a lucky knockout punch to defeat Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (D-Il.), whose campaign continues to power ahead while McCain is stuck in reverse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>McCain looks for that special something that can turn things around:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>If only he had the magic key for the economy; if he only had the answers on Iraq; and if he only had the silver bullet for distressed homeowners.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>For months before the economy crashed, McCain touted President George W. Bush many accomplishments, telling voters that the  fundamentals of the economy were strong. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>In the last debate, McCain must sell voters that he s different that Bush.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>McCain and his running mate Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin recently stopped slamming Barack s character when they lost over two points in the polls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Only after the strategy backfired did both candidates stop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>McCain will attempt to paint Barack in tonight s debate as a  tax-and-spend liberal, whose spending plans will bankrupt the country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>He s got only one small problem:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Tax and spending policies of his party have already wrecked the economy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Obama need only point out the GOP track record, leaving the country with record deficits and broken economy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Were it not for draconic intervention by the Federal Reserve Board, the country could and still may face a 1929-type depression.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>GOP ads asking,  Who is the real Barack Obama? attempt to paint a sinister picture to the paranoid-prone voters, spreading innuendo and gossip about Barack s secret  Muslim life.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>When McCain confronted an angry crowd at a town-hall in Lakeville, Minn., accusing Obama of being an Arab, he was dealing with his character assassination accusing Barack of  palling around with terrorists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>While McCain and Palin don t take their words seriously, some voters can t separate campaign rhetoric from reality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Since McCain and Palin s character attacks boomeranged, it s unlikely McCain will dwell on innuendo in tonight s debate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>McCain hopes to attack Barack, knock him off-balance and force him into a game-changing error.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Judging by the last two debates, it s far more likely McCain will trip on his shoelaces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Barack s cool-and-collected demeanor has thrown McCain for a loop, unable to score points and change the race s dynamics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>McCain hopes to show the Barack was not ready for primetime, raising doubts in undecided voters.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]>`<span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Much has been said in recent weeks of how the deteriorated economy helped Obama widen his lead since the Sept. 1-4 Republican National Convention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Picking Palin Aug. 29 handed Barack an early Christmas gift.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>While loved by Bush s ever-shrinking base, Palin frightens swing voters, accounting, even more than the economy, for McCain s slide in the polls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Another thing greatly overlooked is Obama s charisma and uncanny ability to attract voters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>His Aug.. 28 acceptance speech at Denver s Mile High Stadium goes down as one of the greatest pieces of American oratory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Let there be no mistake, McCain s uphill battle runs against a vastly different Democratic landscape.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Whatever bitterness remained from Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton s (D-N.Y.) loss to Obama, it s given way to a Party united to beat McCain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>McCain still struggles to excite Bush s elusive base.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>McCain has reinvented himself too many times, now offering the most socialist mortgage buyback plan in the nation s history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Throwing a bone to Bush s base by picking Palin doesn t change McCain s stripes that run counter to his idol, former President Ronald Reagan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Independents and crossover Democrats can t stomach the idea to putting Palin a heartbeat from the presidency.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>It s one thing to help cash-strapped financial institutions but still another to use the bailout to pay off misguided homeowners that bit off more than they could chew.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>McCain s plan, announced in the Oct. 7 Nashville debate, to slash domestic spending, runs afoul with the vast majority of voters already feeling punished enough by today s economic problems.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>McCain has stubbornly defended Bush s Iraq policy, seeking, at every turn, to take credit for the  surge, rather than find a way out.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Tonight s debate promises some tense moments, especially for McCain who must take some risks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Ahead on points, McCain must land a knockout punch to change his slide in the polls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Slamming Obama won t be enough to convince voters that McCain has a handle on what to do with the economy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Everyday McCain appears with Palin, it s a reminder to swing voters that his first major decision didn t put  country first but rather pandered to Bush s shrinking base.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Why McCain felt compelled to go after a small<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>piece of the pie, only 26% of registered voters, is anyone s guess.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Picking Palin was a bad omen, giving a free peek into McCain s presidency.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Fundamentally, McCain needs to change the frame of the race in 90-minutes, said GOP pollster Tony Fabrizio, quipping, his only chance is  to go back in time. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Tonight s debate promises more jousting but no game-changer.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> &nbsp;<bAbout the Author</u><b>John M. Curtis</b> writes politically neutral commentary analyxing spin in national and global news.&nbsp; He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of <i><a href="books.html">Dodging The Bullet</a> </i>and <i><a href="books.html"> Operation Charisma</a></i>.</p> </td> <td width="1" height="2576" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" height="2"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2"></td> </tr> <tr height="2574"> <td width="133" height="2574" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"><img height="172" width="111" src="images/johninframe3.jpg"></td> <td width="1" height="2574"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2574"></td> </tr> <tr height="1" cntrlrow> <td width="133" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="133" height="1"></td> <td width="7" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="7" height="1"></td> <td width="182" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="182" height="1"></td> <td width="300" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="300" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"></td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2" width="597"> <tr> <td><font size="1" face="Arial,Geneva,Helvetica"> <hr noshade size="1"> </font><a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> Home</strong></font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> || <a href="articlesindex.html">Articles</a> || <a href="books.html">Books</a> || <a href="teflon.html">The Teflon Report</a> || <a href="mailto:letters@onlinecolumnist.com"> Reactions</a> || <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">About Discobolos</a></strong></font> <div align="left"> <p><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">This site designed, developed and hosted by the experts at</font><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> <a href="http://www.cmeonline.net" target="_blank"><img height="30" width="138" src="images/cmelogoANIM.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"></a></font></p> </div> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">©1999-2005 <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"> Discobolos Consulting Services, Inc.</a><br> (310) 204-8300<br> All Rights Reserved. </font></td> </tr> </table> </center> </body> </html>