Consensus: McCain missed the boat

I agree with the Hammer over at the Washington Post--McCain is throwing too many hail marys, making Obama look cool and stable.

I've always argued that he had to throw hail marys.  The real problem is not that he's doing so, it's that the last one fumbled badly.  The gimmicky "let's-suspend-the-campaign" when he had no intentions of following through on skipping the debate was really bad.  The fill-in for Rush Limbaugh today was bemoaning the chance McCain had to rally voters for change by opposing his party's capitol hill leadership and taking a very popular position opposing the bailout.  

I advised McCain's team to oppose the bailout on 9/22.  I guess they aren't reading this blog, or else they felt that the downside I listed--that McCain couldn't pull it off because he doesn't know enough about economic issues--certified the decision not to oppose the plan.  

Yet it is becoming more and more clear that this might be *the* turning point in the campaign.  McCain had a shot, and he blew it.  Airball.  He is sinking in the polls.  On the ground in Ohio people have the sense that the tide has turned.  A former White House employee admitted to me over the weekend that McCain missed a big opportunity.  

Palin in the debate was all about stealing the change message.  Effective--if it had been backed up with substance.  Palin didn't provide substance.  McCain could have provided it for her, by taking a popular position sharply divergent from Obama's on such a visible issue.  

McCain shot an airball with time running out.  There's still time left, but it starting to look like desperation-ball for the Republicans.