The Wright Stuff

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I said to start expecting the Ayers and Wright attacks. Although there was some speculation that McCain would lay off TV ads featuring the Good Reverend, that notion has rapidly disintegrated in the wake of recent cringe-inducers from Sarah Palin:

"He's out there palling around with terrorists..."

"I guess, because he didn’t get up and leave — to me, that does say something about character..."

Whether or not Sarah Palin has McCain's approval for mentioning Wright is irrelevant, because just bringing up the guy's name will create media attention. The final phase of McCain's campaign is beginning, and it's going to be an ugly next month, as Obama has already shown that he will retaliate with attacks on the Keating 5 associations.

There's a difference this time around, though. The first time the Ayers and Wright attacks were being talked about, it was actual news, being driven by the media's non-stop discussion. Same goes with Ayers, when Hillary Clinton bizarrely made Obama "reject AND denounce" his association with him.

This time, Ayers and Wright will not be news in and of themselves, but because the McCain campaign is choosing to bring the issue up. The attacks will not be reported the same way they were during the primaries -- it will likely be reported as the McCain campaign choosing to take the low road. For this reason alone, the attacks have a chance to backfire.

The economy is still struggling, and voters -- even those unsure about Obama, may be turned off by McCain trying to make the discussion about guilt by association, rather than how he will help families and individuals struggling financially.

I expect the race to tighten before November 4th, but I don't expect the end result to change -- for now.