… appears to be working for John McCain. From the Associated Press:
McCain, who had vowed to avoid the kind of negative tactics that were used against him in the 2000 Republican primary contest with George W. Bush, began attacking Obama during the Illinois senator’s trip to Iraq and Afghanistan late last month.
In the course of the McCain offensive, Obama’s lead in a Gallup Poll tracking survey slid from nine percentage points on July 26, when he returned from overseas, to nothing by Saturday, when the poll showed the candidates tied at 44 percent.
I think this has more to do with what McCain is highlighting - Obama’s inexperience - than voters buying a candidate who engages in negative tactics. In other words, McCain wants us to focus on Obama’s biggest weakness, mainly his resume, which is paper thin. Just five years ago, Obama was serving in the Illinois Senate, and now he’s one step away from occupying the White House. When McCain ties that inexperience with his attack on “Obama thinks he’s the nation’s savior,” making the Democrat look rather presumptuous with his short work experience in Washington, D.C., McCain’s effectively sowing a lot of doubt in voter’s minds.
RealClearPolitics, which compiles an average from polls nationwide, has the two candidates in a virtual tie (Obama up by about 2 percentage points).
That’s why Obama would be wise to look beyond Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia for his vice president and consider an Evan Bayh. And by the way, why isn’t Bill Richardson on the shortlist?
