Caught between George W. Bush and his own vapidity, John McCain has consciously decided to run a negative campaign against Barack Obama. This will work to McCain's serious detriment, for at least two reasons: first, it will tarnish beyond repair McCain's brand-name of Mr. Clean, and second, it will present the country with a caricature of Obama that the the latter can live down in spades just by showing up. The one constant about this campaign, which I have no fear of alteration, is that Obama is a genuine heavyweight whose very thought processes prove the point. Thus, at some point, the McCain attacks will be seen by most as veiled attacks on "newness," stated euphemistically. That is a very dangerous strategy. Whether or not Obama returns the negative fire -- and there is a lot to criticize McCain about not only from a policy standpoint but from a character and judgment standpoint -- McCain will continue to paint himsellf a doddering fool the more he goes negative. That type of frank meanness, sacrificing an uplifting policy-driven campaign for a foray in the mud, will work to McCain's everlasting detriment.
