If I were John McCain right now…

I’d try to finish off the campaign with 4 primary words to brand the Republican ticket:

Proven, Principled, Patriotic Leadership

The McCain/Palin ticket can lay legitimate claim to all four of those words (yes, I know, many would dispute that, but bear with me…), and can project a positive reason to vote Republican. Also, every one of those words can be used to highlight Obama/Biden weaknesses by contrast.

In uncertain times, this is the type of leadership many people want. That picture ought to be positively projected, lest McCain/Palin be portrayed merely as a couple of negative snipes.

On the other hand (fair balance), I don’t think the Democratic ticket should change strategy at all. They’re tapping into voter dissatisfaction with the Change message, and if the Republican ticket cannot neutralize it and present an even more compelling vision, there’s a lot of built-in momentum there. Just muzzle Jawin’ Joe Biden and keep trying to tie McCain to the Bush administration. Very effective, at least for the Democratic base.

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P.S. – just found this article: How much did Biden get wrong (in the debate)? Wow – that’s quite a list!