Sad, but not really

So John McCain's hail-mary attempt #6 (I think, I lost count) is to try and smear Obama by association with Revko, Wright, and Ayers.

Because apparently, in the primaries that John McCain watched, Hillary Clinton smeared Obama as everything from elitist to Hezbollah, and then proceeded to win. Except, oops, that didn't happen.

Why, you could ask, does McCain think that these accusations -- which, being re-treads, won't be as effective this time as they were six months ago -- will help him get to the White House?

Well, he probably doesn't. People have pointed out that John McCain looks nastier and angrier lately than he did even during the summer. Some see this as a mystery, or that he personally dislikes Obama in a visceral kind of way. I don't think that's correct.

We watched as McCain got really dark and angry shortly after his hail mary #5 (that would be him "suspending" his campaign) failed to inflate his numbers. That, in turn, followed the precipitous fall in his numbers after the post-convention bounce fizzled. So McCain started to get angry very close to when his numbers started to slump seriously behind Obama.

I think the reason he has been angry, and stayed angry, is very simply because two weeks ago he concluded he was going to lose to Barack Obama. Some candidates might have been able to accept this with dignity and run out the clock with some respect. (Late in the game, Clinton was able to summon that spirit.) But John McCain, for whatever reason, can't find it in him.

What really struck me was watching the clips of both McCain and Palin together with Couric, where McCain seemed pissy there as well. The vibe I got -- and I concede this is totally unscientific -- is that McCain is pissed at Palin, too. In McCain's world, she should have been a much better candidate, or refused the offer if she thought she was unprepared. His hail mary #4 would have worked, if only she'd been a better candidate.

To which we can only say, a-doy. That's why you vet, Johnny boy.

Anyway, I've actually put money on Barack Obama's victory in November ($25 with a coworker) and I almost never bet anything on anything. McCain's attacks not only won't work, they'll probably end up losing him support among independents. Meanwhile, Obama's counterattacks are also risky, but a) can keep the focus on the economy, and b) haven't been given the light of day they deserve this cycle.

Lookin' forward to Nov. 4. Gonna spend my $25 on booze.