McCain may have tamped down his crowds a little, but that doesn't mean his campaign will make some strategic shift away from smear tactics.
In fact, McCain himself admits that he'll likely bring up Ayers in Wednesday's debate. And his ads are still heavily negative.
But the Obama campaign is prepared. In a video, Plouffe warns supporters to brace for "unprecedented sleaze."
And one other sign things will get worse: Russ Feingold is speaking out against McCain's tactics. McCain's one-time partner on campaign finance reform has not always been willing to criticize McCain aggressively, so the statement Feingold released yesterday should be considered rather significant:
In a closely fought campaign like the Presidential race, elements of either side can get caught up in the emotions of the contest. This is especially true during stressful economic times. I heard Senator McCain help tamp down the rhetoric at a recent town hall meeting.At least, as Jonathan points out, the smears don't seem to be working in an electoral sense. But there's a more durable harm: McCain is hardening a toxic impression of Obama with a sizeable segment of the American population. It's hard to un-ring that bell, especially when the audience is Republicans who are already looking for a reason to discredit Obama. And during a time of national challenge when a President must unite the country, this type of division is especially unfortunate.Regrettably, he needs to do more of that. An energetically waged campaign can all too easily slip over into something hateful and dangerous, and everyone from the candidate on down needs to do whatever it takes to stop that. It won't seem credible for the John McCain I know to say his campaign should be respectful, while seeming to look the other way as his campaign employs certain tactics and rhetoric which apparently are intended to appeal to the fears of some Americans.
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