Oops, I Overestimated the Competence of the McCain Campaign Again

Last night I mentioned Obama's raising of the Keating Five scandal, and predicted the "response from McCain: a combination of his usual fake indignation, and an attempt to tug at the heartstrings of the stupid by talking about how that was all "in the past" and that it helped shape McCain's current "maverickitude"."

That would have been the sensible approach, but it appears that sense has now completely fled from his entire crew. Instead of playing this down and trying to turn it into a strength, they have chosing to lie about the matter, pretending that it wasn't really that important, it was a political smear job and that McCain did nothing wrong.

Of course, by doing this, they have:

• Directly contradicted McCain's own well-documented words;
  
• Undercut much of McCain's image as a "maverick" who became a reformer because of past transgressions; and
• Worst of all, made this old scandal into news by trying to rewrite history, thereby ensuring thousands of more people learn about it.
  

When this campaign is over, Schmidt and his goons will be lucky to get hired by a high school junior running for student body president.