Hi.  I've never done anything like this before, but I am going for it.  I have a past in labor organizing, and one thing I learned from that work is that to win a union campaign, you have to be tougher, more intense, and much, much more aggressive than the boss.  In particular, I learned that organizing campaigns are almost never won over issues.  Campaigns are won when workers both come to loathe their boss so much that they wouldn't even throw dirt on their boss's grave and come to hope so much that they see a clearly better future that fighting until their last breath is the best option. 

An anecdote: an old organizing partner of mine used to call the boss and his consultants at 2:00 AM and leave voice messages saying, "We're up finishing our plans to make your lives hell.  What are you doing?"  Needless to say, that campaign was victorious.

So, now that things look grim with these new poll numbers, I feel moved to write. 

Perhaps the most worrisome bit is that the GOP has successfully excited its base and browbeaten the media into a defensive crouch.  A disaster looms - a McCain presidency.  Josh has repeatedly enumerated the likely terrible consequences of such a presidency, so there is no need to articulate those.

But, here are my reflections on what the next step is in our struggle this election cycle to avoid electing McCain, who will no doubt suffer a slow descent into a doddering, criminal presidency.

1.  We can only win if we play hardball.  I mean real hardball.  Any time there is any partially substantiated rumor about McCain or Palin, draft an email and send that rumor around.  Start writing letters to your daily papers and start tarring McCain and Palin with every possible rumor you can.  Here are some:

Palin wanted to hold a Nazi-style book burning in Wasila.

McCain might actually still have cancer, which means that Palin is likely to become president.

Palin has preached in her church that all Jews are going to hell.

McCain was almost indicted in the Keating Five scandal.

McCain is starting to show early signs of dementia.

McCain lies to the press constantly and then denies it.  He is no straight-talker.

And so on.  Who cares if they are 100% true?  It's what they express that matters, not what they say.  We have to stop being so literal!

Also, let's remember that McCain is associated with a war we lost.  So, give him Vietnam.  Let's give Barack World War II: 

Just like FDR did during World War II, in our next great struggle for victory over evil, Barack Obama will lead us to victory with courage and a clear vision.

Americans are a martial people now: we like war. So, if we want to avoid war, we are first going to speak the langauge of war.

2. This is a struggle for the heart and future of America.  It is not an election about particular policies and it's not about process. 

This election is an existential gut-check for America.  This election is, in short, about who we are as a country.

If McCain/Palin wins, the America we know and love will be ruled by a bunch of crooked, dishonorable politicians.  This form of loathing is a necessary part of the narrative.  Consequently, it is necessary to begin talking about McCain as a crook because of his connection to the Keating Five, among other things:

McCain's no maverick - he's a crook.

Say it over and over.  Associate the word "maverick" with the word "crook."  McCain's a crook.  He is a crook.  If anyone asks why he's a crook, just point out that he was at the center of the biggest banking scandal of the 20th Century - one that ended the careers of several senators.  McCain escaped that fate only because he was a better crook than the other ones.

Also, we must repeatedly highlight that McCain is much older and weaker than Obama.

Ideas matter, but so does strength: We need someone has the energy to tirelessly lead America forward for the next eight years!

And so on. 

3.  Barack Obama understands this - he's from Chicago after all.  But, he and his campaign also understand that this election is not about issues but about the future of this country.  Part of the Obama campaign's success so far is due to the fact that Obama and his troops simultaneously tell it like it is - the present administration and its lackeys have made a mockery of the US, bringing terrible dishonor to its shores and making pettiness the politics of the day - and articulates a vision of something better. 

The Obama campaign - both its leader and its army of devoted troops - have articulated a vision that has inspired people around this country and around the world.  The Obama campaign is about bringing greater honor and greater power to America and to Americans. 

That message - a message of a new day of greater power and respect - is a message that people want to hear and that people want to believe.  It is a message to which people will respond.

So, in short, let's get out there and tell everyone:

McCain's a crook who will bring dishonor and weakness to America.  There is only one choice for a powerful America - that young, tough America that had the backbone of steel that won World War II.  That choice is Barack Obama.

Those are some thoughts.  Sorry to go on so long.