In the next 24 days, McCain must do two things: get voters to have doubts about Obama; and get them to believe that McCain has good ideas, especially on the economy. He can't just go negative. He has to sell himself as well, and in a positive way.
That's a delicate balancing act.
While I think McCain could be more aggressive in going after Obama, he has to be careful not to be appearing to attack Obama personally. That's the job of Palin, the TV ads, and surrogate groups.
I've been reading the Rasmussen polls every day, and there are signs that McCain's negative ads are having an effect.
If you read a dozen different columnists who suggest what McCain should do, you'll get a dozen different suggestions. One thing is certain, though: negative ads by themselves won't work if the candidate doesn't have something positive to sell the public. Distasteful as it is, McCain's proposal to buy up bad mortgages seems to be having a positive effect, at least among the undecided voters.
Obama hasn't yet made the sale, either, but he's not saying anything specific now about policy, as he has a comfortable lead that may or may not be real (will 5% of those who say they support Obama not vote for him because he's black?).
In the video, McCain seems to want to be the guy with the positive message. If he can be more specific, while simultaneously letting Palin and the TV ads make voters question Obama, he could succeed.