Straight Talk Express derailed

    Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) calls himself a maverick. He claims that he is all about straight talk. According to Rolling Stone, he once said that he believed elections should be decided "by the examples [candidates] set, by the way we conduct our campaigns, by the way we personally practice politics." McCain said that in the midst of the brutal 2000 presidential primary campaign. Apparently, he doesn't believe in that doctrine anymore.
    McCain is determined to win the White House — at any cost. With a month left to go until Election Day, the polls rank him second to Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) with 43 percent of the support compared to Obama's 49 percent. It seems that straight talk doesn't sell as well as it used to.
    In recent weeks, McCain's presidential campaign has taken a decisively nasty turn, jacking up the number of personal attacks on Obama and drawing attention away from the issues at hand: the crumbling economy, Russia's recent aggression and the Iraq war. According to The Washington Post, a senior Republican staffer who requested to remain anonymous stated, "We're going to get a little tougher, we've got to question [Barack Obama]'s associations. Very soon. There's no question that we have to change the subject here."
    McCain learned from the best. After losing the 2000 campaign in large part due to a smear campaign designed to destroy his character, he has engaged in the same tactics this time around. The change of tone in McCain's campaign is palpable. His new television advertisements focus on Obama instead of his own policies. They ask "Who is the real Barack Obama?" and charge Obama with voting for higher taxes 94 times, a claim independent sources across the board have called misleading at best. Other ads call Obama "dangerous" and "dishonorable." Gov. Sarah Palin (R-Alaska), at recent rallies, has spent much of her time tying Obama to former extremist William Ayers.
    One could also feel the shift in tone during Tuesday's debate. McCain used the night to make condescending remarks about Obama's voting record and what he has done politically (or failed to do, according to McCain). He even gave Obama a new nickname that has already spawned a couple of t-shirt ideas. The name in question: "That One."
    McCain has moved into desperation mode. His efforts to separate himself from the legacy of President George W. Bush have failed and he now finds himself standing on a crumbling political platform. It's time for America to prepare for an old-fashioned mudslinging competition, even if only one side joins in on the fun. What to do when straight talk fails? Take a page from Karl Rove and see what kind of "swiftboat" ads come out.
    The gullibility of the American people will soon be tested. How long before another laughable accusation such as the Ayers-Obama connection is concocted by the diabolical political masterminds at the helm of McCain's campaign? The next thirty days will be marked by the lowering of integrity and the type of politics that McCain vowed never to participate in. McCain's Straight Talk Express has turned into the Spin Talk Express, and if he has anything to say about it, it will go full steam into the White House.