DEFECTING TO THE CANDIDATE WITHOUT FLAWS OR A PARTY AFFILIATION

Well, of course Gallup's pollsters are finding that many Democrats would choose McCain over whichever Democrat they don't like -- most Democrats (most Americans) have never heard or read a single negative word about McCain, and most Americans are certain that he's not really a Republican or a conservative. Every day we hear about the flaws of Clinton and Obama; McCain, according to every mainstream press story I read and all the channels on my cable system, doesn't have any flaws, except that Rush and his pals don't think he's crazily right-wing enough. What not-especially-well-informed swing-voting Democrat wouldn't be tempted to believe that sounds like a good deal? If I thought it resembled reality in any way, hell, I might feel the same way, too.

We're seven months from Election Day, so I think there's still plenty of time to reverse this -- which doesn't mean I think it will be reversed; the Democrats aren't very good at tarnishing haloes and the press doesn't want McCain's tarnished. Nevertheless, it can still happen, even after a prolonged nomination fight -- though maybe it's time for the Democratic Party to stop whining about not having a nominee yet and just begin a serious campaign against McCain right now, one that the nominee will simply have to join in progress.