I was speaking to my son on the phone who was excitedly telling me about a commercial for Obama that was running during the Olympics. My six year old knows that I support Obama and nautrally he does too. As we were talking, he corrected himself when he realized the ad was really for McCain! And with that I realized something that I would like to pass along.

John McCain's ad men have learned something very important. People are far more interested in Obama than McCain. In 71 year-old McCain they have a telegenic liability on their hands. The best way to counter that is to give the people what they want. And no mater on which side of the political fence you're sitting, Obama is the political story of the moment. What is the mystery of his appeal? No one is immune from his charismatic appeal. Whereas you might tune out a McCain ad, you'll look at Obama. And McCain can pop up at the end. Or not. As in the Dr. No ad.

Similarly team McCain has learned that celebrities sell. When McCain compared Obama to Paris Hilton and Brittney Spear in the infamous ad, I don't think anyone expected it to set off the explosion of news coverage it did. For McCain has learned that if he can't beat them, he must join them. McCain has decided to go negative and it's working. Obama strategists can't go there. They need to elevate their candidate, portray him as presidential and above the fray while still projecting the impression of a strong leader. Can they do it?