McCain's Prank?

UN Failure in DRC

It is with great regret that I read today's reports of the escalation of violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The situation there is dreadful and shows just how ineffective the United Nations can be.

But this situation has been building for so long now, there can be no excuse for the international community and the United Nations has failed to do whatever has been necessary to ensure peace, and more importantly protect the people who are now currently suffering.

For too long, what has been going on in DRC has been largely ignored and the long standing ineffectiveness of the United Nations mission in DRC has been overlooked. When the world was focussing on the wrongs of the American soldiers with respect to the Abu Ghraib prison controversy in Iraq, the abuses committed by UN soldiers in DRC were totally glossed over. When they finally did make the news, the UN downplayed the significance.  But abuses are abuses and this reflected a severe lack of judgement and responsibility of the UN towards the DRC mission.

Several years on and the chickens have come home to roost. The UN's commitment and deployment in DRC although seemingly large in number (I believe 17,000 was the latest number) was woefully short of what was required for such a large area and for such a violent conflict.

It is time the United Nations ponders upon it's role in the world. If it is to address conflicts, then deployments must be whole hearted and not taken demonstrations. It's failure to ensure that the peacekeeping force in DRC was effective in doing it's job - peacekeeping - has now exacerbated the problem severely and left the UN looking totally impotent. It has lost the goodwill and respect of the every people it was mean to protect.

The UN has been made to look foolish in the DRC, but in the scheme of things that doesn't really matter.  What does matter is people. The people the UN is meant to safeguard. A human catastrophe has been allowed to take place in the DRC on the UN's watch. For that to have happened is disgraceful...

Trick or Treat

(Guest post from David Beresford)

What a treat to hear Comrade Osborne on the Today programme giving a detailed plan for the Conservative solution to the current economic difficulties. Quite clearly Osborne wants to put his personal tricky troubles behind him, but speeches without substance are somewhat pointless. Apart from suggesting that council tax should be frozen and that a tax rise on family cars next year should be scrapped, he said nothing. Sorry that is not true. Five times he suggested that the Bank of England should get on with its job and cut interest rates. The Bank of England does not set interest rates, that is the role of the monetary policy committee. I hope, as a potential chancellor, he understands the difference.

Colbert Endorses Obama

Where's the Action?

After the bail out plan for the banks, it strikes me that there has been little in the way of real action from the Government in helping individuals and business.  Every time I read a report of Alistair Darling or Gordon Brown, they seem to be urging and discussing action but doing very little.

They are urging the energy companies to reduce petrol prices, the banks to maintain lending levels to each other and to small businesses, mortgage-lenders not to repossess homes so quickly, local government to advance capital spending programmes.  But urging is simply just not enough.

The Government is in a state of disarray now (and this is why David Cameron and the Tories should be patient and not panic about being crowded out of the news right now).  Any action they are looking to take, as in today's announcement of loans form the European Investment Bank, seems to be at the supra-national level.  There is no admission that the Government finances are in no position to do much at the national level. It is now stymied by Government expenditure over the last 10 years to maintain false employment levels through vastly increasing public sector jobs and by it's expenditure and commitment to the two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  It makes announcements only to reel back on them when placed under scrutiny (such as the capital spending proposal which they were later forced to admit  they were only suggesting bringing planned expenditure forward - quite how capital processes planned for future years can be advanced they haven't yet managed to explain).

But culpability on the lack of action lays not solely with the Government.  In a week where the Federal Reserve in the US have again reduced interest rates, where is the action by the Bank of England?  I have long stated that the 'independence' of the Bank of England is a myth - it is not independent if it's economic aims and targets are set by the Government.  Interest Rates should be a lot lower than they are now - the greatest danger to the economy for the last 6 months has been the threat of bank collapses and recession, not inflation.  But significant action on interest rates as not been taken.

The MPC can not wait month to month to decide whether any action over interest rates should be taken. It has to be seen to be pro-active not reactionary in doing something with respect to interest rates. The crisis is so dynamic, monthly changes in interest rates are not good enough.

What is needed is proper action that the general public can understand.  We need honesty about plans and abut expenditure. We need admissions of where mistakes have been made. We need clear statements of where the Government can have a proper impact and where it can not.

But right now I would suggest the following immediate action:

1) Reduce interest rates by 1 percentage point

2) Enforce interbank lending between British Banks as a price for the guarantees and funding in place

3) Legislate for a moratorium on house repossessions for a year

4) 1% cut in small business corporation tax

5) 6 month employers NIC contributions holiday for small businesses

6) Announce the abandonment of ID cards and the related planned expenditure

I am not too concerned with a short term increase in expenditure (or reduction on tax revenue) as this can be paid for in a few years time by the sale of the stakes the Government has taken in RBS and Lloyds/HBOS.

The important thing is that we need action not words now...

But the Law Won

It is such a shame that that people who make every effort to do what's right are not served well by the law of the land, and those who oversee it. The outcome of Debbie Purdey's action in the High Court today, whereby she has failed to get clarification the law on assisted suicide is totally unsatisfactory for two reasons.

First, as Debbie Purdey herself asks:

How can we make sure that we act within the law if they won't tell us in what circumstances they would prosecute?

What use is a 47 year old law on our statute books (or for that matter any law) if it is impossible to know whether your are abiding by it or not? While clarification may be extremely difficult, the issue is of such public interest that failure even to offer guidance as to how a process could be initiated whereby the law could be clarified is a moral dereliction of duty by the Law Lords. Washing their hands at this stage helps no one.

But more importantly it is a failure by the Law Lords on a human level to Debbie Purdey. By failing to provide guidance to this wonderfully brave woman, who is only trying to make sure her husband is not ensnared in criminal proceedings by her desire for a peaceful and dignified end to her life, the Law Lords have made the remaining time she has with her husband is far more traumatic than it need me.

The Law Lords should have realised that one person's struggle for some dignity was far more important than a strict following of their own role in interpreting law. Something is wrong with our legal system when unaccountable appointed Law Lords let down a desperate woman. Yes, the Law Lords are there to make judgement on the law, but more importantly they are there to serve us all and to see that justice is done...

Credit Crisis is God's Punishment

They really can't help it. As sure as eggs is eggs, if there is a problem in this country then at some point a representative of one of this country's religions will tell us that it is 'God's punishment'. Well, guess what? It's the Anglican Bishop of Lewes' turn to try and use people's misfortune to promote his religious views.  The Telegraph reports him writing that:

I believe that God ultimately has allowed this crisis for good. Our nation, like all the western nations, has become consumed with materialism. It has a stranglehold on our lives. We have found our security in 'securities' and have failed to grasp that nothing is permanent other than God. Our confidence has been misplaced. Something was needed to shake that and that is what we are experiencing. If this shakes our confidence in mammon (money) and forces us back to our creator and redeemer it will have been worth it. That should be our prayers as Christians. We may all have to suffer a bit, but God is an expert at bringing good out of sad, difficult, even evil situations.

At a time when the Anglican Church is in crisis itself, with threats of splits and talk of disestablishment, naked plays for moral superiority like this do nothing to enhance it's reputation. It may play well internally, but all religions do themselves a great disservice to get involved with economic and political issues in terms like this.

So, Rt Rev Benn, Bishop of Lewes, I ask you whether God allowed this for good? Where did misplaced confidence lay here?

Perhaps instead of lecturing the public on the morality of the credit crisis, the Anglican Church should consider it's own role and that of God in issues closer to home...

4:13 Dream

I don't plan to post often about this blogger's music preferences, but today I am a happy blogger as The Cure have released their new album 4:13 Dream.  Cure albums do not come around too often these days, so days like this are to be savoured.

Any further posts today will be suitably inspired by the great Robert Smith.

"For my part I know nothing with certainty... but the sight of the stars makes me dream" (Van Gogh)

Are Standards at Cambridge University Slipping?

This picture is from outside Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge.  The full article from the Daily Telegraph is here...

Palin Wigs

Thanks to David Beresford for finding this on Reuters.

The Benefits of an Internship

Thanks to Guido Fawkes for publishing this in his blog...

Taxi for Peston

(Guest post from David Beresford)

Christmas is coming the goose isn't getting a bonus. The financial crisis is so boring and there is nothing new to report. So BBC London news last night dedicated a five minute segment to the story of one cab driver. This poor soul had recently purchased a newly designed white taxi for around £35k and was bemoaning the plight of the London cabbie. A few things sprung to mind. Firstly in this economic downturn why would anyone buy a brand new taxi? Secondly why would he buy a vehicle that didn't look like a traditional black cab? Quite possibly the reason that his earnings have started to plummet is that nobody knows he is a cab? 

Another taxi driver gave a better appraisal of the economic situation than that Peston chap, who reappeared to discuss the collapse of Hungary, Ukraine, Iceland and the Isle of White. The afore mentioned taxi driver summed matters up as follows, to precis: "sometimes there are bad days, but so far they haven't added up to bad weeks, but if they do then I am concerned that the bad weeks may become bad months. And if, in a year, there are more than six bad months, well, that is a bad year. "

Thank goodness Spooks is back. However the bomb that killed Adam didn't really look as though it caused that much destruction. The decision to drive the vehicle for two minutes to a random open space seemed a little contrived. Possibly Adam had just had enough of that Hermione Norris woman. 

Powell Endorses Obama

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell endorsed Sen. Barack Obama for President today in an interview on the NBC programme, Meet the Press. This is a hugely significant development, for Colin Powell is a mighty figure in US politics and respected across all party lines (except maybe the neo-conservatives who he felt let him down after his backing for the war in Iraq). His endorsement is likely to have an impact on undecided voters.

Once seen as a possible Presidential candidate himself, it must have been difficult for him to come out in favour of a candidate outside his own party. But his endorsement is all the more powerful for the words he chose to use in his support for Obama and in his criticisms of John McCain and Sarah Palin. I strongly encourage you to take the time and read them:

I know both of these individuals very well now. I've known John for 25 years as your setup said. And I've gotten to know Mr. Obama quite well over the past two years. Both of them are distinguished Americans who are patriotic, who are dedicated to the welfare of our country. Either one of them, I think, would be a good president. I have said to Mr. McCain that I admire all he has done. I have some concerns about the direction that the party has taken in recent years. It has moved more to the right than I would like to see it, but that's a choice the party makes. And I've said to Mr. Obama, "You have to pass a test of do you have enough experience, and do you bring the judgment to the table that would give us confidence that you would be a good president."

And I've watched him over the past two years, frankly, and I've had this conversation with him. I have especially watched over the last six of seven weeks as both of them have really taken a final exam with respect to this economic crisis that we are in and coming out of the conventions. And I must say that I've gotten a good measure of both. In the case of Mr. McCain, I found that he was a little unsure as to deal with the economic problems that we were having and almost every day there was a different approach to the problem. And that concerned me, sensing that he didn't have a complete grasp of the economic problems that we had. And I was also concerned at the selection of Governor Palin. She's a very distinguished woman, and she's to be admired; but at the same time, now that we have had a chance to watch her for some seven weeks, I don't believe she's ready to be president of the United States, which is the job of the vice president. And so that raised some question in my mind as to the judgment that Senator McCain made.

On the Obama side, I watched Mr. Obama and I watched him during this seven-week period. And he displayed a steadiness, an intellectual curiosity, a depth of knowledge and an approach to looking at problems like this and picking a vice president that, I think, is ready to be president on day one. And also, in not just jumping in and changing every day, but showing intellectual vigor. I think that he has a, a definitive way of doing business that would serve us well. I also believe that on the Republican side over the last seven weeks, the approach of the Republican Party and Mr. McCain has become narrower and narrower. Mr. Obama, at the same time, has given us a more inclusive, broader reach into the needs and aspirations of our people. He's crossing lines--ethnic lines, racial lines, generational lines. He's thinking about all villages have values, all towns have values, not just small towns have values.

And I've also been disappointed, frankly, by some of the approaches that Senator McCain has taken recently, or his campaign ads, on issues that are not really central to the problems that the American people are worried about. This Bill Ayers situation that's been going on for weeks became something of a central point of the campaign. But Mr. McCain says that he's a washed-out terrorist. Well, then, why do we keep talking about him? And why do we have these robocalls going on around the country trying to suggest that, because of this very, very limited relationship that Senator Obama has had with Mr. Ayers, somehow, Mr. Obama is tainted. What they're trying to connect him to is some kind of terrorist feelings. And I think that's inappropriate.

Now, I understand what politics is all about. I know how you can go after one another, and that's good. But I think this goes too far. And I think it has made the McCain campaign look a little narrow. It's not what the American people are looking for. And I look at these kinds of approaches to the campaign and they trouble me. And the party has moved even further to the right, and Governor Palin has indicated a further rightward shift. I would have difficulty with two more conservative appointments to the Supreme Court, but that's what we'd be looking at in a McCain administration. I'm also troubled by, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say. And it is permitted to be said such things as, "Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim." Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he's a Christian. He's always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer's no, that's not America. Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president? Yet, I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion, "He's a Muslim and he might be associated terrorists." This is not the way we should be doing it in America.

I feel strongly about this particular point because of a picture I saw in a magazine. It was a photo essay about troops who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay was of a mother in Arlington Cemetery, and she had her head on the headstone of her son's grave. And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone. And it gave his awards--Purple Heart, Bronze Star--showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death. He was 20 years old. And then, at the very top of the headstone, it didn't have a Christian cross, it didn't have the Star of David, it had crescent and a star of the Islamic faith. And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, and he was an American. He was born in New Jersey. He was 14 years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he can go serve his country, and he gave his life. Now, we have got to stop polarizing ourself in this way. And John McCain is as nondiscriminatory as anyone I know. But I'm troubled about the fact that, within the party, we have these kinds of expressions.

So, when I look at all of this and I think back to my Army career, we've got two individuals, either one of them could be a good president. But which is the president that we need now? Which is the individual that serves the needs of the nation for the next period of time? And I come to the conclusion that because of his ability to inspire, because of the inclusive nature of his campaign, because he is reaching out all across America, because of who he is and his rhetorical abilities--and we have to take that into account--as well as his substance--he has both style and substance--he has met the standard of being a successful president, being an exceptional president. I think he is a transformational figure. He is a new generation coming into the world--onto the world stage, onto the American stage, and for that reason I'll be voting for Senator Barack Obama.

He speaks authoritatively. He speaks with great insight into the challenges we're facing of a military and political and economic nature. And he is surrounding himself, I'm confident, with people who'll be able to give him the expertise that he, at the moment, does not have. And so I have watched an individual who has intellectual vigor and who dives deeply into issues and approaches issues with a very, very steady hand. And so I'm confident that he will be ready to take on these challenges on January 21st.

It will also not only electrify our country, I think it'll electrify the world.

My view, as I have said previously on this blog, is that the reputation both domestically and internationally of the office of the President of the United States has so been damaged by the Bush years, and by implication the reputation of the nation as a whole, that a significant change is needed. It is time for a handover to a man who can inspire a new generation of Americans. For a man who can show the world that America can be a positive force in the 21st Century. 

Don't get me wrong, Obama is not perfect. He has his (many) faults and some of his policies may well turn out to be quite problematical. But he is by far the best candidate on offer.  Powell suggests that an Obama Presidency may well electrify the US and electrify the world.  Let's hope he is right, for right now the world needs it...

Daniel James

I just wanted to quote the words today of the parents of Daniel James, the 23 year old who committed suicide in a clinic in Switzerland:

His death was an extremely sad loss for his family, friends and all those that care for him but no doubt a welcome relief from the 'prison' he felt his body had become and the day-to-day fear and loathing of his living existence, as a result of which he took his own life

I hope his friends and family are left in peace now to grieve without further interest from the media, police or campaigners. It was an intensely difficult and personal decision that was made by those involved. It should not be for anyone else to judge them for it...

Hollow Words

"I wouldn't dream of disagreeing with Her Majesty's Coroner, but the facts are..."

Those are the hollow words of the Commander of Joint Helicopter Command, Rear Admiral Tony Johnstone-Burt  in an interview with the BBC today responding to the coroner Andrew Walker's narrative verdict on the death of Cpl Mark Wright in Afghanistan in September 2006.

In the verdict on the incident, in which Mark Wright lost his life and six other soldiers lost limbs, the coroner said:

That a brave soldier is lost in battle is always a matter of deep sadness but when that life is lost where it need not have been because of a lack of equipment and assets those responsible should hang their heads in shame

He listed eight major failures that contributed to the death of the soldier, including the fact that it was the downwash of the Chinook helicopter sent in to rescue the troops that set off the land mines.  His other findings on the causes or contributing factors were:

• There was a lack of appropriate UK helicopters in Afghanistan fitted with a winch
  
• There were administrative delays in sending an appropriate helicopter
• There was a failure not to ensure that there were sufficient batteries and radio battery charges at the observation posts and this serious failure reduced the ability to communicate by radio.
• There was  failure not to provide meaningful information to soldiers stationed at these observation posts about the threat of mines in the areas where they were to operate
• There were failures in the teaching methods used... that resulted in the soldiers, who operated at these forward observation posts, not appreciating that the traditional training to locate and mark mines, as part of clearing a path out of a mined area, were unsuitable for the terrain at Kajaki and that training failed to take account of the technology that was available to better address the detection of mines
• There was a serious failure to make an assessment of the threat from mines at Kajaki or to take account of local knowledge of the threat from mines
• here was a serious failure on the part of those responsible for briefing the Chinook helicopter command without making reference to a mine map that indicated the presence of an area known to be mined and the pilot unknowingly planned to land his aircraft in this area
• There was a serious failure to meet the NATO doctrine to provide, within one hour, advanced resuscitation measures
• There was an individual failure in that the officer responsible for passing updated information about the mine threat did not understand the information set out in the maps he had been provided with and therefore he was unable to interpret these maps

Yet despite these comprehensive findings, arrived after taking comprehensive evidence from all those involved, Rear Admiral Tony Johnstone-Burt appears on the BBC claiming there was no fault on behalf of the MOD.  He uses spin to deride the coroner's report and hides behind suggesting that this is a time for honouring the bravery a of Mark Wright and the other soldiers not for recriminations.

As an example, when asked specifically about the fact that it was the backwash form the Chinook helicopter that set off the land mines he states:

That not true at all... the facts are that the Chinook did go into the area and landed well clear, at least 40 to 50 metres away

But the coroner didn't make any claim suggesting that it was where the helicopter landed that set off the land mines.  It was the backdraft caused by hovering over the area that was to blame.

It is high time that the MoD showed far more respect in public to those who have laid down their lives for this country and accept that issues with regard to funding, equipment and training have caused and are still causing the deaths of British troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.  There has been much discussion about the 'covenant' between the Government and the Armed Forces and whether it has been broken in recent years.  Part of ensuring the covenant works is to admit openly when there have been failures and to do everything possible to correct them. There must be no more hollow words...

Undivided Attention

Gordon Brown has responded to David Camerons's attack this morning on his handling of the economy by saying that "My undivided attention is on taking this county through the difficult times as a result of a global problem that started in America". This echoes previous comments he has made, for instance when in April he said he 'sole foucs' was keeping the economy on track.

I'm sure our troops putting their lives on the line every day in Iran and Afghanistan will be comforted to know that, at a time when we are at war on two fronts, the Prime Minister's sole focus and undivided attention lays elsewhere...

Madonna stops financial crisis

(Guest post from David Beresford)

I am not one to typically wish ill on people, but thank heavens for the divorce announcement of Guy Ritchie and Madonna. For almost five minutes on the BBC evening news we were spared the on going misery of the economic turmoil, the escalation in unemployment and general doom and gloom.  This however was a brief respite, and this evenings Panorama, 'Britain in the red', provided the opportunity for the BBC to spend an hour analyzing where it all went wrong. 

Media in the UK is obsessed with making the economic situation appear catastrophic. The figures don't look great, but unemployment of forecast two million at the end on the year is still very low and compared to Europe not a concern. Inflation is set to fall sharply and the Bank will be aggressively cutting rates over the coming months. Property prices have faced a significant correction, but are only retracing the excessive rises over the last few years. Things are really not that bad. 

Well that is strictly not quite the case. The 'financial crisis', suitably more dramatic than a mere 'credit crunch', has pushed Robert Peston into a media celebrity. Just the very mention of his name makes me change channel. He is probably being lined up for the next reality celebrity show. Given his recent elevation in notoriety perhaps it should be 'Dancing on Icesave'?

The Maverick Goes to Washington

Several blogs and papers are reporting on the really wonderful and, in many ways, scary new website: palinaspresident.com

The site gives us an intriguing glimpse into what the Oval Office might be like if Sarah Palin occupied it. It's eerily believable! Go check it out and click around the Oval Office - see what it would be like if an Alaskan hockey mum maverick became President...

The Final Debate

Well, the final debate has finished. Reading the press it seems that the consensus of opinion is that McCain performed well - maybe his best yet. Obama held his own and was his usual calm self.  The instant polls mark it a victory to Obama though, as they have will all the previous debates.

But in contrast to those who thought that McCain had a very strong performance (for instance James Forsyth over at the Coffee House), I though McCain's performance seemed... odd.

He started off looking and sounding nervous, his eyes wide while facing the cameras, his pupils were dilated and he had a noticeably high blink rate.  He was constantly moving about on his chair as he talked.   His first line saying 'Americans are hurting' was the same first line he used at the previous 'Town-Hall' debate which negated any sincerity the line might have.  He then managed to mangle the rest of that opening statement.

I thought he sounded weak on healthcare, compared to Obama's direct and numbered plan. He knows this is a strong area for Obama and should have moved swiftly away from it.  It was interesting watching the debate on CNN to see just how high Obama's approval ratings were form a panel of voters when discussing healthcare.

On some issues he sounded crotchety, on others like he was making too big an effort to be animated. When he smiled at Obama's responses it looked like it was through gritted teeth. Indignation over the negative campaigning came across as false and hollow, especially given what's come out of the McCain camp recently.

I thought his 'share the wealth' attack was misplaced and parried well.   Even if it might play well with Republicans, no swing voter is going to object to the very rich paying a little more tax to fund cuts for the remaining 95% of the population.   McCain didn't talks about the 'middle classes', where as Obama's very first statement directly referred to them.  His 'Joe the Plumber' attack fell flat when Obama pointed out that no small business would pay healthcare fines, and that larger business has an obligation to their employees over health care provision.

It was a missed chance, for Obama did not have his best performance.  Apart from healthcare, many answers seems to meander.  Often it was clear that Obama was starting sentences with no idea what he was actually going to say in them.  Other sentences started on one track only to abruptly stop or change direction.  But when he was weak or dithering, McCain didn't spot it and go in for the kill.

Overall, I felt this was a clear win for Obama and a huge missed chance for McCain. I thought McCain looked like a desperate man and produced a very strange performance. I said yesterday that it might be the last chance saloon for McCain.  Well, he missed that last chance...

Last Chance Saloon

Tonight sees the final televised Presidential debate between Barack Obama and John McCain. It may well be John McCain's last chance to land some telling blows on his opponent and close the consistent deficit in the polls being reported daily.

Of course, there's still time to find a 'game-changing' moment after tonight, but with a likely audience of around 60 million Americans he is unlikely to be able to have an impact on so may voters - especially those swing voters. There is a chance the impact might be a negative one but at this stage it's looking like he's got nothing to lose.

To his credit, in recent days McCain seems to have become embarrassed by the ever more personal attacks of some of his more extreme (or ignorant?) supporters. His immediate put down at a rally of a woman he called Obama 'an Arab' was commendable. But if he isn't going to push the personal assassination of Obama does he have anything left?

The challenge he faces tonight is reported in Time today:

With less than three weeks to go before Election Day, the Republican presidential nominee faces a daunting overall task. He is so far behind in the national polls and in most key individual states that it is difficult to assemble a single combination of Electoral College votes to get him to the necessary 270. Despite Monday's unprecedented stock market rebound and Tuesday's campaign announcement introducing a new McCain economic policy proposal, voters largely continue to blame the Republicans for the financial crisis and the gloomy mood of an unstable nation. At the same time, the impact of Obama's massive fundraising advantage has hit full force, flooding battleground states with television ads, direct mail, and well-paid armies of local organizers. As Obama's lead has held (and even grown in some polls) pundits and political strategists in both parties have begun to assertively predict an easy Obama win, possibly producing a self-fulfilling wave.

I'm afraid I have to agree with the conclusion the article comes to and that is the only thing McCain may have left to fight for is his reputation:

McCain's best bet is to ignore all the advice he is getting about what he needs to accomplish and how he should comport himself: don't try to be all things to all strategists. Instead, he should say what he truly believes about his own proposals, about Obama's qualifications, and about the challenges the country faces, without an over-crafted strategy. His debate performances have improved, and he is always his most likeable, and most formidable when he uses his head and speaks from the heart. To slightly tweak the wise old song, dignity is just another word for nothing left to lose. McCain might lose the election, but he doesn't have to lose his reputation in the process.

McCain's task was always going to be an uphill battle.  He was only grudgingly adopted as his party's Presidential nominee in the absence of any other genuinely credible candidate (would it have been different had Rudy Giuliani had better strategic advice, or Fred Thompson had entered the race earlier?). He was facing an opponent with formidable organisation and money (and that would not have different had he been facing Hillary Clinton). He has been presented with a domestic and foreign policy legacy from George Bush that gives him and his party nothing to boast about.

If John McCain was to be President of the USA, then maybe the time was eight years ago when he was beaten in the nomination race by Bush.  But maybe he has something up his sleeve even more surprising (and it will need to be more effective and better thought out) than Sarah Palin. Maybe Obama will make a gaffe so big it will see a reversal in the polls.  But he must worry that the big maybe is tonight's debate - maybe Hampstead N.Y. is the last chance saloon...