The McCain/Palin camp is trying to win ugly. The gloves are off, and so too is any pretense they can win on substance. McCain has a running mate that does not seem to know boundaries. She will go where others won't. Who needs a swiftboating 527 with this VP?
In the non-campaign world, things are shaky. We have a diminished reputation abroad, a crisis of confidence and liquidity in financial institutions, and we are waging difficult wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, with conflicts looming in Pakistan and Iran. The boundless risk taking behavior of McCain, the apparent lack of restraint in terms of civility in a historic campaign, and the rising anger (and anger mongering), are alarming and deeply disappointing.
McCain wants the campaign to focus on "who is Obama, really?" I'm thinking, "who is McCain, really?" In the Spring, when McCain looked like the GOP nominee, I was pleased that we seemed to have two decent and fairly capable people running on both leading tickets. At this point, it no longer seems that way.