"After reversing on debate, John McCain looks like John McCan't"

By GottaLaff

Paraphrasing Thomas DeFrank, John McCain declared defeat, and left:

...With economic jitters playing to traditional Democratic dogma, McCain's Big Mo suddenly reverted to his challenger.

"This is the attention-deficit-disorder campaign," said a bewildered senior Republican operative. "They've had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week."

In the process, McCain invited questions about his judgment and ability to work his will in Washington if elected.

"This raises the fundamental issue of how a guy who is hated by his own party can govern," fretted a GOP mandarin who worked for several Presidents. "If he can't control the Republicans, how can he run a country?"

Then there was that Big Faux Campaign Suspension:

But McCain ignored the first rule of high-stakes summitry: before committing precious credibility, make sure a deal's in hand, or at least in sight. In this case McCain, who probably has more Democratic friends on Capitol Hill than Republicans, couldn't even deliver his own side.

DeFrank goes on in more detail. What a not terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day this is turning out to be for our side!