It's all about Obama, even for McCain

In addition to launching the ad, McCain recently has accused Obama of being willing to lose the war in Iraq in order to win the November election. Over the course of several days, he also has attacked Obama for canceling a visit to wounded U.S. soldiers at a military hospital because he couldn't bring reporters along. Obama's campaign has angrily disputed the charge as false and misleading.

David Winston, a GOP operative in Washington, argues that McCain has erred by issuing negative personal attacks. McCain should put Obama on the defensive by highlighting their policy differences on taxes, energy and national security, he said.

"He's not emphasizing the contrasts that can actually help him win," Winston said.

Turning an opponent's strength into a weakness is basic political strategy. McCain rarely draws large or boisterous crowds, as Obama did in Berlin. Even close aides acknowledge that McCain's public speaking skills pale beside Obama's soaring rhetoric. McCain drew far less attention during his own foreign travels, to Canada, Mexico and Colombia in June and July.

Public opinion surveys cannot determine whether McCain's increasingly pointed criticism of Obama is having an effect. But polling does suggest that voters are spending time trying to form an opinion of Obama. In a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll released last week, 51% of people said they were focusing more on what kind of president Obama would be than McCain; 27% said they were focusing more on McCain.

That finding is to be expected, as Obama is a first-term Illinois senator and a fresh face, whereas McCain has spent decades in the national spotlight. But it also helps explain why Obama's image is now the focus of both campaigns.

GOP strategists say Obama's failure to gain significant ground in opinion polls since his trip to Europe, Afghanistan and the Middle East suggests the steady hammering has paid off.

"I'm one of those who thinks McCain needs to be very aggressive at this point," said Ken Khachigian, a veteran GOP strategist based in Orange County. Despite the risk of appearing too negative, he said, McCain needs to convince voters that Obama "is not one of us. He's got to portray Obama as out of touch."

McCain continued his attacks Wednesday while speaking to workers at a machine maintenance company in suburban Denver. He called Obama a politician who "puts self-interest and political expedience ahead of problem-solving."