A little process for you today, in the form of an early-release from the Times magazine's article pen. It's a story about the McCain campaign's messaging, more or less, and how confused and incoherent it was -- the piece tracks six different narratives since the primary. The McCain campaign hasn't been able to mount a consistent message about Barack Obama or its own candidate, and that is one of the big reasons it has failed to take the lead. If the Republican nominee had picked one message back in August and stuck with it steadily, instead of relying on gambit after gambit, the polls would be much closer today. Fun fact: Some GOP operatives thought the phrase "The American President Americans have been waiting for" made no sense.
--Tim Fernholz
