A week ago I thought they were in great shape. Obama's convention message had to compete with the whole Clinton/disunity message, and it muddied the waters pretty badly for the first few days. The GOP, I figured, had it made. But now they're the ones with too much to do and too little time to do it. They need to somehow deal with Gustave, which will require a more somber approach to the proceedings. They need to redefine Sarah Palin as a safe and even inspiring pick. They need to burnish McCain's "change" credentials. And they need to knock Obama down. That's a lot to do in what will be around six televised speeches in three days. It's not impossible, but it's a lot to do.
