If the title of this article were quoted by Sarah Palin, she would no doubt attribute it to Hillary Clinton (see Madeline Albright reference). During the presidential primary Hillary voiced the following refrain: "Obama is not a Muslim, as far as I know." Her statement is redundant, as is mine, but neither is a tautology. They both convey a sense of doubt while maintaining a warped sense of validity. But there does exist a difference; Hillary's statement can essentially be proven true with facts, whereas mine remains gray around the edges. The genius of this archetypal statement resides within its easily deniable purpose of excitation. McCain may not be a racist, I don't believe he is, but I cannot say one way or another with absolute certainty.

I know I'm walking a slippery slope, but so are 6,440,000 other people; John included, especially after his "that one" comment in the most recent debate. Yes, I'm going there, but it's not what you think. Throughout the debate I recorded quotes and moments of significance for inclusion into the live analysis article. When the "that one" exchange occurred I noticed it, I did a double take and mentioned the racial overtone to the other person watching with me, but I didn't think to write it down. For some reason this statement did not strike me as news worthy; likely because it should not have been news worthy. I could not fathom the possibility of an intentionally racial remark; I immediately assumed McCain garbled the sentence. I then reasoned as to what McCain might have intended to say; my best guess goes something along the lines of "he supported that one," in reference to the energy bill, but it of course did not come out like that.

It took some time, an hour and sixteen minutes later to be exact (while watching a replay) for the gravity of this misstatement to solidify. It finally clicked and when it did, I knew McCain's campaign was over. This blunder should not have been the defining moment of the campaign, but unfortunately I think it was. The McCain campaign tried to walk the fine line required to effectively wage a negative campaign, but McCain lost his balance and the liberal media helped push him to the floor. McCain became lost in a sea of blue; while desperately struggling to find his own message he concurrently hurled the kitchen sink at his opponent. McCain's entire campaign has failed to realize the need for a systemic shift in their messaging. The current Republican path doesn't lead to glory as the road nears it's November end, they need to find a new path.

At this point Obama should simply ignore the race issue and place the "that one" quote in his back pocket for a rainy day. If the McCain campaign starts overly playing the race card, Obama can then easily counter. I've talked about it before, but I'll say it again; John McCain can do more good for the Republican party if he loses honorably, than if he blazes a path of divisiveness to the White House. I don't know if he knows this, his ego is clouding his judgment. I fear the moral compass required to end the smears may extend beyond McCain's scope of reasoning. McCain, like his party sees the world in absolutes, the with us or against us mindset; I just hope he realizes that his character is absolutely being questioned.