John McCain is losing and he feels it is necessary to avoid the issues and start attacking Barack Obama’s character.  As reported in the Washington Post on Oct, 4, 2008:

Sen. John McCain and his Republican allies are readying a newly aggressive assault on Sen. Barack Obama’s character, believing that to win in November they must shift the conversation back to questions about the Democrat’s judgment, honesty and personal associations, several top Republicans said.

With just a month to go until Election Day, McCain’s team has decided that its emphasis on the senator’s biography as a war hero, experienced lawmaker and straight-talking maverick is insufficient to close a growing gap with Obama. The Arizonan’s campaign is also eager to move the conversation away from the economy, an issue that strongly favors Obama and has helped him to a lead in many recent polls.

The article concludes with comment from a McCain aid:

“We are looking for a very aggressive last 30 days,” said Greg Strimple, one of McCain’s top advisers. “We are looking forward to turning a page on this financial crisis and getting back to discussing Mr. Obama’s aggressively liberal record and how he will be too risky for Americans.”

Senator McCain, if you must resort to character assassination, then you are the one who is “too risky for Americans.”  You “would rather lose a campaign than lose a war,” but you would rather win an election than discuss issues.  We need a president who will confront the issues and find solutions.

Now combine this with the Republican campaign to disenfranchise voters by spreading false rumors of undercover agents:

Young voters at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Penn. have already been targeted, with students reporting that flyers have been posted around campus warning that undercover police will be at the polls on Election Day looking to make arrests.

The flyer reads like a friendly letter to fellow students relaying a warning from an “Obama supporter”: “He informed me that on the day of the election there will be undercover officers to execute warrants on those who come to vote based on the anticipated turnout,” writes the anonymous student in the letter which was later posted on the Drexel College Democrats website. “He advised me if I had any outstanding warrants or traffic offenses I should clear them up prior to voting.”

Political experts say the Drexel flyer is a classic example of voter suppression a practice that involves scaring, angering, or confusing voters so that they stay at home on Election Day.

Or the Republican Party’s illegal voter caging schemes such as this one in Florida:

The mailings sent to registered Democrats appear to be classic “caging” letters, marked as “Do Not Forward”, so that they will then be returned to the GOP if there is any problem with delivery. Those returned letters will likely then be used as a basis to challenge the legitimacy of those particular voters on Election Day….

Wikipedia gives a good description of voter caging:

According to an article by Dahlia Lithwick in Slate.com, caging has been used by members of the Republican Party of the USA as a form of voter suppression.[3] The use of direct mail caging techniques to target voters resulted in the application of the name to the political tactic. With one type of caging, a political party sends registered mail to addresses of registered voters. If the mail is returned as undeliverable – because, for example, the voter refuses to sign for it, the voter isn’t present for delivery, or the voter is homeless – the party uses that fact to challenge the registration, arguing that because the voter could not be reached at the address, the registration is fraudulent.[4] A political party challenges the validity of a voter’s registration; for the voter’s ballot to be counted, the voter must prove that their registration is valid.

Voters targeted by caging are often the most vulnerable: soldiers deployed overseas, those who are unfamiliar with their rights under the law, and those who cannot spare the time, effort, and expense of proving that their registration is valid.[5] On the day of the election, when the voter arrives at the poll and requests a ballot, an operative of the party challenges the validity of their registration. Ultimately, caging works by dissuading a voter from casting a ballot, or by ensuring that they cast a provisional ballot, which is less likely to be counted.

A search on “caging” on the Brad Blog, one of the best sites on voting issues, turns up over 100 entries on Republican Party voter caging.

Or using foreclosures lists to challenge voters.

The Republican Party is using dirty and illegal tricks to suppress voters and these dirty tricks are not getting the attention they deserve.  Now McCain is “turning a page” away from the economy.  It is McCain’s and the Republican’s Party judgement and honesty that are the issues, not Barack Obama’s.