Early this month, John McCain undertook a “crazy stunt” (in the words of A.B. Stoddard at The Hill) – he suspended his campaign two days before the first presidential debate. He did so in order to rush to Washington to help his colleagues address the bad debt/credit crisis that is rocking financial markets here and abroad. Stoddard, an obvious fan of McCain’s, is right to call it a crazy stunt. It sent McCain, who had been looking fairly sane if crabby, spiraling back into what I call Old Coot territory. Crazy Old Coot territory, to more precisely state the candidate’s current location on the coot continuum. For not only did McCain suspend active campaigning, he said that, were the crisis to remain unsolved, he would not leave Washington, meaning the debate would not occur. He made this radical, even wild move despite the fact that he is not a member of any committee involved in trying to work out a deal to prop up the financial system. It was almost unheard-of weirdness, and it has boomeranged horribly on McCain despite the fact that he did, in the end, attend the debate.

The debate did not go well for McCain, despite comments and analysis from most major network and cable network commentators saying McCain had won the debate. Frankly, it was very upsetting to hear them all go on about it, in the way it must always be upsetting to have your own perception of reality challenged. My eyes had seen but one candidate looking presidential, one candidate who could form coherent sentences that mentioned actual plans and intentions regarding governance, and one candidate who had the necessary information on both economic and foreign policy issues to cast the image of a reassuring and knowledgeable Commander-in-Chief. But for days after the debate, Chris Matthews insisted in that hyped-up, aggravating rasp of a voice that “McCain clearly won.” Well, I have news for Chris Matthews. After three debates, Obama now leads by 3 to 6 points in Ohio, 3-5 points in Florida, and is now is up over 12 points in Pennsylvania. Nationally, he won the whole series of debates in the view of American citizens by a margin of between 11 and 33%, depending on the pollster and which debate you select.

For all his efforts to appear strong and decisive, McCain is now in trouble. We learned from the financial fracas that anywhere in the general vicinity of Real Trouble is not a good place for the Old Coot. He begins to exhibit symptoms of panic under duress. He and his staffers try to clothe this flailing about in the trappings of “leadership,” typically preceded by the descriptor “bold,” but it doesn’t take with American voters. This is probably because, while convinced he’s exhibiting Bold Leadership, he frequently appears to the rest of us to be darting about like Henny-Penny, canceling debates and campaign appearances, and giving the general impression that he can’t handle stressors very well at all. He is not reassuring the public that he is ready to be president, let alone his wacky running mate.

In the final debate last week, his body seized up most oddly on the split screen as Obama spoke, as did his face. I don’t know what’s going on with McCain, but he has issues with stress, with confrontation, with staying even in tough situations. And that bodes poorly for one vying for the post of Commander-in-Chief.

And then there’s Sarah. Gov. Palin has been the edgier GOP candidate. She fiercely evokes Socialism, terrorism, Islamo-fascism, and every other scary ‘ism’ the GOP reflexively grows hysterical over in speaking of the Democratic ticket. She’s fearless and feckless, folksy and flawed. Her campaign cleared her of wrongdoing in the so-called “Troopergate” scandal in Alaska, even as the official investigation said she’d shown a troubling propensity to meddle and abuse her power to settle personal scores. Her staff in Alaska said it would cost media outlets up to $15M (!) to get her e-mails to and from other key state employees. She is clearly cut from the Bush-Cheney cookie cutter: she will obscure her decision-making process, obstruct those would seek clarity or just public information, and she’s also stated she would want a stronger hand as Vice-President. It’s all just an appalling mess on the GOP side of the ticket. In fact, today Gen. Colin Powell came out endorsing Barack Obama for president, a shocking if not entirely unforeseen development in the race.

But certain things are in their favor. America’s attention span, for one thing – there are people who get one misinforming e-mail and make a decision they won’t retreat from on that basis. Also we have to count Obama’s mistakes, which have been few but painful when they occur. Most recently, the misbegotten phrase uttered by Obama on a rope line with one Joe the Plumber – the remark in which Obama mentioned wanting to “spread the wealth around.” Of course, McCain has just pushed for the most socialist proposal in American history – that would be the $750B bailout of our financial system courtesy of the Bush administration, which most everyone in both parties signed onto. Nonetheless, the whole Joe the Plumber saga provided the GOP with a club, and they have set about using it relentlessly, hammering on the “socialist” motif for days. They have nothing else.

They will try to cobble a comeback out of that – one comment, on one rope line. Meantime, Obama is everywhere – knocking on doors in Ohio, gunning for an upsweep of support in Republican West Virginia, North Dakota, and wherever he sees a chance. He’s pushing McCain to defend in places like Florida, where Obama looks to be winning, and he’s wearing McCain down. Here’s hoping his momentum holds even as McCain’s flags. America needs to turn a corner from the dreck of the last eight years and embark in a real, focused way on entering the new century. Barack Obama is clearly the candidate who can make that happen for us.