Keith Olbermann (and, more recently, Jon Stewart) are being silly when they deride McCain for refusing to reveal this knowledge unless he's elected. What's really happening is not that McCain has a “secret plan” to get Osama, but that he hasn't learned the basic persuasion technique “show, don't tell.”

Obama has convinced Americans that he's smart and ready to lead by actually BEING smart and discussing issues in a way that shows he's ready to lead. McCain, on the other hand, seems to think that if he keeps saying he “knows how to do” things, we'll agree with him.

To me, he sounds like Harvey Korman as the Count de Money (“de Monet, de MONET!”) in “History of the World, Part I,” talking to the virgin about sex: “You do it. You KNOW you do it. Everybody does it. I just did it, and I'm ready to do it again.”

Keith Olbermann (and, more recently, Jon Stewart) are being silly when they deride McCain for refusing to reveal this knowledge unless he's elected. What's really happening is not that McCain has a “secret plan” to get Osama, but that he hasn't learned the basic persuasion technique “show, don't tell.”

Obama has convinced Americans that he's smart and ready to lead by actually BEING smart and discussing issues in a way that shows he's ready to lead. McCain, on the other hand, seems to think that if he keeps saying he “knows how to do” things, we'll agree with him.

To me, he sounds like Harvey Korman as the Count de Money (“de Monet, de MONET!”) in “History of the World, Part I,” talking to the virgin about sex: “You do it. You KNOW you do it. Everybody does it. I just did it, and I'm ready to do it again.”

Keith Olbermann (and, more recently, Jon Stewart) are being silly when they deride McCain for refusing to reveal this knowledge unless he's elected. What's really happening is not that McCain has a “secret plan” to get Osama, but that he hasn't learned the basic persuasion technique “show, don't tell.”

Obama has convinced Americans that he's smart and ready to lead by actually BEING smart and discussing issues in a way that shows he's ready to lead. McCain, on the other hand, seems to think that if he keeps saying he “knows how to do” things, we'll agree with him.

To me, he sounds like Harvey Korman as the Count de Money (“de Monet, de MONET!”) in “History of the World, Part I,” talking to the virgin about sex: “You do it. You KNOW you do it. Everybody does it. I just did it, and I'm ready to do it again.”

It reminded me of a point in my grandmother's decline through Alzheimer's at which she forgot my grandfather's name for a moment, although she still knew him. He was in the next room, and she asked for “that man who's supposed to be my husband.”

So, does anyone else think that McCain was having one of those dreaded “senior moments”? Or was he just too disgusted by having to run against the upstart from Illinois that he couldn't bring himself to say the name that time?

My current prediction is Obama 53, McCain 43, with Barr and Nader splitting the rest. (That's down from the 12-point spread I envisioned in July.)