Some hurt bad some really dying

"My friends, that was as invigorating as the first Lincoln Douglas debate, which as you know I moderated"

John McCain and Barack Obama held their third and final debate last night at Hofstra University, where McCain (pictured above, I don't know, dying of thirst or something) had one last chance to state a compelling reason for his candidacy (read: insult Barack Obama)

McCain read through the laundry list: Taxes, health care, Bill Ayers, ACORN (which no one understands) and an undecided voter from Ohio that Barack Obama met earlier this week, Joe the Plumber, who, as it turns out is not named Joe and is not actually a plumber. He is also not undecided and has been parroting McCain talking points all day. Si se puede.

It's hard, on the national stage, to win a Presidential election when you're presenting a) no clear vision of even remotely what you'd do and b) present no clear reason to vote for you, just reasons to vote against your opponent. John Kerry's salient message in 2004 was Anybody But Bush, and despite the fact that he had policy proposals and strategies for economic and military success (I'm assuming he did. Wait, he did, right?) he was not able to present himself as a positive alternative to President Bush, he was only able to effective attack the President.

That didn't work; partially because President Bush attacked back (and with bigger guns) but because he was able to craft an effective message that made sense against the backdrop of history. in 2008, McCain is running with a message that isn't sticking within the current climate and is banking on a victory the exact way he lost his primary battle with Bush in 2000 -- mud.

My point: McCain is done.