• McCain should take up the case against Congressional perks, building on his efforts to curtail earmarks, cracking down on Congressional ethics, and taking aim at the day to day practices (as opposed to the speeches) of his two fellow senators who are running for office.

• He should go after regulators who don’t regulate, beginn ing with those who let unsafe toys into the U.S. He should condemn the FAA for its weaknesses. He should go after the Fed and other regulators for their laxity in the face of the emerging credit crisis.

• McCain should blast China for its abuse of Tibet. While governments are cowed into silence, McCain should speak out for human liberty and against the repressive tactics of Beijing even as China wants us to celebrate their Olympic games.

Strong, vigorous, populist advocacy can bring the spotlight back to McCain, draw attention to the integrity and strength which has always made him a unique public figure.

As he sought the GOP nomination, this muckraking McCain had to be bottled up inside a national security conservative façade. But no matter how deeply McCain believes in national security, it is his populism that has earned him the plaudits that got him to where he is today.

It’s time for the bleached out McCain to exit and f or the hearty, embattled, opponent of falsity and privilege to take center stage. And, to show the Democrats how to do it.