McCain does not appear to have grasped the nature of the new challenge. He continues to intone "people are hurting, people are angry" as if to show that he's in touch. Instead of presenting a coherent narrative about the Democrats who did so much to instigate the current crisis by insisting upon subprime mortgages and resisting calls to regulate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, he directs his fire at greed on Wall Street. Well, presidents have lots of power, but no president is ever going to be able to control or regulate greed. Sen. McCain likes to punish those he considers corrupt -- notice how often he refers to former antagonists who are now "in jail." But voters, I suspect, really don't care so much about punishing greed as they care about their own jobs, health care, and 401(k)s.
In the time that remains, McCain should argue that voters have a lot to lose if Obama is elected. McCain has a good health care reform package that would save money for all but the highest earners while enhancing competition, reducing costs, and preserving what is without doubt the finest health care system in the world. Obama's plan would encourage employers to stop providing health coverage, thus undermining the private system and pushing us, probably irreparably, in the direction of nationalized health care.
Obama will raise taxes and adopt protectionist trade barriers. As McCain noted in the debate, the last president to do that was Herbert Hoover. McCain's final push should emphasize that just because things are bad, that doesn't mean they couldn't get worse. Much worse.