Usually the last step in a dying campaign is the long knives and blame laying... the first to jump ship are the first given plausible deniability, even though they carried water for months... So begins the last phase of complete implosion.
Senior members of the Republican party are in open mutiny against John McCain's presidential campaign, after a disastrous period which has seen Barack Obama solidify his lead in the opinion polls.
From inside and outside his inner circle, Mr McCain is being told to settle on a coherent economic message and to tone down attacks on his rival which have sometimes whipped up a mob-like atmosphere at Republican rallies.
Naming names below the fold...
Not surprisingly, Mr. Mitt Romney, Mr. 2012, is among those first overboard
Two former rivals for the party nomination, Mitt Romney and Tommy Thompson, went on the record over the weekend about the disarray in the Republican camp. And a string of other senior party figures said Mr McCain's erratic performance risks taking the party down to heavy losses not just in the presidential race but also in contests for Congressional seats. Mr Thompson, a former governor of the swing state of Wisconsin, said he thought Mr McCain, on his present trajectory, would lose the state, and he told a New York Times reporter he was unhappy with the campaign. "I don't know who is," he added.
So what hope is left? None... We know their options, and their disarray
Senior Republicans have sharply conflicting views about the direction the McCain campaign should take, with some arguing that their candidate has not hit Mr Obama hard enough on the shady associates from his past. The issue of the Rev Jeremiah Wright, Mr Obama's former pastor, whose incendiary speeches about white racism almost derailed the Democrat's primary race, should be brought back on to the table by Mr McCain, many are counselling.
But what's Romney's perscription for fixing the economy? Cutting Capital Gains taxes...
Mr Romney said he should "stand above the tactical alternatives that are being considered and establish an economic vision that is able to convince the American people that he really knows how to strengthen the economy".
Someone tell Romney please that Captial Gains taxes are only levied on PROFITS. and with with the market down 22% last week, there won't be many people having to take advantage of this cut, other than those who correctly shorted the market earlier this year...
Rewarding those who bet against the Amercian Economy? John McCain's Economic Vision Distilled...