"Not Offering Another Version Of Change"

McCain campaign co-head Rick Davis must understand the current political environment differently than we do because we sure don't understand Team McCain's tire gauge gag at all.

And to have the email come from the top campaign aid of an American Hero?

Wasn't there some surrogate's summer intern that could have sent this out under his/her email address?

Of course, maybe we're the crazy ones.

Who listen too much to people like David Brooks, who said on Friday:

JIM LEHRER: And to the analysis of Shields and Brooks, syndicated columnist Mark Shields, New York Times columnist David Brooks.

David, is it just my imagination or has this campaign between Barack Obama and John McCain turned personal, rough and racial, among other things?

DAVID BROOKS, Columnist, New York Times: Well, it's not the campaign a lot of us were hoping for, especially a lot of us who, you know, admired John McCain a great deal.

I wouldn't say the last week has been the McCain campaign we were hoping for. And that includes John Weaver, a longtime friend and former adviser to McCain. And so it hasn't been an elevated Teddy Roosevelt-style campaign.

The question on my mind is, is it an effective campaign? The fact of the matter is this is Obama's election to lose. The country wants a change. Obama is a change. If people feel comfortable with Barack Obama, then he will win the election.

So there is a good reason to think that John McCain should just go after Obama, should just raise doubts. I mean, he should say the guy has not achieved that much in life. He's very elusive on what he stands for. He has no experience. That's a legitimate case to make. I'm not sure I'd do it via Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, but that's a legitimate case to make.

My problem with what McCain is doing is not only that it's not elevated and doesn't please people like me; I understand that. But you have to -- you could raise doubts about Barack Obama.

But if you're not offering another version of change that people can quickly understand, then people will have the doubts about Obama, but they will prefer change with doubts over no change. And I don't think John McCain is doing that other thing.

We agree.

And we don't think that this tire gauge gag is offering voters that other version of change that Mr. Brooks is talking about.

But that's just us.