This new attack line has been appearing again and again from McCain supporters. I have seen it twice myself—and I don't watch the TV—including this weekend on ABC This Week when Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN) asked Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-IL):

"When has Barack Obama stood up and taken on his party on anything of national significance?"

Emanuel stumbled over an answer before regaining his composure, but essentially fed the meme: Obama is a partisan politician while McCain is an independent maverick. It's an idea the media is far too likely to support and could give McCain some traction.

To take the question at face value overlooks the obvious: since Obama has been a senator, the Republicans have been wrong on just about every issue. The question should be thrown back in their faces.

"It's difficult to side with the Republicans when they have been wrong on issue after issue:

     •Should Obama has stood with Bush and McCain when they tried to dismantle Social Security?

     •Should Obama have stood with Bush and McCain when they legalized water-boarding and other forms of torture?

     •Should Obama have stood with Bush and McCain when they refused to give our troops the body armor and equipment they deserved?

     •Should Obama have stood with Bush and McCain when they sided with the oil companies instead of the American people?"

The list could go on-and-on and can be customized for any demographic you're reaching out to. You can use it to talk about children's health care, the mortgage crisis or any number of issues that Republicans have been wrong about in the past four years.

It's a counter-attack opportunity. We need to take advantage of the opening.