In the news today was John McCain's attack on Obama, charging him with wanting to lose in Iraq because of his "ambition".

There have been many commenters who responded by urging Obama to hit back.  I think he does need to hit McCain, but not necessarily hit back.

Obama should not let McCain dictate his message by responding to McCain's accusations du jour.  He needs to hit McCain where he's vulnerable, over and over again from the same angle.

Josh Marshall seems to agree.  In one of his posts today he said, "The lack of any consistent lines of attack against McCain is becoming palpable."

So let me be constructive and suggest the branding of John McCain as a Big Oil Cowboy.

Big Oil is a lever that can open several cans of worms:

    -- Domestic economy (gas prices)

    -- National security (foreign oil dependence)

    -- Lobbyist puppet

    -- Same as Bush and Cheney

Cowboy, of course, reminds people of his unstable personality:

    -- Gaffe-o-rama

    -- Same as Bush and Cheney

    -- Iresponsible spending

    -- Deteriorating memory

    -- Loose-cannon temper

I think Big Oil Cowboy is a punch that can be thrown over and over again.  It's a brand that can stick.

Let's see how this can work.

Greg Sargent on TPM EC posted Obama spokesman Bill Burton's response to McCain's attack:

All his bluster, distortions and negative attacks notwithstanding, it is hard to understand how Senator McCain can at once proclaim his support for the sovereign government of Iraq, and then stubbornly defy their expressed support for a timeline to remove our combat brigades from their country.  The difference in this race is that John McCain is intent on spending $10 billion a month on an open-ended war, while Barack Obama thinks we should bring this war to a responsible end and invest in our pressing needs here at home.

Wow.  Two complex sentences totalling six clauses and 89 words, all jammed into a single paragraph.  Let's rewrite that keeping our branding in mind:

John McCain is singing his same old song.  Stay in Iraq and spend, spend, spend.  Spend the lives of our precious children.  Spend your hard-earned dollars on Big Oil and Blackwater.

Now their government wants a timeline for withdrawal.  John McCain disagrees.  He says they're just confused.

But McCain can't remember the difference between Sunnis and Shiites.  He confuses Iraqi extremists with Al Qaeda.  He can't tell you who the enemy is.

We think it's John McCain who's confused.  We can't afford another cowboy in the White House.

I'm not Barack Obama, but I approve this message anyway.

Not counting the tag line, that's 12 simple sentences totalling four paragraphs and 88 words.

KISS!  Keep It Simple, Stupid!