Opinion: McCain Can't Afford to Stand Pat

For more articles like this, check out our Political Pulse section.

Sen. John McCain's (R., Ariz.) recent wild ride in the polls has continued on a downtrend, with a ABC/Washington Post poll today indicating that likely voters favor Sen. Barack Obama (D., Ill.) by 10%.

With only three weeks left till Election Day, McCain's campaign needs to move quickly. Rumors have swirled about what McCain might do coming into this week, including the possibility of more tax-cut proposals. However, a speech he gave today suggests he'll be taking no new action. But can he afford to stand pat?

One might think that the McCain campaign would be busy devising a strategy to overcome the deficit. However, he started off his stump speech Monday in Virginia Beach, Va., in a familiar fashion -- attacking Obama with the argument he's unprepared for the presidency. McCain said:

"The next President won't have time to get used to the office. He won't have the luxury of studying up on the issues before he acts. He will have to act immediately. And to do that, he will need experience, courage, judgment and a bold plan of action to take this country in a new direction. We cannot spend the next four years as we have spent much of the last eight: waiting for our luck to change. The hour is late; our troubles are getting worse; our enemies watch."

The latest ABC poll indicates the McCain campaign's negative attack ads on Obama are hurting McCain with expected voters. ...