If Obama Wants to Win He Needs to Give McCain a Taste of His Own Medicine

OK, can someone please explain to me how the fuck this happened?

Sen. Barack Obama goes to the Middle East, Central Asia and Europe largely in response to McCain attacking him for not going to Iraq. He takes the world by storm, the highlight of his trip delivering a rousing, if substanceless, speech in Berlin to 200,000 adoring fans. Germans held up placards begging for Obama to be their Chancellor. He actually makes Gordon Brown smile, a feat about as easy as Rush Limbaugh getting it up without someone else's Viagra.

McCain responds with sour ads accusing Obama of being… semi-popular, a status conferred on him by what used to be almost half the nation.

Then, by the time Obama gets back from what was by all accounts a successful trip, during which he made not a single gaffe, his lead over McCain completely evaporated in the wake of the most mean-spirited attack ads this generation has ever seen?!