McCain is hurting Senate and House Republican candidates

There's a lot of very good information in an article in today's New York Times about the status of House and Senate races. There's a lot of very good news for Democrats.

For me, the best tidbit is the admission that the Republicans running for Senate and House are being damaged by their nominee. Republicans are already a damaged brand because of their loyalty to George Bush. In a campaign, this kind of talk about the nominee spreads quickly and becomes pervasive. It damages morale, fundraising and volunteer efforts. For all the talk about how John McCain is their hero, just watch Republicans start to ditch McCain over the next few days and weeks. Republican candidates are in survival mode and McCain will be the first one thrown overboard by his fellow GOPers:

Strategists for both parties say Republican House and Senate candidates are being hurt by the dip in support for Senator John McCain at the top of the ticket, frustrating Republicans who had initially viewed Mr. McCain as a strong asset who could appeal to independents and even moderate Democrats and protect Republicans in a tough year.

But the market volatility and perceived Democratic edge on handling the economy has evidently turned voters to Democrats, a view supported by one top adviser to Republican candidates.

“This financial crisis has provided momentum to Barack Obama and other Democrats, and their campaigns now have the wind at their backs,” said the consultant, who asked not to be identified speaking pessimistically about the Republican outlook.

Obama is starting to pull ahead and leave McCain behind. That's what we want. It starts to get fun when the Republicans dump McCain and leave him in the dust. But, they can't run from McCain or Bush. They're all one and the same.