Temper, temper!

How about a bunch of TV spots with the targets of, or witnesses to, McCain’s screaming fits describing how he looked and sounded? “Crazy” is the ultimate “other.”

Should the Obama campaign, or one of the independent groups, try to make a big issue out of McCain’s temper? A series of spots, each one with someone else McCain has screamed at or who has watched him screaming at someone, might be an effective way to plant the idea &#8212 quite possibly true &#8212 that McCain is too unstable to be trusted near the Button.

“Crazy” is the ultimate “other.” Ask Barry Goldwater: “In your guts, you know he’s nuts.”

Author: Mark Kleiman

Professor of Public Policy at the NYU Marron Institute for Urban Management and editor of the Journal of Drug Policy Analysis. Teaches about the methods of policy analysis about drug abuse control and crime control policy, working out the implications of two principles: that swift and certain sanctions don't have to be severe to be effective, and that well-designed threats usually don't have to be carried out. Books: Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know (with Jonathan Caulkins and Angela Hawken) When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment (Princeton, 2009; named one of the "books of the year" by The Economist Against Excess: Drug Policy for Results (Basic, 1993) Marijuana: Costs of Abuse, Costs of Control (Greenwood, 1989) UCLA Homepage Curriculum Vitae Contact: Markarkleiman-at-gmail.com