Can you hear the drums?

Today's NYTimes op-eds fire off a massive volley at McCain:

Editorial: Mr. Obama’s Task

"It is only August and the race has already become too nasty. The fault, mainly, lies with the Republicans’ attempt to repeat the 2004 Swift-boating. Mr. Obama has an inspiring life story that can help counter those attacks. Mr. McCain’s personal history is also inspiring, but he seems intent on lowering the tone of the campaign rather than raising it."

~
Krugman: Accentuate the Negative -
"The Obama campaign, on the other hand, doesn’t need to convince voters either that he’s the awesomest candidate ever or that Mr. McCain is a villain. All it has to do is tarnish Mr. McCain’s image enough so that voters see this as a race between a Democrat and a Republican. And that’s a race the Democrat will easily win. "

~
Frank Rich: Last Call for Change We Can Believe In -

"What we have learned this summer is this: McCain’s trigger-happy temperament and reactionary policies offer worse than no change. He is an unstable bridge back not just to Bush policies but to an increasingly distant 20th-century America that is still fighting Red China in Vietnam and the Soviet Union in the cold war. As the country tries to navigate the fast-moving changes of the 21st century, McCain would put America on hold."

And so it begins.