Ready For His Close-Up?

McCain's tour of a "forgotten America" was supposed to provide him a chance to frame his message on the economy. But, so ... what is that message, exactly?

He's been quick to empathize w/the plight of the unemployed and uninsured, but he's been short on specifics on how he'd fix their problems. This may be OK on a press tour, but can it really hold up once he's in a one-on-one debate w/Clinton or Obama?

--Just as important, what happens when his current economic rhetoric is matched against his record? WaPo's Weisman and NJ's Brownstein do just that today. Weisman walks us through McCain's past statements and positions, noting that he now "embraces many of the tax policies he once decried."

--Brownstein keys in on McCain's delicate (and not always effectively handled) balancing act: avoid alienating economic conservatives and party loyalists, while also admitting that middle class families aren't better off than they were 8 years ago. How many other statements that McCain's making on tour this week will end up in grainy attack ads this fall?

-- While the klieg lights are shining more brightly on Obama and HRC today, McCain's time in the spotlight is coming. Will he be ready for it?