Send In Pony Boy

Instead of spin, GOP leaders gave a sobering and downright gloomy assessment of last p.m.'s loss in MS-01. Boehner called it a "wake up call" and the NRCC's Cole said it showed voters are "pessimistic" about the GOP brand. They made it clear that traditional lines of attack against a Dem in a GOP-leaning district (namely that he/she is a tax-spend liberal), are no longer effective.

-- Instead, GOP leaders are encouraging candidates to take the Dems "change" mantle and adopt it as their own. One way to do this, they argue: grab onto McCain's coattails. Not one of the losing GOP candidates mentioned their WH nominee in ads.

-- But can McCain's mavericky-ness rub off on a state Rep. from OH or a sheriff from NM? More important, while McCain has done a good job avoiding getting tied to the Bush anchor, it's going to get much harder for him to escape it this fall, once Dems start to train their fire on him.

-- Trying to position themselves as outsiders when their party has been in the WH for 8 years may not work. But, at this point, do they really have any other choice?