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CAMPAIGN SCORECARD [This article contains a table. Please see hardcopy of magazine.]

ROUND 1 2 3 4 ISSUE Agenda Control Defusing Attacks Balance Of Power Vacation Days ACTION Using Paris Hilton, Britney Spears and Charlton Heston (as Moses) to mock Barack Obama's celebrity, fitness for the presidency and alleged Messiah complex is not the classiest or most substantive gambit in presidential-campaign history. But it sure did allow John McCain to focus the conversation on Obama's greatest vulnerabilities. When Obama remarked on the campaign trail that he doesn't look like previous Presidents, McCain's campaign manager was quick to accuse the Democrat of playing the race card from "the bottom of the deck." In the short term, Obama was put on the defensive. In the long term, the move may have neutralized a potentially explosive issue for the Republicans. The indictment of Alaska Senator TedStevens imperils yet another Republican-held congressional seat. While McCain fights hard for the White House, widespread voter dissatisfaction with President Bush and his party's positions suggests Democrats may enjoy formidable majorities in both houses come January. Obama, presumably drained from months of campaigning, is using the Summer Olympics' opening roar to retreat to Hawaii. McCain will mostly stay on the trail but plans to use some time out of the spotlight to prepare for the fall debates. With the Beijing Games likely to dominate the nation's airwaves and the public's attention, McCain will be more visible but get less rest.

RESULTS [This article contains a table. Please see hardcopy of magazine.]

REPUBLICANS X X     DEMOCRATS     X   TIE       X

WINNER OF THE WEEK: REPUBLICANS

The McCain camp has been criticized by the media and even by some Republicans for attempting to define Obama by belittling him. But there is a real issue at the heart of its endeavors: Obama's readiness to be President.

Not all rounds are created equal

The week's winner is based on the relative importance of each fight and by how much the winner takes each round.

WEEK BY WEEK [This article contains a table. Please see hardcopy of magazine.]

    JUNE       JULY       AUG.         SEPT.       OCT.         TOTAL WEEKS WON REPUBLICANS   TIE     X TIE X     TIE X                         3 DEMOCRATS X   X X       X X                             5

Enough Already. Things we would prefer to see banned through Election Day

• Media coverage driven by horse-race polling data.

• John McCain's use of his signature phrase, my friends.

• Barack Obama's referring to himself as a symbol.

• Members of Congress trying to out-outrage the other party.

• Superfluous use of the phrase the race card.

• The Hilton family injected into the campaign.

• McCain's repetition of any joke he first told in the '80s.

• Obama complaints about negative press attention.

• Both campaigns' going on the attack reflexively when the opposing candidate misspeaks on the trail.

• Coverage of Internet campaign videos as if they were paid television ads.

• The focus on the trivial and superficial while the nation remains at war and teeters on the edge of an economic recession.

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