Everything McCain does (from picking the head of Alaska's National Guard to be his running mate to avoiding George Bush at the convention) has a ring of desperation to it as he faces an electoral landslide.

But politicos seem just as desperate to portray the doomed McCain campaign as on the verge of a breakthrough or a game changer.

Now it’s Hurricane Gustav that will help the ailing McCain.

Hurricane Gustav “presents the candidate with an opportunity to show that he would be a different kind of president than Bush” (Washington Post).

John McCain can't stop the storm, but his campaign is determined to make the most of it by using it to rebrand a new generation of Republicans as leaders who govern effectively and rise above partisanship (Time Magazine).