The McCain camp has released a detailed memo responding to the “McCain lied, Our Hopes Died” meme which is taking hold in the MSM/Left Blogger/Obama camp (hereinafter “Gang of Three”). In that memo, the McCain camp offers rebuttals on the issues of Obama’s tax increases and support for sex education for young children and on the relative records of McCain-Palin and Obama-Biden on earmarks.  Why this approach rather than a response ad or an indignant presser? Three things are at work.

First, the McCain camp doesn’t believe for a moment that the MSM will give “equal time” to its response. So better to hold their fire and simply put all their thoughts in a single document. It will get some coverage and the MSM will at least be obliged to respond that the McCain camp “Refuted the charge that they are dirty, rotten liars.” Something like that.

Second, the McCain camp is attempting to keep an eye on the ball. The voters in play are independents in swing states. These voters hate negative ads. The McCain camp is hoping, I suspect, that the public gets the idea about which camp is screaming at them and which is calming responding with charts and facts.

Finally, we have seven weeks to go. Just because the Obama camp is yelling at a fever pitch and throwing out everything from the age/cancer card to the “Bush Clone!” line in rapid fire doesn’t mean it is wise for the McCain camp to do so. If you are screaming fifty days out what is going to happen at ten days out? The public will be inured and tired of hearing you holler. At least that’s, I suspect, what the McCain camp is betting on.

For now McCain has several tasks: remain focused, continue to build the maverick label, make the economic crisis into an argument about leadership (where he has the advantage) and make sure next week’s debate (yeah, next week) is a success. The rest is noise.