The senior advisers and talking heads told us over the weekend that John McCain is going to attack.

He’s going to “refocus” his message on Democratic opponent Barack Obama, who spent the last three weeks leaping ahead in the polls in the wake of several McCain gaffes.

Instead of talking about the economy, which he doesn’t understand, or health care, which he doesn’t want to invest in, McCain is going to talk about Obama’s character.

Be prepared: We’re going to be returning to the “Barry Hussein Obama is a secret gay Muslim” rhetoric.

It’s all they have left.

McCain and his ongoing joke of a running mate went all in and came up short. The only thing they can do is destroy their opponent, who’s connecting with the American people because this campaign is actually about the issues.

(Side note: Want to read something interesting? Check out this Rolling Stone cover story on the exaggerations that are John McCain’s past. It contains some saucy language, but it’s a good read.)

Will it work? You never know. The GOP has lobbed mudballs and stolen elections before. But something tells me this is different. We’ve had eight years of fabrications and wingnut attacks on our senses and sensibilities.

I think this line of campaigning could backfire on McCain, but he’s at a point where he has no choice. He’s shot from the hip one too many times, and he’s all mavericked out. Back to the drawing board.