Where's Whatshisname the Electrician?

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The Best of Washington Sketch: Campaign '08

The Washington Post's Dana Milbank and washingtonpost.com's Akira Hakuta look back on the highlights of the 2008 presidential race.

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That seems plausible, for the rally acoustics can't keep up with the airplanes roaring above on their way to land. McCain praises Gov. Mitch Daniels. A Northwest flight roars overhead. He extols fiscal conservatism. Delta zooms past. He ridicules Harry Reid and Barney Frank. American Airlines whines its way to the tarmac. Offshore drilling and clean coal? Northwest Airlink and Southwest Airlines. Joe the Plumber? Another Northwest flight.

By the end of the speech, his fifth of the day, McCain is hoarse and straining.

Roswell, N.M., 5:56 p.m.

The door to McCain's aircraft swings open and the crowd cheers -- but there are no stairs for the candidate; he cools his heels while they bring the stairs over from the rear door. The Roswell airport is a questionable spot for a rally: It's a graveyard for old airplanes, and the hulking carcasses of dead aircraft serve as a backdrop for McCain's appearance. A mirrored ball spins above the crowd, giving the hangar a disco feel.

Naturally, the microphones fail as soon as McCain begins to talk -- "courtesy of the Democratic National Committee," he quips for the third time.

There are barely more live people at the rally -- 750 -- than dead airplanes on the tarmac. But McCain will take support wherever he can get it. "I'm pleased to announce that I have received the alien endorsement," he says, "and I'm proud."

Maybe Pepe el Extraterrestre delivered the endorsement in person.