With 21 days to go, many in the GOP feel this week’s third and final presidential debate is a crucial opportunity for John McCain to change the course of a race that appears to be moving strongly towards Barack Obama.

But the consensus ended there, reports the LA Times:

“For just about every Republican urging McCain to focus relentlessly on the economy, there was another who said McCain should continue questioning Obama’s character by citing his association with William Ayers, a Vietnam-era radical. Some said the GOP nominee needed to do both, and also bring up the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., Obama’s controversial former pastor; others called that a mistake and said that a mix of messages was part of McCain’s problem.”

Read the full story here.