Newsweek Washington correspondent/MSNBC political analyst Howard Fineman was on Keith Olbermann’s ridiculous show late last week and said just about the most ridiculous thing anybody could think of by comparing the presidential campaign to McCain’s time in a Vietnamese Prison.

“They’re throwing everything against the wall and seeing what sticks. This is John McCain in survival mode. It’s not quite like the prison years, but he’s a tough character in a tough spot, and he’s going to use anything he can to survive. And they’re getting some positive feedback, they think, from the polls, including the latest Gallup poll, which shows the race daily tracking tightening again. Of course, McCain isn’t busting beyond 44 or 45 percent himself. But, at this point, he doesn’t seem to care if he can drag Obama down to his level, which he’s trying to do, trying to get Obama in an alley fight. That’s exactly what McCain is trying to do.”

In Vietnam, McCain was stabbed, was beat into unconsciousness many times, starved until he weighed just 100 pounds, forced to lie in filth and mud, had bones broken, ribs broken, he was abandoned in solitary confinement for years, kicked, scratched, and tied up and more.

And this dopey journalist on MSNBC compares this election campaign to McCain’s time in prison. The odd thing is that according to most polls the election is currently tied.

H/T Newsbusters