It should be noted that the McCain of two elections ago was a man respected on both ends of the political spectrum. The media, whether you want to label them Liberal or Conservative, universally loved him and he enjoyed almost unprecedented favorable media coverage.
Then he was heinously smeared by the Rove machine (and who was pulling those strings?) Everything from unfounded charges of brain damage as a result of his POW experience to completely off-the-charts evil memos in South Carolina about him fathering a Black child (he had adopted an Indian girl and chose to preserve her privacy which is why he didn’t parade her around and use her as a prop.)
So McCain’s destruction as a viable candidate was engineered by Republicans way back when. Even now that he’s the candidate, support from many Rovian style Republicans seems to be very left-handed and lukewarm.
But again, McCain is not the McCain of 2001. He has indeed sold his soul for the chance to be president, moved in lockstep with Bush even on issues he previously questioned, and destroyed his reputation as a maverick which had earned him respect on all sides of the political spectrum.
