Freerepublic types are not a normal cross-section of the population, but rather some of the most politically active among conservatives. You two are talking about a tiny minority of the population. McCain still would have lost if all the stubborn freepers had gone in and voted for him—because he was a crappy candidate. Yes, I voted for him, but he was a crappy candidate. So let’s spend our energy looking for a good candidate for the next round instead of worrying about the 4 people at freerepublic who sat at home.
It would be interesting to know if there are any stats estimating how many sat home.
And yeah, McCain was a crappy candidate, I think they all were, except Sarah of course, no one was going to beat the “historical” hope and change.