My prediction - If McCain is elected, he will switch to an Independent (if that is even possible for a sitting president to do).
My prediction - If McCain is elected, he will switch to an Independent (if that is even possible for a sitting president to do).
Possible? I don't see why not. Party affiliation is not required under the Constitution (indeed, many Founding Fathers were extremely distrustful of political parties - in what has become known as his Farewell Address, Washington warned of the "baneful effects of the spirit" they engendered).
Practicable? I don't think so. President McCain would need the Republicans in Congress, and finally abandoning the Party altogether is a bad way to gain their trust and cooperation.