I think you're onto something. McCain, despite his "maverick" trademark, is a safe, boring choice 80% of the time. And I agree that he comes across as "transparent." He'd call it "straight-talk." I think he has a tiny aura of integrity about him that is rare in a politician.
I expect McCain to do a much better than average job of selecting qualified cabinet members.
I suspect that voters look at Obama and wonder if he'll fill his administration with younger staff ready to "change" everything. Remember when Clinton's Whitehouse was full of pizza-eating 25 year-olds? Voter may be intrigued with Obama, but may be leary of too much change . . .
Sometimes, the known (i.e., the boring) is more desirable than the unknown (i.e., "Change that I'll never actually define"). Threats of undefined change can be unsettling to people who want only a few pet peeves changed.
And McCain still owns Obama on foreign policy. Most of us are amazed that we have not had 911 repeats. That speaks well of a Republican administration.
Good points.
I was hoping to see a much more vigorous debate . It was very low key audience was like zombies represented Brokow I guess , I wish the guy from saddleback forum had been there to ask the questions. Mccain was awesome and made Obama look like a kid. It sure wasnt the townhall forums i saw mccain do. He takes a lot of hard ball questions at those and gets into debates with the crowd