I still think the core issue was Reverend Wright. The connection with Ayers was always difficult to show visually (ie 30 second ad). Wright provided 20 years of material.
McCain did not want to be accused of playing the race card... so the US is stuck with Obama.
My advice (for what it is worth) wait until the honeymoon has worn off. Then reintroduce all the material that was not used on Obama the radical as a frame for explaining to a disappointed middle class why he is making all those unpopular left wing moves.