True, McCain was saddled with Bush's low popularity and an ailing economy. But, he clearly wasn't a Bush disciple and often was a Bush opponent. He failed to use that to his advantage. Rather than use his strength as a budget cutter, he openly embraced a Socialistic financial bailout with Obama. He was a weak campaigner. He lost three consecutive debates. His opponent had a very liberal record and little experience that he failed to exploit. He refused to attack him on Reverend Wright, gun control, Gay marriage, and his lack of experience. McCain looked old, tired and slurred his words. He was a pathetic candidate and lost Indiana, Virginia, and even North Carolina. He ran the worst GOP campaign in my lifetime.
But, he clearly wasn’t a Bush disciple and often was a Bush opponent.
the problem was he wasn’t a Reagan disciple either. He had to do everything HIS way without the benefit of something that had worked well before.
The whole essence of a conservative is to conserve what you have learned from the experience of others, history and the Word of G-d.