Rove didn’t lose his sheen, GWB at 25% approval was impossible to overcome in 08.
Actually, until Chucky Schumer took the trouble to out a major bank (Indymac) as on the verge of failing thus creating a run on that bank for it’s cash, McCain was winning the election according to polling. President Bush is way ahead of the Congress in approval, too, yet democrats pick up seats in House and Senate.