Probably. But it's also an indication that McCain offered nothing to tempt people away from Obama's rhetoric. His campaign was centered on trying to tell people why they shouldn't vote for Obama and not on why people should vote for McCain. If nothing else good comes from this campaign then maybe it'll be the death of that Rovian strategy. Regan won because he told people what he was going to do and what his vision for the future was. We need to return to that.
Far far too many Americans think the government is the answer.
It was the government that caused the problem.
The dems pushed the American Dream Act,the republican president signed it, and the rest is obvious.
People thought they were entitled to something for nothing.
How to step back from such a disaster is not going to be easy.
Hmmm I see it as the vindication of Rove, you start out with your base, then expand, McCain never had his the core of the Republican Party, and he started trying to organize us to get out the vote far to late in the Election.
If anything, this election is the death of the Moderate.
There's nothing wrong, IMO, with bringing up questionable circumstances (or evening damning facts) about your opponent. But I agree with you, McCain needed to offer something, some reason by which to vote for him. The dose of "negative campaigning" should be limited to perhaps 20% of the overall message.