Not endorsing the Messiah in the debates would be a good start. Do you remember "You don't have to fear Obama as President"? It couldn't be clearer to me that it was McCain's final finger in the eye to conservatives.
I do, and when I heard him say that, coupled with the fact he wouldn't attack 0bama on his past, I was convinced McCain was so in awe of 0bama, he didn't have it in him to win that election.
By contrast, Sarah Palin wanted to go at Obama on all fronts like a pit bull, but was frustrated by the constraints of the cabal running the McCain "campaign." Palin hungered for victory and wanted to pull out all the stops... McCain had no such desire. No candidate who wants victory suspends his campaign to attend a show meeting on bailouts.
McCain was just enjoying touring the country, giving a few lame, tired speeches here and there, and doing something different than whiling away his days at the U.S. Capitol building. Winning was never his intent, IMO.
This is why the GOP should never nominate someone who's a tacit fan of the opponent they're supposed to defeat.