I think mccain will come out as 3rd party candidate. I don't see the RNC supporting him at all.
He will be the Ross Perot of '08 and the demos will reward him with Secretary of Something.
McCain is done.
He can run 3rd party if he wants, but at least Perot had a base of some conservatives who were frustrated with the Bush Administration that was portrayed by the MSM.
McCain will not take enough votes from the base to make a 3rd party difference, and may in fact add a few to it.