McCain was good. He did blow it absolutely on the economy when he did not mention the GOP move a few years ago to regulate the Fannie/Freddie organizations when the rats would not vote for it. He also should have mentioned that the forcing of lenders to give mortgages to risky applicants.
He could have been a LOT stronger, for the reasons you mention. He could have distanced himself perfectly from George Bush and trashed one of Obama’s favorite criticisms of him.