[7thson]

I think one word encompases all thirty reasons - pride. Maybe another word - stubbron. Pride and stubbron. While he was on once with Chris Plante and Hannity, he could not swallow his pride to go on Rush, Levin, Boortz, and all the rest of them. He goes on the shows that kiss his arse. Pluse, he wanted to do it his way - stubbron.

How many caught his concession speech? I caught part of it. He was more polite to Obama than he was to Bush back in 2000. I don't know the full SC story back then but you can't tell me that Obama's campaign treated him with kid gloves - making fun of his age, his disabilities, etc.

[Red Steel]

• "Failure to explain the Democrats’ role in the financial meltdown. "

  This one cost McCain a 5% swing in votes.

[Notary Sojac]

1. Not opposing the bailout.
2-30. See reason 1.

[theDentist]

He ran a timid campaign, as did the RNC nationally. He was running for Second Place, Runner Up, the Silver, History’s Footnote, the Asterisk in an Encyclopedia, the Not Ready for Prime Time Player, Bridesmaid, and Mr Nice Guy (and nice guys finish last).

[lone star annie]

Not having a coherent economic message and saying dumb things, like “I don’t know much about the economy.” Simple soundbites repeated over and over like “We don’t punish employers, We need them to have employees.” Or, “That 5% percent increase in taxes, could mean your job.”

[Tennessee Nana]

The AMNESTY Bill The AMNESTY Bill The AMNESTY Bill

The AMNESTY Bill The AMNESTY Bill The AMNESTY Bill

The AMNESTY Bill The AMNESTY Bill The AMNESTY Bill

The AMNESTY Bill The AMNESTY Bill The AMNESTY Bill

The AMNESTY Bill The AMNESTY Bill The AMNESTY Bill

The AMNESTY Bill The AMNESTY Bill The AMNESTY Bill

The AMNESTY Bill The AMNESTY Bill The AMNESTY Bill

The AMNESTY Bill The AMNESTY Bill The AMNESTY Bill

The AMNESTY Bill The AMNESTY Bill The AMNESTY Bill

The AMNESTY Bill The AMNESTY Bill The AMNESTY Bill

[marsh2]

Not realizing that the economy would be THE issue. Failing to appreciate that the lower and lower middle economic class are truly suffereing to make ends meet and meet the basic needs of their families - challenges like gasoline prices, health care, food and shelter. Not crafting a program that provided relief to predatory usurious credit and lending practices. Not stressing energy and its ties to prices at the pump. Not coming up with a simple and rational health program that people understood. Not recognizing that there have to be programs to raise up the disenfranchised lower middle class through education, economic development of small business opportunities, mentoring and regulatory relief so that they felt they had a stake in his campaign. Looking like he was a pro-fat-cat wealthy Wall Street corporate greed Republican because he could not articulate clearly how his policies would help the have nots who are now in the majority.

Whenever those who identify as “have nots” are stressed and exceed the “haves” in number, there is a danger of shifting to some populist who has radical underpinnings. History repeats itself.

[MHT]

The Republicans’ first mistake was having primaries on different dates than the Democrats, thereby allowing the RATS to cross over and select the Republican candidate. So...McCain’s first mistake was getting nominated to begin with. After all, he was the favorite Republican candidate of the Democrats...and was their first choice, until they had their own candidate.

[JayAr36]

Only one thing ruined the McCain campaign . . . McCain!

[Sylvester McMonkey McBean]

John McCain made only one error, IMHO.

He chose being nice over being victorious.

[CriticalJ]

If victory was the ultimate goal, without thought for character and class, McCain should have laid waist to Obama’s character and George Bush.

[richmwill]

I’d add the “You don’t have to fear an Obama presidency” and “He’s not an Arab, he’s a good man” speech to that list.

[hosepipe]

Overlooking the most important error of the McLaim tribe must be noted..

Number one error of the MmcLaim clan IS..
Failing to notice that McLaim is basically Obama LITE..
That John Mclaim is really a cross dressed democrat..
and the American people MIGHT notice that..

You know... notice that and vote for a REAL DEMOCRAT..
many on Free republic overlooked it as well..
i.e. deluded.. oblivious.. eye rolling stupid(w/ head turn making teeth sucking noises)..

[dilvish]

Having the same party affiliation as an incredibly unpopular outbound president is really #1. That made the hill pretty big and steep.

[onedoug]

Reason No. 1: McCain

[adorno]

Underlying all those errors is the worst error of all...

He didn't have enough funding to run an effective campaign in all the states where he needed to fight. He accepted federal funding, which was a drop in the bucket compared to the campaign financing Obama got from "contributions". If you don't have the financing, you can't run all the ads needed, and you can't get around to all the places needed.

In effect, the biggest mistake was McCain's involvement with the McCain-Feingold act which he hoped would take big money out of elections. It ended up taking big money out of McCain's campaign and allowing Obama to have obscene amounts of money with which to swamp McCain.

Another major error: McCain wasn't black enough. If McCain had been just half-black, he might have stood a chance this time around when being black was a key factor.

[gogeo]

There are any number of themes that could have won the day. For all Obama had going for him, and for all McCain struggled against, this was a winnable contest.

McCain, for all of his personal virtues, has no political ones. He seems to have the two confused.

[Big Horn]

McCain didn't have ACORN or the MSM.

[driftless2]

In my opinion the failure to counter the left's explanation of the financial debacle doomed McCain. Immediately after the crash, the left flooded the media with the message (lie) that conservative Republicans aka greedy bankers had solely created the calamity. McCain did nothing to counter that lie, in fact he reinforced it, and he and Palin reiterated the lie about greedy bankers.

If McCain had immediately gone on tv with a clear, forthright explanation of how the Dem-controlled FM fiasco was the culprit, he might have had a chance. Before the disaster McCain/Palin were leading in the polls. One week after the catastrophe, they were behind and never caught up. Millions of Americans bought the Dem lie about conservative responsibility. Too little, too late did McCain mention the role of the Dems, and Obama in the scandal.

[Infidel Puppy]

1) Not defusing and emasculating the insane Left’s ACORN-related ballot stuffing machine in 2000-2008