Not too early for some strategy analysis. What is the biggest mistake McCain has made so far?

[yellowcanine]

IMO it is Palin. He bet the farm on her and at least so far it has backfired.

[The Blue Flower]

1. Putting Rovians in charge--all else follows

nt

[HereSince1628]

2. He decided to compete for the presidency

[gravity]

3. Not having a clear message to run on

[LSparkle]

4. I agree about Palin. I'm sure they didn't expect they'd have to shield her this much

Whenever else in the broadcast age has a VP candidate
NOT BEEN ABLE to go on news shows and answer questions?
She may inspire the base but she's not doing them any
good with independents ... BIG mistake.

[graywarrior]

5. Running for president

[LiberalAndProud]

6. Immediately after it became clear he was the presumptive

nominee. Obama and Clinton were still battling it out and building our base throughout the primaries. McCain shifted to neutral, failing to energize and inspire his base. His early neglect paved the way to the current Palin fiasco.

[yellowcanine]

14. There is something to what you say. McGrumpy actually is fairly lazy and doesn't like to campaign.

Another reason why I think he would be a lousy president.

[LynneSin]

7. I would pick 2 - Palin and caving to the hardcore right.

If McCain had stuck with the middle he would have kept this race a close one. People are tired of partisan politics and John McCain the Mavarick was dumped for John McCain the fundie nutjob suckup.

[Deep13]

8. That hug photo with Bush.

Seriously, refusing to unbend on Iraq.

[tpi10d]

9. Being a republican and running in '08

Palin firmed the base, but McCain needs the center. His record isn't significantly different from republican mainstream. He's weak on economic issues. Obama has been a strong candidate with the wind at his back.

My feeling is the only kind of republican which would do reasonably well this year is one with a true centrist voting record and somewhat populist message. This person didn't exist in the republican primary candidates (and is very rare in the party as a whole).

Yes I think Palin was a mistake. McCain's failure to bone up on economic issues is another.

Basically though you can't put lipstick on a pig.

[iceman66]

10. He basically sold his soul to the neocons

to get the nomination in the first place.

Remember back in the early days of the Repub primaries when he was running practically last?

[BuyingThyme]

11. There're so many, but I enjoyed the suspension of the campaign.

[NJCher]

12. Palin, for sure

In the polls, half the people are now saying she's not qualified. With his age and health condition, people are genuinely concerned about what she would be like as a president.

In one of my classes, I have a fundie republican who announced to the class that she would vote for Obama because of Palin.

Cher

[leftist.]

13. Palin did him short-term good and was probably seen as necessary by the campaign ...

... even though I still think it backfires long-term as it seems to be doing now (though the reactionaries are still orgasmic over her).

Suspending his campaign was a monumentally bad move IMO and cost him quite a bit in terms of support.

[RainDog]

15. agree. Palin. Women hate her.

and rightly so.

[yellowcanine]

16. I don't think we should hate her. I just don't want her anywhere near the WH.

If she wants to be governor of Alaska and that is ok with the Alaskan people I am ok with that. No need to hate her.

[RainDog]

17. I hate her in the same way I hate Bush.

Because they are both dangerous idiots who have been given too much power and access to power. Palin is fascism in lipstick.

I've met one woman who supported Palin. That woman is a fundamentalist. I've talked to many other women, in passing, about Palin b/c of my job and the near-universal adjective is "scary." She's scary because, as Sam Harris put it - tho this is a paraphrase - she can bypass the frontal lobe and stick a spike heel straight into the limbic system. I understand her appeal, as do other women, imo, and that's why she's so scary.

I have no problem with the idea of hating fascism. I consider it my duty to hate fascism and to fight it. Palin, like Bush, is the embodiment of fascism in America.

[FKA MNChimpH8R]

18. His message was "It's MY TURN, goddamn it!"

Just like Dole in '96. "Bob Dole . . . . . z . . . .Bob dole........Zzzzzzz...bobdole.." have the pukes ever won with the "it's my turn" guy?

Add that to Schmithead and Mooselini and he was doomed from the start. And the sour old SOB now knows he's toast. And he is losing to an African-American who is in every way his moral and intellectual superior. It's literally eating him alive.

[DFLforever]

19. Palin.

A colossal blunder.

[AllentownJake]

20. Picking up Hillary's playbook

Hillary had success at the end of the Primary season. McCain tried the same thing. Fortunately for the democrats Obama learned from the Primaries.