and I think the problem isn't so much McCain's campaign, or even  McCain himself, as it is the fractured nature of the Republican party.  McCain's lurches between populist and ideologue, fiscal conservative and spendthrift, attack dog and reasoned debater, even his VP choices - Lieberman and Palin - reflect his basic problem - appealing to the base and independent voters at the same time.  The "southern strategy" and Rove's "51% solution" worked well enough until the inevitable consequences of ignoring 49% of the population met up with serious issues.  I think McCain's true spirit - that which he displayed in 2000, has been supplanted by that of Karl Rove - much to McCain's (and the country's) detriment.