Eric Zorn at the Chicago Tribune has pretty much nailed it. That is, if Obama is elected.
I especially related to the following (see my previous post that coincidentally covers similar points):
4. McCain has lost his brand
Yes, he’s a volatile man running in sensitive times under the banner of troubled party. But he started off with the image of a bi-partisan straight-shooter with a clear, selfless sense of proportion.
Yet he’s campaigned like a crank.
His scattershot, over-the-top assaults on Obama’s character (or, rather, the character of Obama’s associates) have seemed like an effort to change the subject from important issues. And now that McCain’s finally settled on conservative tax policy as his theme down the stretch, his campaign is so desperate for traction that it’s going schoolyard – channeling Joe McCarthy and calling Obama a socialist, a Marxist and even a communist.
5. Sarah Palin is turning out to be the disasta’ from Alaska.
I’m confident historians will rank McCain’s decision to choose a rookie governor from a low-population state to be his running mate as his biggest miscalculation.
Palin’s youth, spunkiness and conservative bona fides fired up the Republican base, sure.
But her ignorance, on display in early TV interviews, mortified the rest of us, and polls now show her as a distinct drag on the ticket.
McCain’s appalling judgment in selecting Palin has been cited by Colin Powell, several high-profile conservative intellectuals and scores of newspaper editorial boards as a reason to support Obama.