McCain is the worst major Presidential candidate in history.

Let's face it, that is the fact of the matter. His agenda is transparent, his views change as often as the wind and he's a doddery nincompoop subservient to Bush with nary a hint of "maverick" spirit. He truly represents the crusty, creaky old (Right) guard. Bob Dole was a firebrand in comparison.

An appalling speaker, he struggles to inspire even the staunchest of conservative crowds. Truly, for Obama to fail to win election against this man would take a racially charged, defamatory campaign of the like we've never seen. In fact, even that might fail due to McCain claiming that he'd have no part of such a campaign, something which can obviously be used against him if he *should* plumb such depths. I believe that the only way to lose to him might be if areas of the Democratic party sabotage their own man, perhaps an unlikely scenario but one which may have to be seen as the biggest threat to a Democratic victory.

With McCain clearly the worst Presidential candidate in history, one can only sit terrified at the type of President he would make. If the people who - traditionally - are rational and reasonable behave in a rational and reasonable way from now to November, the nightmare scenario will not come to pass.

McCain might be terrible, but Bush takes the cake in all catagories.

Bush managed to engage his audience. He managed to convince a sizeable number of people he was one of them...he was deployed to be so by his political masters, and so it worked. By rights a man with his record should have lost a landslide against a politician of Al Gore's standing, but his carefully contrived persona made it a close thing - If you had Bush's record with John McCain's persona he wouldn't have lost as narrowly as he did...he'd have been beaten by a good few million. Therefore, Bush was the better candidate.

but a damn good canidate.

There's a big distinction between the two. I mean, I could tell in 2000 that he would be an abysmal President, but he engaged his target audience wonderfully well.

McCain his chance to be the GOP candidate.