What Was McCains Big Mistake

well sir, a long list to quote here, but i think the one little mistake is McCain representing Republicans and Bush toooooo, so it is enough for McCain..Have a good time

his mistake? hmmmmm let me count the ways lol

- Lack of consistent message and focus.
- Erratic campaign behavior.
- Allowing himself to be dragged to far to the right.
- Allowing his campaign to run negative ads.
- Selecting the wrong running mate.
- Running under a damaged Party brand.

I think a major mistake was running against Obama. Obama's charisma was too much to overcome, the same way Bill Clinton's was. McCain hasn't stood a chance in over a year of getting elected, just because of hi competition.

I believe Sarah Palin really hurt him.. As a women, I felt he could have picked someone with more public presence and less controversial views. She became a joke, more attention was paid to her SNL appearance then her credentials as a VP candidate.

Instead of focusing on the problems America is facing and suggesting how he would fix them, he focused on trying to make his opponent look bad. Instead of trying to win the election he tried to make his opponent lose. He didn't have any real message other than don't vote for "that one". Oh and the obvious, Sarah Palin.

Start with campaign team and end with Sarah Palin.

McCain has hired the team that put Bush in the whitehouse twice with very questionable tactics and had trouble reconciling that with his morals - I still believe McCain is a decent man. What sealed his fate is his selection of Sarah Palin for which I believe he thought would get him the votes for Hillary. The only common denominator between Palin - Hillary is the female reproductive organ. Period.

he was only what..5 percentage points behind Obama overall. Harly points at a 'big mistake'. The system of the Electoral College exaggerates the difference here.

SO the Rest of the World and nearly 1/2 of America wanted shot of Bush and what he represents. That his misfortune not his mistake. McCain is a good man but his time was not now.

Not being tough enough on Obama. Suggested question: "As you sat in the pew in Reverend Wright's church for X number of years, when did you conclude that Reverend Wright was a raving race baiter or come to agree with him, and if it's the latter why have you changed your views only now?" "Why is the serial number blurred out on the birth certificate your campaign posted on the internet?" "Why was it necessary for you to become a nonsmoker in order to run for office?" "Can you explain why a notorious Chicago fixer bought the lot next to your home on the same day you bought your home with you paying just about the same amount under market as he paid over market, and then he did nothing with the lot?

I believe his greatest error was selecting Palin as his running mate. I'm not sure what prompted the decision truly, but I believe, speaking from a project management standpoint, Senator McCain and his campaign staff didn't take enough time to understand the inherent risks, or formulate any type of mitigation strategy.

1. Being a Republican - W seems to have turned this into a 4 letter word.

2. Relying on being a POW - being a good soldier doesn't translate into being a good President.

3. Attacking Obama rather than just focusing on what he would do as President to right the US Ship.

Being a Republican - Republicans have ruined this country... we're turning third world in less than a generation. Palin proved that random selection by superficial appearance and half-baked political metrics would continue under McCain... that's how we got the phrase "you're doin' a heckuva job, Brownie" added to our vocabulary. It takes brains to run this country... not talk-radio rage.

There was no "big mistake"...selecting Palin as his running mate was borderline idiotic, but not a campaign killer. The real problem was one of timing. It was exceptionally clear, and reflected in the 2006 elections, that the Dems would win the White House this year with virtually any reasonable candidate. The "Bush Backlash" was simply to great.

That being said, responder Frank Feather hit all the major tactical mistakes made by the McCain campaign:
- Lack of consistent message and focus.
- Erratic campaign behavior.
- Allowing himself to be dragged to far to the right.
- Allowing his campaign to run negative ads.
- Selecting the wrong running mate.
- Running under a damaged Party brand.

Since you've asked in the singular.
I'll answer in the singular.

BUSH...Being associated with him and not making it clear that he wanted to be completely different to him.

I dont think Mcain made a single mistake! He earned the right to be comander and chief his only flaw is he is selfless, not carismatic both personalities are "born with feature! " More people should remeber all are different and winning isnt everything, to some its the only thing but if your not willing to die for you convictions how convicted are you? But the more Apropriate Question is Obama motivates the masses TRUE! Mcain could lead a battalion maybe all is as it should be.
"Im still a pure Constitutionalist" Id die for my convictions but who cares??? So then I must as all be a "realist" GOD BLESS AMERICA all its people! remember the alamo!

People can no longer relate to the Republican party... he is guilty by association. He made mistakes but I believe that the main cause is people were determined to send Bush and the Republicans a message which reflects their dissatisfaction.

Picking Palin was the worst poltical decision in our lifetimes.

He destroyed two of his key messages.
1. He was a maverick who did things out of the box.

2. Obama is not exprienced.

Serving his country admirable for over 30 years, displaying his ability to put the greater cause above himself even though it meant delayed freedom and possible death (Hanoi), choosing the first female Republican vice-presidential candidate in history, day by day and year by year built a impenetrable reputation for working with both sides of the aisle, always took the high-road during the debates and rally’s despite his opponents obvious uncertain past, and at all times and above all else, embodied a true statesman.

Other than that, I think he did ok.

Selecting Palin as his running mate, making negative campaign towards Obama instead of having a constant focus on the socio economic issues are the 2 main mistakes McCain did in my perspective.
Being a candidate of Republican party did deprive him of getting more votes.
People need change.

I have written elsewhere in the Answers area (see the link) about the matter of "temperament" and I believe strongly that this is the factor that defeated McCain. But as to his biggest mistake, I think it was the way he positioned himself. (And by "he" in the following I refer not only to the man but to his campaign organization.)

Seems to me that many people are more influenced by the persona a candidate projects than by the candidates' stands on specific issues or his professed beliefs and values. Even specific deeds, such as McCain's ill-advised selection of his running mate, are more viewed (at least subconsciously) in the larger context of what they reveal about the general character of the man, his overall essence, and less as insights into his decision-making abilities or other specific attributes.

McCain identified himself, with uninhibited relish, as the underdog in the campaign. I don't think he could have prevented himself from doing so. It's his nature. (Surely some psychoanalyst is working on a book about McCain's psyche and its roots, so I'll leave the scrutiny of his id and ego to the shrinks. They can speculate about the victim syndrome and how it relates to his ancestry, his family's early disappointment with him, his imprisonment, and all that other psychobabble rubbish.)

While "everybody loves an underdog" and we may root for them at times, most of us don't really believe that an underdog is the right choice for the "top dog." I think that view is programmed in our genes. (More cud there, with my compliments, for the shrinks to chew on.)

In what ways did he act the underdog?

-- He viciously and unfairly attacked his opponent when he might have stood proudly on his own achievements--snarling about irrelevancies and yapping at Obama's heels--while the latter stood firm and resolute, composed and presidential.

-- He emphasized trivial, inconsequential chinks in his opponent's armor.

-- He partnered with an insubstantial running mate of trifling accomplishment and minimal intellect, who likewise yipped about petty matters--another underdog who proudly self-identified as something similar to a "pit bull."

-- He introduced us to his friends and most ardent supporters, Joe the Plumber and a mangy gang of rabid hounds, and together they gave the impression of a pack of growling mongrel misfits more suited to a kennel than the White House.

-- He appealed to the insecurities of factions of the electorate: people who feel like underdogs themselves and thought McCain's mongrels were "just like us."

-- He whined about being treated unfairly--a common tactic of frail children who are incapable of defending themselves.

-- He repeatedly raised the specter of the usual bogeymen: higher taxes, socialism, terrorism--rather like a hound barking at the wind in the trees.

-- He charged his opponent with the crime of celebrity--implying that he himself was the antithesis of a superstar, the runt of the litter.

-- He self-consciously lowered himself to a more humble plane than he deserves by constantly addressing the public as "my friends." I don't know whether he did this because of an irritating rhetorical tic or as a desperate ploy to gain acceptance, but either way the habit made him seem pathetic.

But to appear pathetic ("provoking feelings of pity") and feeble was apparently his goal. For he actually TOLD us--on many occasions and most frequently as the contest came down to the final days--that he WAS an underdog, and proud to be one.

And we listened, and we believed him, and we followed the bigger and better-bred dog.

McCain's big mistake was Bush.

Serving his country admirable for over 30 years, displaying his ability to put the greater cause above himself even though it meant delayed freedom and possible death (Hanoi), choosing the first female Republican vice-presidential candidate in history, day by day and year by year built a impenetrable reputation for working with both sides of the aisle, always took the high-road during the debates and rally’s despite his opponents obvious uncertain past, and at all times and above all else, embodied a true statesman.

Other than that, I think he did ok.