What have been McCain's biggest mistakes in this campaign?

Not gaining all the money that Obama has to run his elections. Money seems to buy votes.

Looks like most of these morons are doing exactly what you have asked them not to. Big surprise.

I am a conservative independent and I actually think he did nearly everything right until pretty recently. Despite what the folks around here are saying, the Palin pick was actually a very smart move, but not for the reason most folks think it is (anyone who thinks it was a play for Hillary voters - wrong). Basically, he has had trouble rallying the base until he picked Palin, and one cannot deny that she draws them in. This leaves McCain free to continue hobnobbing with indeps and moderate democrats without the conservative base calling him a traitor. Good move on his part.

The biggest mistake he made was drawing attention to himself when the financial crisis hit. I know he was trying to look like a doer and not a talker, but the worst thing a body can do is make oneself a target by attracting attention, even if it is good attention. McCain managed to keep this election as a referendum on Obama, which was the winning strategy until he actually tried to get into the whole bailout package deal. First he suspended his campaign only to do in Washington what could have been done at home. Then the bill failed to pass once he arrived, showing that he could not deliver his people to the table. At this point, it would have been better if he opposed the bailout proposal on the table and instead rallied behind the one the Republicans were working on seperately, but he didn't do that. Eventually, after being bounced around like a ping pong ball, the bill got passed with no substantial input from McCain at all except for his vote - a vote he will have to answer for when the bailout package fails.

Ever since then, it has been downhill. McCain has resorted to attack ads on an issue that came up in March - it's a little late for that and made him look desperate. Even worse, these ads incited some of the Hillary Bigots in his crowd to start throwing out smears at his rallies, smears he chose to diffuse and ended up getting booed at his own rallies. He coupled that with going to openly hostile shows like The View and David Letterman with absolutely no reason to do so. He would gain nothing from visiting these shows, but chose to do so anyway.

Bottom line, McCain is finishing weak. The biggest mistakes he's made have been happening within the last few weeks, which is not good, considering the limited amount of time he has left to make the case. McCain needs to ride out this Joe The Plumber deal as long as he can because this IS a serious issue and the media attacks against the Plumber as well as Obama obvious gaffe about "spreading the wealth around" will be a legitimate issue that everyone can identify with.

Well, in the first place, he's the wrong candidate to run against Obama. His biggest problem is that he's an old white guy in a political year which abhors old white guys. Trying to overcome that has been a huge challenge for him. Visually, he reminds people too much of Bush - wrinkly white Republicans got us into this mess, and the collective conscious doesn't forget that easily. Image similarity is hard to shake. Sarah Palin was too little, too late.

He's running as a pro-war candidate, at a time when the war is turning into an occupation and is at a very low level of support.

He's hoping to overturn Roe V Wade, which 80% of the country supports keeping.

He gets angry during debates, whereas Obama almost never gets angry. The bullying McCain did during the primary doesn't play well with female voters. Negative campaigning also turns people off.

He also has the Nixon vs JFK problem - he looks hunched, short, and elderly next to the young, tall, unwrinkled Obama. Not a fault of his campaign, just a basic problem with trying to get him elected.

I cannot provide a sound ordering of his mistakes but these are the ones I see but this ordering is just for readability.

1) Accepting Obama's format for few debates. A warrior fights on turf he master's. If there had to be debates they should have been town meetings.

2) His ham handed departure from Michigan.

3) His refusal to openly admit that McCain-Feingold was a stupid law and it should be overturned. IMO, he should have done that before June.

4) Not forcing the biased media to question the vast amounts of money flowing into Obama's campaign from who knows where. The source of these funds, especially in today's economy, the sheer number of small sum donations is mine blowing. Could someone or some foreign government set up a bot to donate funds to Obama in a money laundering scheme?

5) Not enforcing his message that He and President Bush sought to control Freddie Mac and Fannie May 4 years ago but was stalled by Sen. Dodd and others.

6) Not rallying his base effectively. No appeal to Catholics concerning the Supreme Court. No direct appeal to Jews about support for Israel. Not seeking to unite the Romney side of the party.

7) He did not use Gov Palen effectively. She is an effective asset to the party but the campaign did not (perhaps due to money and media bias) control the spin on the Governor well.

8) Playing the maverick card too often and not well. He should have foreseen the betrayal of Powell,

1. He should have voted against the $700 Billion Financial Bailout. That way, he could distance himself from the corruption on Wall Street.

2. His choice of Palin for VP was obvious pandering. Should have chosen someone solid like Mitt Romney or Mike Huckabee.

3. Should have distanced himself from Bush a long time ago. He can't claim to be a Maverick while he is unconditionally supporting the Iraq War.

4. His campaign doesn't talk much about McCain's ideas, but is instead focused on negative attacks upon Obama's loose associations. That has really alienated independent voters.

I see only one maybe conservative here (for every ten Obama supporters)...what is it Obama feeds these people that they cant read a question....you seemed to be asking for conservative opinions?

1.The sky isnt falling on conservatives if a liberal Dem wins, the country moves one way or the other every 8 years it seems. Conservatives cant always win, just human nature to want to try something else once in a while. This isnt physics or chemistry science where you can always project a winner.

2. Its not over yet, save your question for Nov 4, I can still predict many Obama bots may be too stoned to vote, this isnt in the bag for them....ever heard of the Bradley effect (google it)

3. Fact of the matter I can see Obama is younger and more charismatic (even though I think he is a Marxist Socialist) doesnt seem to matter to some americans really what Obama believes ...McCain is older and finds it harder and harder to be charismatic, but I like what he said in the opening bit here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MADZnsIkpdQ

Becoming something he really is not. Although I am not a Republican, I had a lot of respect for McCain. He did a good job uniting parties with the McCain - Feingold legislation. But he is now just following the pundits and using negative ads that focus on what all is wrong about Obama instead of what he can do to make a difference. During the debates he doesn't seem to be comfortable shelling out the right wing agenda because I am not sure he really believes it. But heck, that is helping Obama win - thanks McCain!

His Biggest mistake was voting for the bail-out especially after telling the American public that when he is president he would be veto any pork barrel spending.

IF he voted against it after he made those compaign statements.

Many in the country lost they faith in President Bush, Congress, and here is this man coming ahead and already vetoing a vote because that's what he told us he was going to do.

Palin wouldn't have been an issue if he had done that.

Then don't forget with-in days of passing the bail-out we find out that There weren't guide lines preventing corporate welfare. AIG spending 400,000 on massages.

McCain would have looked the hero and who was standing behind his word and had the American economy at heart, and was listening to main stream American instead of Wall Street.

i visit checklist info and of direction i be attentive to i will recieve a lot of thumbs down for doing so: McCain voted with Bush ninety% of the time, Sarah Palin has no foreign places coverage adventure, became the mayor of a city of much less then 9,000 human beings and a governor for much less then 2 years. McCain considers a center classification family contributors one that generates a minimum of 5 million earnings line with year, In McCain's campaign I see the slogan "united states first" throughout, nicely McCain became Mr McCain putting his united states first while he decide on Sarah Palin a woman that has so little adventure a heartbeat faraway from the presidency in those perplexing circumstances? Or became it in basic terms a political flow to collect the help of Hillary followers and woman electorate? this is my question to you, i will enable you to identify.

Notice how all the answers are superficial jabs and puns.

It really makes me sad that these people consist of an entire voting base.

Anyway, to your question... McCain's worst mistake was sitting on his behind while the race for the Democratic seat was in full swing. McCain should have used that time to get his message out, talk about his plans, and really hit the public. Let them hear his points and decide for themselves.

Instead, Obama and his camp LEAPT onto the scene, bombarding media outlets with TV spots, Commercials, grassroots campaigning, the works. McCain waited too long.

Now, we see the result.... A generation of voters who aren't mature enough to identify bias, to research for themselves, nor to think independently. They go with the crowd.

He made no mistakes at first but he didn't stick with one plan he went off on jibberish. People are not as stupid as he thinks if you call someone something that doesn't fit, you look like a liar. He should have kept the campaign positive. Think about all the people of all colors he is losing everytime a racist stands up and says something silly at one of his rallies. Who wants to be associated with that kind of campaign? Even if you are going to vote for him you may feel alittle funny campaigning for him.