Page last updated at 10:55 GMT, Wednesday, 5 November 2008
Why John McCain lostBy Richard Lister
BBC News, Washington
Candidate John McCain seemed to have it all.
Few in America did not know about his decades of service,
his breath-taking heroism as a war hero in Vietnam, his
foreign policy expertise and his ability to reach across
the Congressional aisle.
-snip-His other big problem was in trying to separate himself
from one of the most unpopular presidents in American
history and a Congress which had been Republican for six
of the past eight years.
As a mostly loyal Republican, his record was one of
support for President George W Bush, which Barack Obama
never let him forget.
-snip-In fact, he could never quite find a narrative that
worked. He went from being war hero, to the voice of
experience, to maverick, to tax-cutter, but he never
found a way to lift himself in the polls.
-snip-