John McCain Pre-Postmortem: The Maverick Couldn't Hack It as a Party Man

If you haven't seen it, check out Rich Lowry's excellent pre-mortem of John McCain on NRO:

This is the McCain paradox: No other Republican candidate had a character and background—as a courageously independent spirit—better suited to making the presidential campaign competitive this year. But perhaps no Republican candidate was so poorly suited to the task of running a presidential race.

He goes on, pretty well dissecting the decline and fall of his Maverick-ness (due to said quality).

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