McCain went the gold plated Cadillac route early and the rusty Saturn late. Even Billy Clinton thought he was done wrong by. Seeing the campaign change gears would be instructive to me for future campaigns. Maybe being a bit more parsimonious up front and having more funds later will be a lesson that will come out of this year's election.

So the question is if you counldn't see McCain's path for resurgence with forsight, can you at least see it with hindsight?

I announced months ago that McCain was "my least unfavorite." I suspect that's where a sizable chunk of the primary voters wound up. Giuliani made himself a non-factor by bombing in Iowa and New Hampshire and ultimately adopting a "late state strategy." Thompson couldn't convince people he actually wanted to be president. Romney came across as phony and plastic. Huckabee fired up the most hard core Christian fundamentalists but left everyone else could. That left McCain.

Ultimately, I think, the nominating electorate wanted a grown-up. McCain can be smug, grating, and come down on the wrong side of some policy issues. But you get the sense that he actually believes what he's telling you and that he's not afraid to lead.

Further, while McCain has grown on me substantially vis-a-vis Giuliani and I have yet to take Romney or Thompson seriously as presidential prospects, it’s hard for me to see a path for his resurgence. He started off unpopular with the hard right and his attempts to curry favor with Pat Robertson and company have alienated the moderates.

So the question is if you counldn't see McCain's path for resurgence with forsight, can you at least see it with hindsight?