You must remember the fairytale called "The Emperor's New Clothes”. We're seeing a modern day version with a twist - John McCain in the role of the leader as a serial dupe.
Take yourself back to 2000. John is running for Republican Presidential nominee. The Rovian/Neo-Con tailors fit him with a suit that has threads that are invisible - that is, they are untrue, mixed with innuendo, and full of push polling. Lo and behold! Enough of the electorate goes into a trance state that they actually see the threads that are supposed to be hanging on John. He loses.
Fast forward to 2008. John, again running for the Republican Presidential nominee, has become the presumptive heir to the Bush legacy. He remembers the invisible, misleading, goofy suit that the Rove/Neo-Con tailors wove in 2000. His wardrobe at this point is that of a war veteran, POW, hardworking, long term Senator from Arizona. A good fit but lackluster and essentially tarnished by too much association with the Bushies. He actually wore those clothes while voting for Neo-Con policies over 90% of the time. Not only are they out of date but they are filthy.
He wants a better wardrobe so he hires the same tailors that fitted him for the defeat suit in 2000. They begin weaving a wardrobe that says "maverick", "reformer", "change agent", and "environmentalist". Anybody with any sense and the ability to see the obvious,obvious knows that this outer part of the wardrobe is totally invisible threads.
Not only that, but the underwear, the policy parts, the foundation garments, are recycled from the Bush administration. He has no clothes on and his undies are holey and belong to someone else. The GOP/Rove/NeoCon/Corporate media, without substance, are left with only spurious attacks on character. The noise machine is flapping, wheezing, and sputtering indignantly in attempts to distract you and me from the real issues -- the Iraq occupation, the economy, the Constitutional losses, corruption, the misleading effects of media, the lack of proper regulation of agencies/big businesses, healthcare, education/training, jobs, appropriate taxation, fair trade, etc. The distractions will likely work for a while until people realize there is no there, there. The scary part goes on while voters are discovering that conservative, purposeful deception. So, hang on, it's going to be a bumpy ride.
The Republican Presidential nominee has no clothes on. If the rest of the story goes like the fairy tale, people will eventually listen to a clear-sighted, brave young man, come to their senses, and run the crooks out of town. In this version, the leader, McCain, should go with them so that we can get some actual rebuilding, refurbishing, and reforms done. Go away McCain. Go to the White House, young man. Your threads are real.