Oh dear, John McCain.

Looking around today, mostly finding my links on Digg's top in 24, I've realized one thing: John McCain has unequivocally lost the election. He has lost in absolute terms even beyond polling or debates of policy. Over the course of this election, John McCain has lost what made him John McCain. He has lost his base of good-natured supporters yearning for an honest yet conservative, Republican but not theocratic President. He has lost his stearn yet level-headed demeanor. He has lost his integrity by caving in to the pressures of this campaign and creating a ticket that, while perhaps more likely to win an election would be far less successful in running the country. The disconnect between pre-campaign McCain and today's McCain is easy to see. There's recent video of a resurgent old McCain talking to supporters who are parroting the exact mindset campaign McCain has sought to instill in his supporters. Seeing old McCain talk this way says exactly one thing: his campaign has lost coherence. It no longer has a winning message to say to the American people other than "we'd do a better job somehow." John McCain has lost, and all we can do now is hope that old McCain manages to stop new McCain's campaign before he loses anymore of what's made his career worthwhile.