I ended up voting for Obama, even though I was strongly against him in the primary.
McCain simply worked too hard to alienate independents, and convince people that he's more of the same. Sarah Palin, dirty attacks, and the overall stench of incompetence and right wing ideology pretty much sealed the deal. While it would have been tough for him to win this season, McCain of 2000 would have played much better than the "new and ideologically improved" McCain of 2008. He was the Change guy in 2000, and more of the same guy in 2008, the exact opposite of where he should have positioned himself.