AP PHOTO/CHARLES DHARAPAK
AGING
BULL
from despair in the months following the 2008 election.
“After I lost in 2008, I really, I
knew the best cure and the only
cure is to get busy, and put it behind you. When you sit around
and mope, I mean, it’s a very destructive exercise,” McCain said,
his left leg propped up on the coffee table in his Senate office. “So I
tried to stay in the game.”
‘THAT ANGRY OLD WHITE GUY’
To many, McCain’s reputation as
a maverick, willing to cross party
lines on issues such as immigration reform and campaign finance,
took a hit after his contortions
during his presidential run, and
then two years later in his Senate
reelection campaign.
In 2008, McCain veered to the
right with his selection of Palin as
his running mate. He was made
unavailable to the press, and the
image of him as a happy-go-lucky
McCain and
his adviser
Mark Salter
during a
walk-through
at the RNC
in 2008.