McCain's problem was that he didn't taje advantage of the primary process and get an early start. He had a huge advantage since he was the presumptive nominee before Obama was, but he seemed to just sit back an relax. If he would have worked as hard then as he did in the final months, it would have been much closer.
McCain was too nice. Obama had a lot of issues that concerned Americans. (Reverend Wright, Ayers Connection, Muslim???, Birth Certificate) that McCain didn't bring up. He was too soft on Obama.
I cannot believe you would even bring up the Muslim issue. Conservatives have no shame.