Phoenix, Arizona
John McCain seemed oddly self-assured as he walked to the podium to deliver the final address of his 2008 presidential campaign--a concession speech. He wore a blue suit, a light blue shirt and a gold tie that matched his wife's dress. Sarah Palin and her husband stood on stage with the McCains, several feet away.

Many of McCain's closest friends and biggest supporters were gathered before him on the back lawn of the famed Biltmore hotel here. Ollie Harper, who lives with his wife Sharon next door to the McCain ranch in Sedona, was there. So was Phil Gramm, the former senator and former McCain adviser whose ill-timed comments about the country being in a "mental recession" were used by Democrats to paint McCain as out of touch and led to his banishment. Former Navy secretary John Lehman was in the crowd. So were actor Jon Voight, an outspoken McCain supporter, and Hank Williams Jr.

McCain opened his remarks by acknowledging that the American people had spoken with their vote. And he smiled that slightly impish grin as he noted that they had spoken clearly. McCain's staff wore their disbelief--that their man had lost, that this all-consuming race was over--on their faces. Several of them nodded enthusiastically and exchanged knowing looks when McCain mentioned the "challenges" his campaign faced in the current political climate.

A few young women in the crowd began to weep. One female staffer close to the stage let out sobs so loud that she drew looks from those around

McCain didn't seem to notice. McCain's speech was magnificent, and he delivered it well. "I urge all Americans--I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together, to find the necessary compromises, to bridge our difference, and help restore prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger better country than we inherited," he said. "Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans. And please believe me when I say no association has ever meant more to me than that."

It was obvious that McCain felt this way even as he raised questions about Barack Obama's "associations." His heart wasn't in it. When he was asked about William Ayers, McCain said the issue was about telling the truth, but he would start his answer by saying: "I don't care about some washed-up old terrorist." It was easy to believe him. McCain likes to be loved and wants to be admired. And he finds the rough and dirty side of politics distasteful. When he did allow his campaign to make tough attacks--like the questions about Ayers--they were ineffective. His sense of decency did not allow him to countenance using Ayers as part of a broader narrative and without that narrative the attacks fell flat.

The media largely missed this. Any attack on Barack Obama was too much.