1 You can't win without your base. The swing voters are what put you over the top. But a candidate trying to win solely on appeals to swing voters is like a double-amputee trying to pole-vault. Most of the time a candidate can count on the base to come along, grumbling and fuming, if not enthusiastically, just because the alternative is so bad. In the case of McCain, there are a lot of conservatives still seriously rooting for a Clinton win, if only to give the GOP a much better footing for 2010 and 2012. It will be damned foolish to count on base turnout when the only appeal is the vote *against* the opposition. You get more disgusted stay-at-homers in that scenario. And anyone who doubts that only needs to look at 2006 for proof of what a disgusted base will do.

2 If McCain can pass himself off as a man of his word, he will have the base, and he should be able to do that without making himself look too extreme to the swing voters.

3 McCain was a man of his word when it came to campaign finance. That didn't turn out too well w/ the GOP base.

4 Frankly, I think the base will get over campaign finance once the prospect of president Obama or President Hillary becomes significant.