How many Democrats actually did cross over in 2008? I would bet not as many crossed over as many here believe. The Democrats were too occupied choosing between O and Hilary. I doubt many wasted votes on the Republican side in the open primary states.
I believe we got McCain because some of the early contenders couldn’t get enough name recognition and funds to compete (Hunter for example). Guiliani had the worst campaign stategy ever. Thompson just didn’t want it as much as his wife did. Paul was seen as too much of a fringe candidate. Huck, seeing that he couldn’t win outright, helped eliminate Romney. The last guy standing was McCain. It’s not the left’s fault that we ended up with a dud nominee. It’s our side’s fault.
I agree, the culprits of 2008 were the Republican primary voters themselves being so uninformed and unimaginative.