I live in a conservative area in south central PA, and a lot of my acquaintances are die-hard Repubs. It is interesting to me to see how they jump on personalities this time around to justify their vote. McCain is a good guy, but Obama is "this and that bad thing". Deep down, I know they are torn by the constant screw-up of the repub party. This bailout being the latest to totally go against their government philosophy. Watching these folks has suggested to me a election strategy idea that I only see faint glimpses of up to now.
In America, our totally exclusive two-party political system is really quite simple! It is or should be equivalent to an on-off switch in terms of getting real changes or staying the course! The party in power either gets rewarded because they are doing a good job, or you vote them out for change. If voters are unhappy with the current realities but still vote in the same party, they totally destroy accountability and give that party a blank check to continue to act against the average voter's interest. The party in power that knows it is in trouble will try to make the election about personalities and non-issues to cloud the discontent. That is what McCain and the repubs are doing.
The opposition strategy for me is to get rid of personalities from the race, and make the race about the last 8 years. If you like what has happened to you the last eights years, keep the same party in power. If you are unhappy with the results of the last 8 years, your only real choice for change with the current American political system is to vote in that other party!!