Well, I'm about as cynical in regard to branded politics, regardless of the brand, as I am hamburgers. Had one at McD's lately ? Same trend. The cost goes up and the content goes down... and there isn't really much they can do about it.
Turns out more often than not that the world is what it is rather than what rabid partisans on either side want or need it to be.
McCain scares me less because I know what matters most... as you might have heard in Biden's recent speech in Seattle? McCain and Obama are BOTH still senators... and there is a reason we generally tend to prefer to NOT elect senators...
I don't find it any more useful to avoid rigorous DD in politics as other market functions... or to love a politician more than I love a stock. Similar risks attach to separating your reason from your attachment. Haven't met a President I thought really worth having occupy the space other than Reagan and Kennedy. Character matters. Particularly as politics becomes more intrusive and requires that you not allow yourself to be distracted by the words from what the hands are doing... it is worth noting that the brands aren't all that different than Avis and Hertz... so don't sign open ended contracts. Whoever gets the job... the shorter the period he thinks you work for him, instead of him for you, the better... and I mean that in the most menial sense, not the most eloquent or uplifting.
If you didn't follow the inevitable impact of Carter's policies, because you were blinded by... whatever it is you might be blinded by with Carter... you likely missed planning to buy the long term CDs at 20% as that problem worked its way out ? Etc.
Politics matters... but not because so many people mistake proper political behavior and choices for what they otherwise owe or commit only to their old Alma Mater on Saturdays...