I'll always feel a little bad for guys who get stuck with the bound-to-lose candidacies. From Adlai Stevenson to Bob Dole to John McCain, it's basically, "Here, the fix is already in and we need you to lose to this other jerk." That's not the footnote I'd prefer for myself.
The RINO label was always very stupid. As if politicians in the USA had to always be factional, that they couldn’t have their own positions that came in either side of the spectrum. Just idiotic.
There is no such thing as true Republican anyways. I mean, look at Trump, he, like Bush, obviously isn’t a fiscal conservative and doesn’t care about the deficit. That anti deficit position only comes up when a democrat is in charge, and is promptly forgotten afterwards.
McCain was an effective politician because he was a maverick, and he shouldn't be chastised for his independence.
He was a real RINO though.