Another one, as evidenced above: 1. McCain staffers believe they need to tarnish the reputation of Obama in order to win; Obama, save the rare "guns & bitter" gaffe, is extremely well-behaved on the campaign trail, not making many mistakes; therefore, they settle on pointing to guilt by association. 2. The more these supporters gin up these "shady" associations, the more tenuous the associations are revealed to be by thinking adults, and the more McCain is perceived as a "negative" campaigner. 3. The more this tactic backfires & McCain is perceived as a negative campaigner, the more his staffers point to other associations, each more nebulous an actual connection to Obama than the last, to try to prove the point, insisting on linking Obama to ever more ridiculous sundry characters. The worse McCain is perceived by the voting public, and the more his reputation as a mudslinging campaigner is cemented. In rough order on the timeline: Wright, Rezko, Ayers, Hamas, Palestinian Liberation Organization. Each has less & less to do with the actual candidate in question. (I'm leaving a dozen or so out of that list, I'm sure.) 4. The more one insists on the absolute significance of these relationships, the more ridiculous & unserious one seems.
