In the general election , facing Democratic nominee , Senator Barack Obama of Illinois , McCain was trailing during most of the season , only gaining a lead in national polls for a period after the Palin announcement and the 2008 Republican National Convention . The dominant issue of the campaign became the financial crisis of 2008 . Unable to gain traction against Obama in presidential debates , the final stages of the campaign saw McCain criticizing Obama for being a " redistributionist " and adopting symbols such as Joe the Plumber
2008 Republican National Convention
2008 Republican National Convention
John McCain 2008 presidential campaign