Two bad candidates

The 2008 American presidential election had taken a strange turn. Both presumed candidates, Barack Obama and John McCain were looking progressively worse to their partisan supporters. Barack Obama was alienating his progressive base by shifting his positions towards the center. John McCain had previously alienated conservative Republicans by his shenanigans with campaign finance reform and other deals with the Democrats. By July 2008, McCain's campaign was perceived as being totally inept. What was a country to do with such choices?