Here was Frank Luntz on H&C last night on his focus group’s reaction to McCain during the debate (via The Hotline):

“I’ve never seen any group turn on somebody like they turned on Senator McCain. And that’s because this issue of immigration is so powerful, so destructive, so divisive, and John McCain is on the wrong side of that issue”

But McCain got excellent media reviews for his performance. This, of course, goes straight to McCain’s dilemma: he can be a hero to the media only by adopting positions that badly hurt him among Republican voters.