Look again. Those were two candidates who were directly part of the previous Administration as a VP. With McCain as a frontrunner, it's hard to connect him to the Administration with his moderate views on multiple subjects and his known problems with the Administration (And the party as a whole). If Dick Cheney were the guy running, you'd have a point. But he's not; in his stead is the "Outrider Maverick War Hero Senator" who has multiple endorsements from moderates about how he can "reach across the aisle", along with the proof to boot. You can't honestly think this is an "Al Gore" or "Gerry Ford" situation, can you?
John McCain is pretty close to an incumbant on the Iraq War. That war is still going on no matter what the Liberal Media seems to think. It will still be going on in November. And, none of the GOP guys are distancing themselves on anything the Bush Admin has done.
Wait, why am I even doing this?