As a result, conservatives angered over McCain's stands on immigration, campaign finance and President Bush's tax cuts are talking less about stopping McCain and have begun to discuss whether they can influence his positions or his selection of a running mate.

For McCain, the challenge is to sound a unifying theme without appearing too malleable or swayed by political convenience. McCain recognizes that tacking to the right could hurt his support among independents and moderates that have helped him get this far.

"I'm aware there's a very fine line between inspiring in unity and pandering," McCain said Wednesday. "You know, you've got to present it in the right way, of course."

Mitchell is one who does not expect McCain to undergo a transformation.

"He's 70,000 years old, he's not going to change," she said.

Right now she is not supporting any of the Republican candidates in the field. If not satisfied by Nov. 7, she said, she may well sit the election out.

"It's a very American privilege not to vote," she said.

For some conservatives, McCain's emergence is a sign that the Republican Party is abandoning conservatives.

"The Republican Party has left the moral conservative base adrift," said Jerome Corsi, a conservative activist and co-author of "Unfit for Command," a book that attacked 2004 Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry's Vietnam service.

"If the Republican Party doesn't come to its senses soon, I think there will be a lot of sitting out or discussion about a third party being formed or supported," Corsi said.