I have a little more respect for him now, that really did seem like a "Oh shit this has gotten way out of control." moment.
The problem, as has been pointed out earlier many times, is his desperation. He is painfully desperate to become President. Perhaps he thinks it will validate everything he has done, perhaps he thinks it will validate his life, but regardless, he's sold his soul to get where he is. I know it's an old gambit to blame the "wicked advisors" for subverting the "noble leader", but I think that at this point, he's just being pulled along in the current of whatever gets suggested at the HQ brainstorming sessions. No matter what, he is still the leader of his campaign and bears responsibility for his subordinates' actions.
That is, without question, a crushing failure as a leader. Worse yet for McCain, Obama just demonstrates so poetically that you need not sell out to gain votes. All that talk from the last 15 years (or longer) about people desperate for a 'true leader', well, Obama is exactly what a true leader looks and sounds like.