Whatever happened to those 527s that were going to ravage Obama?

[Lunar]

Politico did a front-page story on it.

Anyway, my answer (including a few Politico explanations) is this:

1) Conservative financiers were never that excited about McCain to begin with.  Bush was a genuine conservative who didn't make the GOP angry only to come back during the primaries carrying the conservative banner.
2) A lot of them are doing other things, like T. Boon Pickens is doing his alternative energy plan thingy. 
3a) It's not as much fun to destroy the first African-American politician. 
3b) Provoking racial tensions could create an icky feeling in the guts of non-racist financiers.  What if Obama was assassinated by some redneck, would you feel guilty if you ran "OMG Obama is Black" ads?
4) Financiers are rich people.  Rich people with a lot of money in the stock market are really hurting after the financial crash
5) More and more of them are convinced Obama is going to win even if they invest a couple million, this means less return.  Kerry was a lot more beatable.  This yields lower returns for your investment.
6a) Kerry's weaknesses had not received media coverage while Obama's (Wright, Rezko, Ayers) are a dead horse.  This yields a lower return on your investment.
6b) Kerry's vulnerabilities were his #1 strength (veteran status) while Obama's vulnerability are his number one weakness, yielding a lower return on your investment
7) McCain's campaign has never given 527's the wink wink nudge nudge. Someone who spends $40 million to destroy Obama might end up being despised by McCain if and when he was elected.  This yields a massively lower return on your investment.
8 ) Destroying Obama is just not as fun as Kerry.
9) Bush had connections to Texan oil financiers while McCain has pissed them off in the past, if anything
10a) To some extent, third-parties are upset with the GOP brand too...
10b) The long-term interests of the GOP would probably be better served by a McCain loss.

[Lunar]

"diverted" is an ugly word.  Most people  who could contribute a substantial amount easily could contribute an equal amount to McCain.

Of course, the closeness of a race determines the expense of it.  Is it any wonder, for example, that the Senate race in Minnesota was the most expensive senate race in history?  Like, I can't remember the numbers but both sides spent like more than 30 million.  Interestingly, every hundred thousand dollars was well spent and this race might be over by now if it hadn't been spent.